Last year I blogged about the notion that Christmas is about our receiving, not giving. Grace is about what God gave us in the redemptive love of Jesus and the truth about ourselves found in receiving this gift. In the John 1 passage I focused on the grace and truth found in the Incarnate Christ.
I still like the Christmas story found in verse 14, but this year God drew my attention to another word in the verse, "beheld". "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory .."
While emphasis is on giving in remembrance of the gift we have been given in Jesus and on receiving because unless and until we receive the gift, we don't have it, I like to reflect on the idea of beholding His glory. Taking it on and sharing in it, now that's a cool idea. Maybe even awesome!!!!!
Appropriating the gift is the Christian life. Soaking in His Glory so others may see Him. Being lavished with the provisions and privileges of the Heavenlies, that sounds nice. Our life becomes not some expectation of God because we give to others or some legalistic obligation to do great things for God but to point to Him through Thanksgiving. That's what others should see in us.
Merry Christmas!!!
random musings from the heart of a CRAZY old man (dedicated to those who inspire me)
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
"Go with the wind"
One of the classic movies of all times is "Gone with the Wind". This story focuses on how the Civil War ended a Golden Era of culture for many peeps. This movie captures the idea of looking back at good times gone by, maybe even lamenting how things used to be.
If we change tense of verb "to go" to present tense, we have the notion of "go with the wind". Generally speaking this is not seen as a favorable way to view life or to live it. There might be an occasional good time, but not a lot of success. We are encouraged by others to have goals, to be grounded by a plan, to be anchored in a desired outcome, or we will be tossed to and fro by anything that comes our way. Our life would never account for anything much without goals.
We all are certainly taught this way, but what if our anchor in life is a wind, a special wind? What if we are supposed to order our life in a way that we are meant to be "tossed about" by something other than the typical anchors the world advances, such as rules, morality, ambition, and responsibility, all inherent in our human nature designed in us to gain acceptance from the world around us?
What if we are not intended to let goals control us, but to subject our decisions and actions to something beyond ourselves that defines and delivers "winning." This is what I would consider living STRATEGICALLY, but in a different way.
You may be saying now, "professor, what r u talking about?" and that would be a reasonable thought for you to have :-)
A friend of mine recently shared an interesting point. He asked, "since 'born again' is a very trendy saying in Christian circles, what did Jesus really say is the characteristic of being born again?" What would your answer be? It's easy enough to find out.
Jesus says (John 3: 8), "the wind blows where it pleases, you hear its sound but don't know from where it comes or where it goes, so it is with everyone that is born again (of the Spirit)". In other words one who is born again is one whose life is ordered by being blown around by a wind, not any wind of the world but the wind of a God Himself. Kingdom living is flexible, spontaneous, pliable and opportunistic; open to His prompting - led by the Sovereign King of the Universe. So what constrains the Kingdom life?
From this perspective Kingdom living is a strategic, not planned life. Life is free to flow with the unctions of God. It is not one anchored by anything that keeps it from being "blown around" by God. In trying to protect ourselves, drive out uncertainty in our life and make ourselves acceptable to others, we set goals anchored in fear, pride, worry, comfort, "right behavior", self-sufficiency and so on.
In doing so we often miss the opportunities to love others in bizarre and unusual ways. We miss the joy of knowing God better, what He is up to in our life and those he puts in our path. We miss the assurance that we are OK because God made us OK and not because of what we accomplished. We miss the power God has given us to be transformed and to transform the lives of others. We miss being satisfied by provisions of His grace.
That's all ..... just saying :-) :-)
If we change tense of verb "to go" to present tense, we have the notion of "go with the wind". Generally speaking this is not seen as a favorable way to view life or to live it. There might be an occasional good time, but not a lot of success. We are encouraged by others to have goals, to be grounded by a plan, to be anchored in a desired outcome, or we will be tossed to and fro by anything that comes our way. Our life would never account for anything much without goals.
You may be saying now, "professor, what r u talking about?" and that would be a reasonable thought for you to have :-)
A friend of mine recently shared an interesting point. He asked, "since 'born again' is a very trendy saying in Christian circles, what did Jesus really say is the characteristic of being born again?" What would your answer be? It's easy enough to find out.
Jesus says (John 3: 8), "the wind blows where it pleases, you hear its sound but don't know from where it comes or where it goes, so it is with everyone that is born again (of the Spirit)". In other words one who is born again is one whose life is ordered by being blown around by a wind, not any wind of the world but the wind of a God Himself. Kingdom living is flexible, spontaneous, pliable and opportunistic; open to His prompting - led by the Sovereign King of the Universe. So what constrains the Kingdom life?
From this perspective Kingdom living is a strategic, not planned life. Life is free to flow with the unctions of God. It is not one anchored by anything that keeps it from being "blown around" by God. In trying to protect ourselves, drive out uncertainty in our life and make ourselves acceptable to others, we set goals anchored in fear, pride, worry, comfort, "right behavior", self-sufficiency and so on.
