The sins of some people are blatant and march them right into court. The sins of others don’t show up until much later. The same with good deeds. Some you see right off, but none are hidden forever. – 1 Timothy 5:24-25 (The Message)

People are interesting, aren’t they? There are some people who seem to live on the outside of their skins. They tell you all kinds of things that we would prefer they kept private, they make grand sweeping gestures with their hands, and they talk in loud voices. They seem to be determined that we know every detail of their lives.

Some people don’t tell us anything about themselves. When we ask them what they think about the price of tea in China, they smile sweetly and ask us what we think. They tend to blend into the background and don’t create any fuss over anything. They can often be forgotten when it comes to being chosen for things from political office to the local volleyball team.

The thing is that most people are seldom what they seem. The loud-talking, “larger than life” person may actually be an industrial spy searching for information on a competing company in our area. The quiet, shy person may actually be the founder of a multi-million-dollar organization that promotes the welfare of pandas.

We live our lives as best we can. Either we keep our focus on our feet, keeping our noses to the grindstone, or we focus on how best to accomplish our agendas. Those agendas can cover a broad arena. We may want to become the youngest person to walk around the world or the oldest person to swim the English Channel. Some of us live our lives a day at a time (or sometimes moment by moment) while others try to live for the future—always being aware of how our current actions could affect future choices.

We don’t often think of the impact that we make on others; but it’s ironic the new discoveries that are being made—by accident!  Someone decided to add an indoor swimming pool to their house, and a hidden storm shelter is found in their back yard. In trying to reinforce some infrastructure in a city, an entire palace is found, complete with furnishings. In plowing a field, ancient armor and swords are found. Somehow burial grounds are discovered with many children who died very young from a condition that seems to be genetic. We find remains of people who were sacrificed for some reason and it’s possible to get their fingerprints and to determine their last meal.

We are making amazing discoveries about ancient people almost every day, which kind of reinforces Timothy’s scripture. Our truths may not be discovered tomorrow, but at some point, down the road, we may get dug up either surrounded by our riches or holding a photograph of our mom. It’s something to think about.

Becky Gillette is a former teacher, newspaper reporter, and preacher who seeks to take an original approach to life’s lessons. She has recently published her first book, Jessie’s Corner: Something To Think About, which is now available for purchase. Based on several lesser-known scriptures from the Bible, this is a collection of articles which she wrote for a weekly newspaper.