Stay Thirsty!
In a recent post I wrote about the untimely death of my Aunt Ciby (The Fallacy of facebook, February 2012). I was able to attend the funeral in St. Louis and was pleasantly surprised when the eulogist referred to my aunt as the “most interesting woman in the world” and entitled his homily “Stay Thirsty My Friends!”
I was reminded of Aunt Ciby and her eulogy when watching basketball this weekend and a Dos Equis commercial came on, naturally featuring the Most Interesting Man in the World and his tag line. Of course, the minister at the funeral wasn’t referring to a high-end beer, but rather Aunt Ciby’s thirst for knowledge.
Aunt Ciby earned her PhD, she was born in a small Alabama town but had traveled the world, and she was interested in the work and perspectives of other people. But most importantly, as the reverend pointed out, Aunt Ciby was thirsty to learn more about God and the work that He placed her on earth to do.
The bible talks about thirst in many places – symbolically and literally:
Psalms 42:2 I thirst for God
Psalms 63:1 O God, my soul thirsts for You
Isaiah 41:17 Their tongues faileth for thirst
John 6:35 Those who believe in me will never thirst
Proverbs 25:21 If your enemies are thirsty, give them water to drink
Thirst is a condition that causes us to want something to make us more comfortable or to need something to survive. Thirst shouldn’t be taken lightly. When we are thirsty our bodies are telling us that something is missing, that we are weak or incomplete…
Quenching that thirst satisfies, enlightens; makes us feel better, stronger, more alert and better prepared. Thirst causes us to stop and think, to study, to give and to seek out a source for our satisfaction.
Are you thirsty?
What are you missing? What is standing between you and your goal? Do you need to learn more? Do more? Give more? Do you need to drink more?… with respect to your calling, your giftedness or talent, your profession or your family?
That dry, parched feeling you have in your throat is thirst. So is that feeling of discomfort at work or that strange incomplete thought that you can’t get out of your head. Thirst may be the reason that you wake up just in time to make it to church even though you were out too late the night before. Thirst may also be that doctor’s appointment that you procrastinate about making or the conversation that you and your spouse often start, but never finish.
Are you thirsty? If so, I recommend that you not ignore it for long. Prolonged periods of thirst can lead to death (Isaiah 5:13, “the multitude dried up with thirst”).
What’s interesting though is that even once we’ve quenched our thirst, we’ll get thirsty again! Thirst is what keeps us growing. Thirst helps us expand. Thirst helps us get better and smarter. Thirst can be frightening, but it’s a good thing. You just have to know where to go to get your water – or your beer.
Stay thirsty my friends and #XEQTE!