In doing so we often miss the opportunities to love others in bizarre and unusual ways. We miss the joy of knowing God better, what He is up to in our life and those he puts in our path. We miss the assurance that we are OK because God made us OK and not because of what we accomplished. We miss the power God has given us to be transformed and to transform the lives of others. We miss being satisfied by provisions of His grace.
That's all ..... just saying :-) :-)
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
just what U mean when U say "Awesome"
I hang round young peeps a lot and one response they often have to something (anything) is "that's awesome". Sometimes they'll even capitalize it for emphasis. Urban online dictionary says "awesome" is an overused adjective to denote something is "cool" or even "great" and it loses its meaning and becomes lame because the noun it gets associated with is just ordinary to most observers, such as "awesome pizza".
Interestingly, the word "awesome" has been around a long time. It was even used by Samson's mother hundreds of years before Christ was born. However, it was not a cultural common slang word thrown around to say something is "cool". It had a special meaning and used sparingly because of the noun it was describing.
"So the woman came and told her husband, saying, 'a man of God came to me and His countenance was like the Angel of God, very awesome to me". Judges 13:6a
Here Jesus Himself visits a woman barren and without hope of child. He claims she will conceive and bear a child. A child that will be ordained to deliver the people from bondage. I would say this was a pretty big deal, not just cool, not just great pizza.
Maybe we should reserve the word "awesome" for things happening in our life that are orchestrated by God, not us. It is indeed awesome that God moves in our lives for His pleasure. (Philippians 2: 13)
Interestingly, the word "awesome" has been around a long time. It was even used by Samson's mother hundreds of years before Christ was born. However, it was not a cultural common slang word thrown around to say something is "cool". It had a special meaning and used sparingly because of the noun it was describing.
"So the woman came and told her husband, saying, 'a man of God came to me and His countenance was like the Angel of God, very awesome to me". Judges 13:6a
Here Jesus Himself visits a woman barren and without hope of child. He claims she will conceive and bear a child. A child that will be ordained to deliver the people from bondage. I would say this was a pretty big deal, not just cool, not just great pizza.
Maybe we should reserve the word "awesome" for things happening in our life that are orchestrated by God, not us. It is indeed awesome that God moves in our lives for His pleasure. (Philippians 2: 13)
Sunday, November 11, 2012
making sense of the "1%"
Much has been said in the recent political campaigns about the "1%". The reference is to the portion of the country that is well off, especially financially. While some have disdain for the well off and others believe that its those who are well off that drive our economy, the fact is no one does not really want to ultimately be in the top "1%". The human desire to do well and be happy is basic in all peeps. There's a debate in how that should occur between personal responsibility and entitlement, but everyone wants well being.
The issue debated is not that peeps do not want to be well off, its what is the source of well being. Yet, the debate on where well being originates is not a political one. The carnal mind assumes we get well by extracting from the world around us what it has to offer to meet our needs. Those that are successful at exchanging something for what they want then tend to be deemed well off.
In the parable of the lepers (Luke 17) ten lepers are healed or cleansed of their disease only by responding to Jesus' command. Yet, one leper who was cleansed returned to Jesus in gratitude and thanksgiving for he knew it was Jesus who not only cleansed him of his disease but also made him well. Being well is not just taking care of difficult circumstances, its receiving by faith the well being given only to us in Grace by Jesus.
Martin Luther says it like this, "God receives none but those who are forsaken, restore health to none but those who are sick, gives sight to none but the blind, and life to none but the dead. He does not give saintliness to any but sinners, nor wisdom to any but fools. In short He has mercy on none but the wretched and gives grace to none but those who are in disgrace."
The top "1%" (metaphoric for the well off) are ultimately those who through faith understand that the well being of our soul is solely a gift to us as we look to and receive provisions and privileges of the Heavenlies and not from the world around us.
Just saying ....
The issue debated is not that peeps do not want to be well off, its what is the source of well being. Yet, the debate on where well being originates is not a political one. The carnal mind assumes we get well by extracting from the world around us what it has to offer to meet our needs. Those that are successful at exchanging something for what they want then tend to be deemed well off.
In the parable of the lepers (Luke 17) ten lepers are healed or cleansed of their disease only by responding to Jesus' command. Yet, one leper who was cleansed returned to Jesus in gratitude and thanksgiving for he knew it was Jesus who not only cleansed him of his disease but also made him well. Being well is not just taking care of difficult circumstances, its receiving by faith the well being given only to us in Grace by Jesus.
Martin Luther says it like this, "God receives none but those who are forsaken, restore health to none but those who are sick, gives sight to none but the blind, and life to none but the dead. He does not give saintliness to any but sinners, nor wisdom to any but fools. In short He has mercy on none but the wretched and gives grace to none but those who are in disgrace."
The top "1%" (metaphoric for the well off) are ultimately those who through faith understand that the well being of our soul is solely a gift to us as we look to and receive provisions and privileges of the Heavenlies and not from the world around us.
Just saying ....
