Because: Reflecting on Life’s Next Chapter at the Dawn of 2026
Start your new year with inspiration and reflection on this "Because" episode of To Be and Do. Host Phil Amerson welcomes listeners into 2026 with wisdom, personal stories, and powerful scriptural insights. As he marks the beginning of his ninth decade, Phil Amerson shares the intimate moments of pondering what truly matters and how each of us might use the time ahead meaningfully.
The episode opens with Phil Amerson candidly reflecting on aging, new beginnings, and the universal yearning to make the next years count. He draws from the second letter to the Corinthians, specifically chapter six, where the Apostle Paul discusses living in the light of God's salvation and liberation. Listeners are treated to a fresh perspective as Phil Amerson recites both familiar and profound words: to be sincere in love, truthful in speech, and steadfast in both highs and lows—"sorrowful, yet always rejoicing," and "poor, yet making many rich."
Building on these spiritual reflections, Phil Amerson introduces the thoughts of his friend Michael Mather, author of Having Nothing, Yet Possessing Everything, who challenges the notion of needing strong leaders, stating, "strong people don't need strong leaders." This thought invites listeners to consider the innate strength within communities and the shared gifts that reside among all people—not just those in traditional leadership roles.
A highlight of the episode comes with Phil Amerson's mention of Clarence Jordan's Cotton Patch Version, which reimagines scripture in authentic, relatable terms. With phrases like "crooks who speak the truth" or "corpses with a lot of wiggle left," Jordan's translation leastens the barriers to connecting with these timeless messages, encouraging listeners to see themselves vibrantly alive and impactful, regardless of age or circumstance.
As Phil Amerson closes, he urges each of us to "go to the top"—to seek out what real, faithful believers are doing and to emulate that spirit in our own ways, echoing Jordan’s playful metaphor to "wiggle on" through the year.
Takeaway Points:
- Reflection and Renewal: The start of a new year is an opportunity to reflect on the past and look forward with hope and purpose.
- Inner Strength: True spiritual strength is communal and rooted in sincerity, truth, and steadfastness—not just in leadership.
- Scripture, Made Real: Fresh translations of scripture, like Clarence Jordan’s, can make ancient wisdom alive and relevant for today.
- Keep “Wiggling On”: No matter your age or status, there’s always a way to bring energy, joy, and riches to those around us.
- Learn from Others: Look around at those who live out their faith authentically and draw inspiration from their example.
Tune in to this guided meditation for the new year and set your intentions with thoughtful encouragement from Phil Amerson and his spiritual companions.
Phil Amerson [00:00:01]:
Greetings, everyone. This is Phil Amerson at the beginning of the new year 2026. And this is a. Because a small little meditation time. I recently had my 90th birthday. No, I didn't. My 80th birthday, I entered the ninth decade. Maybe I'll make 90, but if I don't, I've been thinking about what might be accomplished and that next years that I have, I think we all kind of reflect on that at the beginning of a new year.
Phil Amerson [00:00:34]:
I've been looking to the epistles, to Paul's letter to the Corinthians, the second letter to the Corinthians, the sixth chapter, in which he talks about what it means to live in terms of. Of God's salvation, God's liberation, God's freedom. And it comes down to the end there. Well, here's some familiar words. Maybe he says in the Holy Spirit, be sincere in love, be truthful in speech and in the power of God with the weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left, through glory and dishonor, through bad report and good report, Genuine, yet regarded as imposters, known yet regarded as unknown. Dying and yet we live on. Beaten and yet not killed. Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.
Phil Amerson [00:01:27]:
Poor, yet making many rich, having nothing and yet possessing everything. My friend Michael Mather wrote a book, having nothing, yet possessing everything. And in that he talks about the gifts of the people, not just of leaders. As a matter of fact, Michael recently shared with me a quote that said, strong people don't need strong leaders. Something to think about in 2026. But I thought about the translation of this passage that was given by Clarence Jordan. Here he is, the Cotton Patch Version. He did an interpretive study of Scripture.
Phil Amerson [00:02:11]:
Clarence was a remarkable man, a biblical scholar, Ph.D. in biblical studies. He also had a master's degree in agriculture. He decided to farm. And as he says, the way he best knew how to farm was to climb to the top of the barn and see what the other good farmers were doing. And that's what he would go do on any given day. But here's the way he translated some of that passage, the last few verses after saying, it's now the right time, It's Freedom Day. And then he says, we are crooks who speak the truth, babes who know the score, Corpses with a lot of wiggle left, flogged men who just won't die, mourners who are forever gleeful, paupers who.
Phil Amerson [00:03:01]:
Who enrich everybody, have nots, who have it all. So this 2026, I encourage you to go to the top of whatever you need to do to see what real, faithful believers are about and then demonstrate that you may be getting older. But like Clarence Jordan suggested, we can be corpses with with a lot of wiggle left. So in 2026, wiggle on. God bless Phil Amerson with the because moments.
