During a recent vacation to Arizona, Justin and I went on several hikes with a group of six. A pattern quickly emerged: two high schoolers usually led the way well ahead, while four adults followed behind.
On one hike, the four adults stopped to admire a massive saguaro cactus—nearly 30 feet tall, with more arms than we cared to count. After inspecting it and snapping a few photos, we commented on how unlikely it was that the “kids” had paused to appreciate this piece of God’s creation.
Later that afternoon, one of the energetic kids asked if I had seen the huge cactus with the crazy arms. Surprised, I responded, “Wait, you noticed it?” The reply: “Yes—we stopped to check it out.
I should have known better. Even though they were walking ahead of us and moving faster, they still appreciated the beauty. In fact, three times during the 90-minute hike, we saw the youngsters sitting and waiting for us to catch up. At one of the stops, they pointed out some things they had noticed at the resting spot.
Just because they were moving faster didn’t mean they were getting less out of the hike.
Given the same time and space, the youngsters were getting just as much—if not more—out of the experience.
Thrifty means using all of your resources to their fullest.
Merit Shop can mean that two people given the same resource are likely to receive different outcomes.
What matters is whether we are making the most of what we have. My responsibility is to maximize what I have been given. It is risky to assume I am superior because I’m doing it my way.
I had assumed that those doing things differently than me were achieving inferior outcomes.
Shame on me.
We all covered the same distance and appreciated the beauty of God’s creation. The only difference? I just did it more slowly.