Monday, October 15, 2012
What makes a peep Godly?
What makes a man or woman a Godly peep? Some, like legalists and fundamentalists ("fundees" some call them), think that its being moral and ethical, doing the "right" things or at least always trying hard. I don't think so. This may be what other peeps think makes one Godly, but God has other ideas on this.
God redeems all the mess peeps make, we are always guilty of falling below His standard for us. We pick and chose what aspects of our short comings make us "feel" guilty. But we guilty almost all the time in ways we do not trust Him.
A Godly peep is one that believes what God says about Himself and then about the peep themself. A Godly peep trusts that what God put inside them is good and that all He wants is for the peep to play it out with "reckless abandon" (Paul calls it boldly)trusting God for the results.
A Godly man or woman trusts God for their soul's well-being, not what the world provides.
Just saying ......
God redeems all the mess peeps make, we are always guilty of falling below His standard for us. We pick and chose what aspects of our short comings make us "feel" guilty. But we guilty almost all the time in ways we do not trust Him.
A Godly peep is one that believes what God says about Himself and then about the peep themself. A Godly peep trusts that what God put inside them is good and that all He wants is for the peep to play it out with "reckless abandon" (Paul calls it boldly)trusting God for the results.
A Godly man or woman trusts God for their soul's well-being, not what the world provides.
Just saying ......
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
testosterone and faith: the story of Barak
Now some of you are probably saying now that this old man has finally gone crazy!! Why is he blogging about Obama and what has testosterone got to do with faith? These are certainly good questions and illustrates how our minds are biased to preconceived notions about what someone might say.
First, Barak is a character in the story of Deborah (Judges 4 and 5). He is also mentioned in the Faith Hall of Fame (Hebrews 11). So his story must be a lesson on faith. Lets' see.
Deborah, a Judge in the story of the Israelites, called upon Barak to deliver their peeps from the hand of oppression. What was Barak's response to Deborah. "If you will go with me I will go, if you will not go with me, I will not go." Barak, man up!! Where the testosterone we would expect to see from a man of faith? He needs help, security, more power? He doesn't have the faith it takes to move out on his calling? How come he is recognized by God for his faith??
Well, the answer to these questions are not explicitly provided in this story. But if I read between the lines and apply what I have learned over 60 plus years, I have a perspective. What I have found in my own faith walk is that when God calls me to move out and trust Him, its not about me getting enough testosterone to be brave, fearless, potent, capable, efficacious, etc.
Its knowing that God thru His son Jesus is doing His thing and inviting me to go along with Him. Its not what I have or can do that matters. Its not up to me and my courage to act. I must respond to God's call to move out with the same response as Barak, "God you must go with me!" Further, Deborah adds that if she goes with him, he will not receive the glory for the victory. Another great lesson in faith. Because our faith did not produce some super human capacity in us, but a full dependence on Him, who BTW gets all the Glory!!
maybe a little different perspective on faith that can cause you to ponder!!
First, Barak is a character in the story of Deborah (Judges 4 and 5). He is also mentioned in the Faith Hall of Fame (Hebrews 11). So his story must be a lesson on faith. Lets' see.
Deborah, a Judge in the story of the Israelites, called upon Barak to deliver their peeps from the hand of oppression. What was Barak's response to Deborah. "If you will go with me I will go, if you will not go with me, I will not go." Barak, man up!! Where the testosterone we would expect to see from a man of faith? He needs help, security, more power? He doesn't have the faith it takes to move out on his calling? How come he is recognized by God for his faith??
Well, the answer to these questions are not explicitly provided in this story. But if I read between the lines and apply what I have learned over 60 plus years, I have a perspective. What I have found in my own faith walk is that when God calls me to move out and trust Him, its not about me getting enough testosterone to be brave, fearless, potent, capable, efficacious, etc.
Its knowing that God thru His son Jesus is doing His thing and inviting me to go along with Him. Its not what I have or can do that matters. Its not up to me and my courage to act. I must respond to God's call to move out with the same response as Barak, "God you must go with me!" Further, Deborah adds that if she goes with him, he will not receive the glory for the victory. Another great lesson in faith. Because our faith did not produce some super human capacity in us, but a full dependence on Him, who BTW gets all the Glory!!
maybe a little different perspective on faith that can cause you to ponder!!
Sunday, October 7, 2012
"that your joy may be full"
First, what is joy? Is it the same as happiness (a word more familiar to most and a topic of discussion for many). Let me first say that joy is not the same as happiness. The root word for happiness is "hap" which is also root for "happenstance". In other words, happiness is the satisfaction one receives when their circumstances supply what one needs or desires. Joy is much different.
Each Beattitude starts with the little phrase "O the joy of being" not "happy are" (contrary to some translations). The word for joy here is "makarios" which means that satisfying the person's well being is completely self contained, not dependent on anything from one's environment. The statement in the topic of this post is found in scripture, most notably in John 16:24. The word for joy here is "chara", meaning an inner delight. So first we find that joy is an inner sense of well-being or delight.
