How to Get Out of the Gutter

“We are all in the gutter,” Irish poet Oscar Wilde.

Whether you look for your news via the Internet, magazines, TV newscasts, or newspapers, it’s unlikely it’ll bring a smile to your face. We are all knee-deep in bad news about politics, the economy, and human relationships.

In light of this negative barrage, many of us feel the need for some hope, some good times, some way to get through the bad news.

We all want to have a reason to put a smile on our faces.

Oscar Wilde finishes his above quote with some advice Abraham (from the Old Testament, Genesis 17) took and some advice we can take: “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.”

By shifting our gaze and keeping our eyes on the stars and the unconditional covenant they represent, our outlook can change. I’ll be looking up so that I don’t even notice (too much) the gutter that I’m living in.

• One day, I’ll be exchanging this gutter for Heaven.
•  And while I’m here in this gutter, I’ll look at the One who made the unconditional covenant with His people.
• Our Heavenly Father has been, is, and will be eternally faithful to keeping His promises to us.

These are promises of safety, power over sinful desires, guidance, financial peace, and joy. The best promise is the forever relationship we can have with the Creator of the universe.

So, tonight instead of listening to the news before bedtime, I’ll be taking a nip outside to do some star-gazing and promise-remembering

 Your Turn . . .

• What do you do when you are in the “gutter”?
• Are you a star gazer? If yes, why?

Related Post . . .  “Don’t You Wonder Why the Stars Are in the Sky?”