hcore

So, I've noticed that a lot of people abbreviate the word "hardcore" as "hcore." I don't know if you're supposed to pronounce that like hhh-core, as if you're exhaling while saying the word "core" or if you're supposed to say aych-core, as if you're pronouncing the letter "h" and then saying the word "core." Why do we abbreviate it anyway? Is it because typing out those extra three letters is THAT much of a pain or a burden? Or are you just being so hardcore that you can't bother yourself with typing out the full word, "hardcore"?

Okay, so why the big deal about the abbreviation? Honestly, I don't know. You can brev w/e you want :) But I want to discuss the potential meanings of the word "hcore"...and how we should live our lives by it.

Living Hard-core

As human beings, it's actually really hard for us to be truly hardcore. Yeah sure, society tells us to be lean mean fighting machines, but when it gets down to it, we love taking a break and curling up in our beds and doing absolutely nothing but sleep or watch TV. We're wired to be lazy, and we're wired to give up...all because of that little devil on your shoulder that tells you that you're not capable of really being hardcore - and yet, we constantly desire to be hardcore.

Proverbs 13:4 says, "The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied." There have been so many times this year where I have told myself right during midterms or finals season, I NEED TO BE HARDCORE. And so I'll try to not talk to anyone and bury my face in my book...only to fall asleep. Soon, my resolve breaks down and despite reading the same page in psychology 20 times, I feel like I have both learned nothing and yet know everything there is to know for the exam. I go in with a quick prayer, thinking I'm pretty well-prepared (but not enough to ace the exam, of course), and then a week later, I find out that I didn't do so well. How many times do we simply pray and hope we succeed in our mediocre efforts? And how many times does God let it slide and actually provide? But imagine how much more He would provide if we were disciplined and motivated.

Even though as humans, we can easily be susceptible to the enemy dragging us into laziness, God made us so that we are also fully able to be productive and diligent. He wants us to succeed, and He wants us to hear the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!" (Matthew 25:21)

And so He equipped us with His strength: Paul writes, "I can do everything through him who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:13). Even if it seems like it would be trivial to God, like doing well on a quiz or running a mile, He's willing to lend us some of His strength as long as we use it well. And even if it seems that the task God has placed on our shoulders seems impossible, He's willing to lend us some of His strength to see His plan fulfilled. Living hardcore should mean something - our challenges should be hard, our resolve should be solidified, our faith should be unwavering.

Living Humble-core

In the midst of striving single-mindedly and whole-heartedly after our goals, it can become very easy to fall into the trap of thinking only about ourselves - me, me, me, me, me. Myself. and I. After all, there's that phrase, "Every man for himself" or that song, "Anything you can do, I can do better; I can do anything better than you" (Michael Jordan and Mia Hamm!) It's hard for us to humble ourselves down and admit the strengths or acknowledge the interests of others.

I've seen so many people and heard of so many churches falling prey to pride, even though they claim to be after Jesus's own heart and spirit. Efforts start off as humble, "socially conscious" ones, trying to be altruistic and better the situation of others. I had a friend who started a non-profit in high school and devoted all her free time to helping others - I admired her servant heart and her selfless ambition (oxymoron?) - but as the end of senior year rolled around and she started getting recognized left and right by our school, the local community newspapers, magazines, and television stations, as well as some national competitions, all she could ever do was go around saying, "Hey, did you see me on TV?" "Did you hear about the prize my non-profit earned?" "They sent me another medal in the mail!" Of course, her heart for her kids was still there, but was there a humble core anymore? Not so much. Though she was Christian, she started focusing on the things she could do and was doing and stopped seeing what God could do and was doing.

We think we are so self-sufficient, not only to the point of not needing others, but even to the point of not needing God. Romans 12:3 says, "Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you." We are not as great as we think we are. All the good things that happen in our lives, even if we think that it's out of our own efforts - they come from Him. We just did a whole Bible study yesterday on Philippians 2:1-11, so if you're interested in how we should live humble-core, read that. Basically, if we keep Christ at the center of our lives, we are bound to have a humble core, because He was not only the most powerful, but He was the most humble.

Living Heart-core

It almost sounds redundant - obviously, the heart is at the core of our body, right? If our heart stops beating, we stop living. Even our figurative heart - the thing that contains all our emotions and hormones - is pretty much the core of our being. So what do I mean when I say "heart-core"?

Obviously, it's going to be that 4-letter word that is the point of 85% of popular songs, 20% of movies, and 100% of God. Love. We must have love at the core of our lives. If we have love, we basically have it all. And why is that? Because "God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him." (1 John 4:16) Love enables us to respect others, love enables us to die to ourselves and be humble around others, love even enables us to pursue God's purpose for us with passion and determination - because we love Him so much, we want to please Him.

The Beatles weren't kidding when they sang, "All you need is love," (da dada da da). Living heart-core puts the responsibility of direction in our lives on our heart, rather than our head. It's so easy to be guided by our head, by our own thoughts, and by what we think we know is wise. But wisdom comes from the heart, as it is written in several verses (Job 38:36, Proverbs 2:10, 14:33), and a heart that is filled with wisdom is also full of love, because God is love. It's important to assess the state of our hearts more consistently than the state of our minds, because we can always learn more with our minds - non-Christians can know the intellectual properties of God and the Bible and all that - even I, when I was of little faith, interpreted the Bible just fine because it was just like another work of literature to me. But it's so hard to learn more with our hearts, making living heart-core probably the most hcore way to live out of them all.

So yeah. Hard-core, humble-core, and heart-core. "Studying hcore" takes on a whole new meaning when you put those three in perspective, yeah?