Full is an interesting word. When I make a coke float I first fill the glass with ice cream until it is full. However, I then pour diet coke in so the glass must not have been full. It was just full of ice cream. Now as I pour in the DC the foam gets to the top but I can still pour in more DC. Eventually, the foam overflows and runs down the glass. At this point the glass is FULL, overflowing. This is the meaning of the word "full" in this passage, completely replete until it overflows. This is the degree in which our inner delight is full!!
Now that we understand the outcome, what is the source. Looking close at this passage we notice that Jesus did not say, "GIVE and your joy will full" or "SERVE and your joy will be full." Now there is nothing wrong with these actions but that is not what is at the heart of Jesus' call on our lives. He said "ask and you shall receive". There are two words that translate "ask". One focuses on trying to get a person to give us something. That is not this word. The word here for "ask" focuses on the thing we wish to be given. What is this thing? Earlier Jesus says "in that day you will not have to ask." That is, when He returns in His fullest, we will clearly see all that He is and Grace will reign and thus the thing we desire will be there and we don't have to request it.
So the source of full joy is receiving what He has for us by asking Him for it!! Now Steve, didn't Jesus tell the rich young ruler to give away all he has and didn't Jesus tell his disciples to go serve ("wash feet"). Yes, He did, but understand what He was really saying. To the rich young ruler He was saying that to receive eternal life, you must "let go" of what you depend on in this world for your well being. The emphasis here is not "giving" but "letting go." To His disciples He said "unless you receive me washing your feet, you can have no part of me." Once you have me living my life through you, you will naturally go and serve (wash others feet).
What makes one a "child of God", adopted into his Kingdom, available to all the provisions and privileges of the Heavenlies? Not giving, not serving but receiving the Grace that is set before us. Jesus says in John 1, "as many as received Him He gave them the authority to be children of God!!"
The source of inner delight, a soul of well being is receiving from God His Son who transforms us and our minds from carnal to Kingdom and redeems all that robs our joy!!!
something to ponder ......
Sunday, September 30, 2012
there's sex and then there's SEX
You probably asking "where the crazy old man going with this?" Good question!
The most common standard for whether sexual behavior is appropriate is marriage. If two peeps are married to each other, then sex is right. If not, sex is wrong. The problem with this is two fold. One is that there is no criteria for the appropriateness of sex inside marriage and the other is that sex outside marriage has become one of those "mega sins" that ruins lives through heaps of condemnation and guilt.
I think there's a criteria that at least can inform the first issue and provide more perspective on the second. Suppose we use the criteria of carnal mind and Kingdom mind to make sense of sexual behavior. Now this is really not my idea, I just borrowed it from Jesus :-)
This notion of two minds seems to be what He is getting at in The Sermon of the Mount. The 3 chapters in Matthew are focusing on the Kingdom of God and the provision Jesus has made for us to be in harmony with it.
Regarding sex, Jesus says that lust is adultery. Notice he did not say cheating on one's spouse is adultery. What is He saying? Lust is the desire for self gratification, particularly sensual pleasure. He doesn't give marriage as a qualifier for lust. Even in marriage, sex which is for self gratification is adulterous or unfaithfulness. Husbands who use their wife for personal pleasure and wives who use their husbands to get what they want are carnal minded. Jesus is saying when we use another person to satisfy self, we are unfaithful, but to whom? GOD!!!
God sent His Son to die for us so we could receive all of our well being from Him. When we use anything, especially another peep to meet our needs then we are not trusting that God is and will. This doesn't mean God does not wish for us to enjoy each other, but that should flow from a deep desire to know one another, not use each other. Knowing another deeply is the greatest joy of life. Jesus says that "real life," the one God designed for us, is knowing Him in deep intimacy. same with peeps!!
The context of these verses in Matt is this. No one can reach or maintain harmony with God's Kingdom (be righteous) by fulfilling the Law. Jesus went ahead and did that for us. Continuing to rely on law following for our well being is carnal minded. Jesus then goes through a series of ways we seek self (righteousness, gratification, exaltation, power, rights, etc.) while obeying Law. We are called to a different mind, the Kingdom mind. Here we make sense of ourself and our actions based on the Grace that has redeemed us. Self has been crucified with Christ and He wishes to live His life through us.
Regarding sex, this would mean that we can be the most exposed, the most vulnerable when we know our well being has been taken care of by Jesus. We do not need to use the world around us for us to be OK. Men use sex to get physical pleasure, women to get love and secure their relationship. James Dobson puts it this way, "women give sex to get love, men give love to get sex." By being free we are able to be intimate, to deeply know and be known. This is the source of our greatest joy. Marriage is not a license to use each other for self gain (in way that is a form of prostitution) but our calling to deeply love another God has chosen for us to love.
So, there's sex (carnal minded), which is based on social exchange where one gives another their sexual self in exchange for self gratification, and there's SEX (Kingdom minded) where two peeps trust God enough for their well being that they can share their deepest, most vulnerable aspects of their self with another whom God called them to love.
Just saying ....
The most common standard for whether sexual behavior is appropriate is marriage. If two peeps are married to each other, then sex is right. If not, sex is wrong. The problem with this is two fold. One is that there is no criteria for the appropriateness of sex inside marriage and the other is that sex outside marriage has become one of those "mega sins" that ruins lives through heaps of condemnation and guilt.
I think there's a criteria that at least can inform the first issue and provide more perspective on the second. Suppose we use the criteria of carnal mind and Kingdom mind to make sense of sexual behavior. Now this is really not my idea, I just borrowed it from Jesus :-)
This notion of two minds seems to be what He is getting at in The Sermon of the Mount. The 3 chapters in Matthew are focusing on the Kingdom of God and the provision Jesus has made for us to be in harmony with it.
Regarding sex, Jesus says that lust is adultery. Notice he did not say cheating on one's spouse is adultery. What is He saying? Lust is the desire for self gratification, particularly sensual pleasure. He doesn't give marriage as a qualifier for lust. Even in marriage, sex which is for self gratification is adulterous or unfaithfulness. Husbands who use their wife for personal pleasure and wives who use their husbands to get what they want are carnal minded. Jesus is saying when we use another person to satisfy self, we are unfaithful, but to whom? GOD!!!
God sent His Son to die for us so we could receive all of our well being from Him. When we use anything, especially another peep to meet our needs then we are not trusting that God is and will. This doesn't mean God does not wish for us to enjoy each other, but that should flow from a deep desire to know one another, not use each other. Knowing another deeply is the greatest joy of life. Jesus says that "real life," the one God designed for us, is knowing Him in deep intimacy. same with peeps!!
The context of these verses in Matt is this. No one can reach or maintain harmony with God's Kingdom (be righteous) by fulfilling the Law. Jesus went ahead and did that for us. Continuing to rely on law following for our well being is carnal minded. Jesus then goes through a series of ways we seek self (righteousness, gratification, exaltation, power, rights, etc.) while obeying Law. We are called to a different mind, the Kingdom mind. Here we make sense of ourself and our actions based on the Grace that has redeemed us. Self has been crucified with Christ and He wishes to live His life through us.
Regarding sex, this would mean that we can be the most exposed, the most vulnerable when we know our well being has been taken care of by Jesus. We do not need to use the world around us for us to be OK. Men use sex to get physical pleasure, women to get love and secure their relationship. James Dobson puts it this way, "women give sex to get love, men give love to get sex." By being free we are able to be intimate, to deeply know and be known. This is the source of our greatest joy. Marriage is not a license to use each other for self gain (in way that is a form of prostitution) but our calling to deeply love another God has chosen for us to love.
So, there's sex (carnal minded), which is based on social exchange where one gives another their sexual self in exchange for self gratification, and there's SEX (Kingdom minded) where two peeps trust God enough for their well being that they can share their deepest, most vulnerable aspects of their self with another whom God called them to love.
Just saying ....
Sunday, September 16, 2012
"attitudes" - one of the most most ill conceived concepts
Yesterday I was driving back from a round of golf at Keeowee Vineyards with a friend who had been and still is somewhat successful at turning around failed nuclear power plants. He's a very smart Purdue engineer that has made lots of money over his life time. He asked me about my teaching and what strategy I used. He has been involved over his career teaching "root cause" to nuclear engineers. After a few minutes of discussion, he said, "I just focus simply on their "attitude" in order to get results I want.
This statement is very common among executives as their view of managing human behavior is like "finger nails on the chalkboard" to me. So the prof in me kicked in and I began to explain (probably more like lecture) the error ("stinking thinking") of this perspective.
My response was that "attitude" by itself has no real meaning, it must have a target such as an object (ice cream) or a behavior (eating ice cream). Then in order to be motivational, the outcome of the desired behavior not only has to be favorable but also has to be salient to the worker.
It dawned on me that he had two totally different rounds of golf at Vineyards thurs (85) and sat (77). So I said, "You had expressed earlier and often that your attitude toward playing Vineyards was negative. But I know your attitude towards playing competitive golf is positive. So, first of all, no one can just say, "John, you have a bad attitude" without attaching a target of your attitude to the statement. Second, how come you played differently on different days. Maybe, your attitude toward Vineyards was more salient (dominant) on thurs and not so much on Sat relative to your desire to play well?"
This is what we have to deal with in the work place when we deal with employee attitudes. When we think or say, "the problem is your attitude" what we really mean is their attitude needs to be more positive toward the behaviors and associated outcomes that WE believe are important for success. So as a leader we are trying to shape the targets of their attitudes so they become more positive towards the behaviors we want and then we have to make the outcome salient to them for the attitude to have behavioral (motivational) effect.
I couldn't remember if I had blogged on this subject but its my lesson for class tomorrow, so John gave me a blog and some lecture material for class - just is!!!
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
So, what is it you do?
One of the first questions others ask when we meet someone is "what do you do?" There are at least two issues with the way our culture deals with this question. One issue has to do with identity and value. Too often we associate who we are with what we do. This creates esteem problems as this perspective places a performance based emphasis on how we value our self. There is a lot more to this and I have blogged about this issue before.
The second issue is that "what we do" is not our job. Our job focuses on tasks that need to be accomplished in a positional role one holds inside a specific organization. So, although we hold jobs as salesman, lawyer, teacher, accountant, nurse, and such, that is not what we really do. Confused?
One day my son decided he was going to learn how to describe what he really does. While he is a financial actuary and is more recently a risk management executive, that does not describe what he does. He determined that he was a problem solver and an implementer of change. He figures out how someone or an organization could improve things and helps them put the change in place. So, the specific job and company in which he works simply provides the context for what he really does.
I did the same self assessment around my early 40's. Although I had made a career in managing information technology, I too was mainly a change agent. The major gift I had was to help other peeps understand complex things that in doing so, could make their life work better. This became very apparent to me as I changed venues and went from the business world to academia. I found that I was still helping peeps understand complex concepts that would make their life work better. Only this time it is students and not business peeps. Regardless of the job and its context, I was doing the same things.
Thus, I believe it is useful for peeps to reflect on what it is they really do, not the job they hold. A fulfilled life is one in which we play out what has been put in us. That is what we really do and the better we understand that, the less pressure we will feel about what specific job we have or what company we work for or what title we hold or money we make AND the more we will enjoy being who we are because we are doing what we were designed to do.
something to ponder ......
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
hard work, personal responsibility and winning
This year's political discourse has drawn a clear distinction between success from individual hard work underwritten by personal responsibility AND government's need to determine how "society's wealth" (wealth does not belong to individuals but to society) is to be shared with those who are not having such success. The candidates in the Presidential campaign are iconic examples of each side - Romney the venture capitalist and Obama, the social justice champion. Each side uses the contrast as their strategy to woo the public to their side.
The recent movie "2016" is an attempt to explain to the public where Obama's social justice world view (mental model) originated. The main theme is how Obama developed an anti-colonialism view from third world countries occupied and "exploited" by wealthy nations of Europe. Obama believes that American colonialism (a form of venture capitalist) uses its wealth to oppress and suppress the unfortunate who are powerless against such aggression (the rich get richer at expense of poor). Thus, Obama is dedicated his life to protecting those who are "victims" of wealth creators. Of course, pro colonialists believe that the result of investment and wealth creation raises the standard of living for all peeps within the community which is the target of the colonialists' (capitalists') investments.
For Christians, this can be an interesting challenge. Polls show a majority of evangelicals favor Romney and conservative views that government is not the provider of work and wealth, but free markets are. These peeps cling to the founding father's view of limited government and Judeo-Christian work ethic. However, liberals point to the greed and injustice that results from free (unregulated) peeps duking it out in the market. After all, economist Milton Friedman acknowledged that greed is what drives free markets. So, if capitalism is carnally minded, based on social exchange, how is it that the Kingdom mind reconciles itself to the market system.
We know that Scripture tells us that God honors work and its a "good" thing for us to do. But seldom do we stop and consider God's view of work along with the wealth we create through our work. How does God view competition, winning and the material prosperity we desire (seek) that flows from success at work?
It may not be easy to find God's view on His desire for our material prosperity while there are many places Scripture reminds us that God's purpose for us is to live by faith, not by becoming self-sufficient in this world. "Do not store up treasures on earth." Does looking at ourselves from God's view point present to us a dilemma?
Peeps ask, "does God favor Tim Tebow when he competes in football?" and "is God on Chick-fil-a's side?" To what degree is it difficult for evangelicals to defend to liberals that competition and capitalism is Godly when faith, not greed and self sufficiency, is God's call on our lives and God's glory is our ambition?
We find in the Book of Daniel that God provided Daniel and his buds everything they needed to win in their difficult competitive circumstances. God gave them insight and wisdom to impress the King and win his favor. So it's not beyond God to want us to win (sometimes). But we must look further into Daniel and see that he purposed in his own heart to not be contaminated by the godless culture of Babylon. While God desired and enabled Daniel to win, Daniel's focus of winning was not for his own personal benefit but for God's purposes with His people.
So, as evangelicals campaign and vote for personal responsibility and free market opportunities to work and succeed (shouting "we did build it"), we must remember that the material prosperity that comes to us from our work is not the point. God ordained government for protection and civil order,and the church for mercy and compassion. We should see our wealth as God's grace, a gift to freely share with others in need and not to build our own self-sufficiency. Its this message of the evangelicals that liberals are missing. Maybe because we miss it sometimes too!!
Just something to ponder ......
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Futility of pursuit, THE human tragedy
Have you ever pursued someone because you wished to give of yourself to them, maybe encourage them, spend time with them, make yourself known to them, and maybe even to give your heart to them? But they would not receive you. How devastating it is!! maybe you have been the one pursued, only to shut the door on the relationship.
I was thinking recently, as I often do as an aging philosopher, that most peeps do not have enough love in their life. While even in a crowded life, many feel alone. Why is it then that peeps too often keep others at arms length, shut the door on those who pursue relationship with them. I am sure there are many reasons, but it seems a tragedy that love gets "left on the street" or "hung out to dry" when there is not enough of love going around. Maybe some peeps don't feel they deserve love or its just to risky to receive love. The carnal mind associates obligation with receiving, maybe that's it??
From a Kingdom perspective the tragedy is even more grave. God pursues peeps. Now we can debate whether He pursues only His elect or every peep, that's not my point here. We know He pursues and we know some peeps shut the door on Him. Deep reformed theology might say that human peeps can't resist God's pursuit. Maybe, maybe not, but we know that we ourselves have resisted at times and we know others who seem to make a life of resisting. Consistent, life long resisting ushers in God's wrath (Romans 1).
God's wrath is not God getting mad at us and hurling fireballs our way. No, its simply God ceasing to pursue us. Maybe He sees His pursuit as futile, as we sometimes eventually do on a human plane. I don't know!! I don't know all of the mind of God. BUT, if and when He ceases to pursuit a peep, that peep is eternally left to a life without God and His pursuit of Grace (that what Hell is).
That is THE human tragedy.
we peeps must learn to receive from one another and foremost we MUST let go and receive God's pursuit of us!! maybe these are somehow connected??
Just saying .....
I was thinking recently, as I often do as an aging philosopher, that most peeps do not have enough love in their life. While even in a crowded life, many feel alone. Why is it then that peeps too often keep others at arms length, shut the door on those who pursue relationship with them. I am sure there are many reasons, but it seems a tragedy that love gets "left on the street" or "hung out to dry" when there is not enough of love going around. Maybe some peeps don't feel they deserve love or its just to risky to receive love. The carnal mind associates obligation with receiving, maybe that's it??
From a Kingdom perspective the tragedy is even more grave. God pursues peeps. Now we can debate whether He pursues only His elect or every peep, that's not my point here. We know He pursues and we know some peeps shut the door on Him. Deep reformed theology might say that human peeps can't resist God's pursuit. Maybe, maybe not, but we know that we ourselves have resisted at times and we know others who seem to make a life of resisting. Consistent, life long resisting ushers in God's wrath (Romans 1).
God's wrath is not God getting mad at us and hurling fireballs our way. No, its simply God ceasing to pursue us. Maybe He sees His pursuit as futile, as we sometimes eventually do on a human plane. I don't know!! I don't know all of the mind of God. BUT, if and when He ceases to pursuit a peep, that peep is eternally left to a life without God and His pursuit of Grace (that what Hell is).
That is THE human tragedy.
we peeps must learn to receive from one another and foremost we MUST let go and receive God's pursuit of us!! maybe these are somehow connected??
Just saying .....
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Faith is getting past the arrogance of legalism
"Our worries and concerns are expressions of our inability to leave unresolved questions unresolved and open-ended situations open-ended." Henri Nouwen, "Reaching Out"
Recently I posted insights from Taleb's book "Black Swan" on the arrogance associated with "know what" knowledge that gives us an illusion we can link cause and effect and predict the future. While I admitted I do not know Taleb's view of God, he simply restated what James told the early Christians. In Chapter 4 James says "come now, you who say, 'today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell and make a profit,' whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow.... now you boast in your arrogance and all such boasting is evil."
Now these verses are placed within the context of James' expose on faith and how it works. Immediately after these verses James says, "therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin." Often Christian peeps take this last verse as a stand alone marching order to "doing good." For many this verse gets a behavioral focus of sin and a prescription for legalism. But for anyone to apply this verse to the "goodness" of what we do implies we have a circumstantial "know what" of the actions that produce "good". This "know what" knowledge is the target of James preceding notion of our arrogance in thinking we know what God is up to.
My small group was studying this Scripture yesterday and it caused great discussion and pondering. How was this last verse related to the immediately preceding ones? So, word nerd that I am, I did my word study last night and found some interesting insights I would like to share with you.
I was particularly interested in the Greek word for "know" - it is not episteme (cognitive awareness) or gnosis (intimate relationship), but eido (perceive or understand).
I then went to word for "good", there are 3 Greek words in this family of the word used here, first there is elegant or polite, then there is beauty but not at highest form and then there is the highest form of "beauty" translated as "harmonious completeness" and that's the word translated "good" here.
Then there is the word "to do". In most of James the word used simply means action taken or deed. The word used here means the result or accomplishment of our actions.
The word for sin is the bigger notion of missing the mark, not the more micro notion of behavioral transgression. "Missing the mark" refers to dominance of the carnal mind and living beneath the privileges and provisions of the Heavenlies.
So we might see just from the literal meaning of the Greek words this verse may best be translated as
"to him that understands what it is to be in complete harmony (Kingdom minded), and does not, misses the mark."
If we put all of this together, we see that James is telling followers of Christ that being right with God is living in the faith that God is doing something in and around us that we do not know. Thus, its a form of arrogance to believe we can be in harmony with the Heavenlies (righteous) by living an illusion that we are in control of our righteousness by what we do (legalism).
So, instead of obsessing over moral codes of conduct (nothing wrong with these except its carnal minded - missing the mark), we should seek a sense-making not based in our own knowledge and understanding of the circumstances, but a Kingdom mind that claims a deep trust that God is in control, accomplishing His purposes, and loves us beyond our imagination. As David Platt says about Radical, "work then becomes the fruit of faith."
One application might be that we are in harmony with the Heavenlies (Kingdom minded) AS we trust God with the outcomes of the Presidential election or our personal finances, not when we are trying to "do good things" today. In other words, trying to be "a good person" while worrying profusely about the future or getting our feelings hurt is arrogant and sinful. That's when Kingdom mindedness is radical!!
just something to ponder ......
Recently I posted insights from Taleb's book "Black Swan" on the arrogance associated with "know what" knowledge that gives us an illusion we can link cause and effect and predict the future. While I admitted I do not know Taleb's view of God, he simply restated what James told the early Christians. In Chapter 4 James says "come now, you who say, 'today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell and make a profit,' whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow.... now you boast in your arrogance and all such boasting is evil."
Now these verses are placed within the context of James' expose on faith and how it works. Immediately after these verses James says, "therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin." Often Christian peeps take this last verse as a stand alone marching order to "doing good." For many this verse gets a behavioral focus of sin and a prescription for legalism. But for anyone to apply this verse to the "goodness" of what we do implies we have a circumstantial "know what" of the actions that produce "good". This "know what" knowledge is the target of James preceding notion of our arrogance in thinking we know what God is up to.
My small group was studying this Scripture yesterday and it caused great discussion and pondering. How was this last verse related to the immediately preceding ones? So, word nerd that I am, I did my word study last night and found some interesting insights I would like to share with you.
I was particularly interested in the Greek word for "know" - it is not episteme (cognitive awareness) or gnosis (intimate relationship), but eido (perceive or understand).
I then went to word for "good", there are 3 Greek words in this family of the word used here, first there is elegant or polite, then there is beauty but not at highest form and then there is the highest form of "beauty" translated as "harmonious completeness" and that's the word translated "good" here.
Then there is the word "to do". In most of James the word used simply means action taken or deed. The word used here means the result or accomplishment of our actions.
The word for sin is the bigger notion of missing the mark, not the more micro notion of behavioral transgression. "Missing the mark" refers to dominance of the carnal mind and living beneath the privileges and provisions of the Heavenlies.
So we might see just from the literal meaning of the Greek words this verse may best be translated as
"to him that understands what it is to be in complete harmony (Kingdom minded), and does not, misses the mark."
If we put all of this together, we see that James is telling followers of Christ that being right with God is living in the faith that God is doing something in and around us that we do not know. Thus, its a form of arrogance to believe we can be in harmony with the Heavenlies (righteous) by living an illusion that we are in control of our righteousness by what we do (legalism).
So, instead of obsessing over moral codes of conduct (nothing wrong with these except its carnal minded - missing the mark), we should seek a sense-making not based in our own knowledge and understanding of the circumstances, but a Kingdom mind that claims a deep trust that God is in control, accomplishing His purposes, and loves us beyond our imagination. As David Platt says about Radical, "work then becomes the fruit of faith."
One application might be that we are in harmony with the Heavenlies (Kingdom minded) AS we trust God with the outcomes of the Presidential election or our personal finances, not when we are trying to "do good things" today. In other words, trying to be "a good person" while worrying profusely about the future or getting our feelings hurt is arrogant and sinful. That's when Kingdom mindedness is radical!!
just something to ponder ......
Sunday, August 12, 2012
the discovery of the blessings of cheese toast
I blogged recently about discovery and how it comes from dealing well with uncertainty as opposed to moving forth from knowledge in purposeful rational inquiry. One example is the story of how Pop's cheese toast progressed to where its now the favorite request of my grand kids when they visit.
A number of years ago we were in Amsterdam keeping Doug's kids while they were on a trip to Italy. One of Pop's main duties is cooking b'fast. I knew Sloan really liked cheese toast so I wanted to make it for her one morning. My skills at cheese toast was to take slices of bread, put pre-sliced cheese on top and toast it in the oven with the broiler on.
For those of you that know me well know that mechanical things are not my forte. As usual, I could not figure out how to turn the oven on, must less the broiler (it was Amsterdam after all). I generally become frustrated when I can't figure things out but I was more mature then than most of my earlier years. I was not to be defeated. I knew how to turn the gas burners on the stove top so why now make the toast in a skillet. There was some olive oil sitting out (random) so I dabbled a bit in the skillet not knowing exactly what it would do. I had no problem toasting the bread side but how would I melt the cheese? Without any rational inquiry, I just flipped the bread over to where the cheese was face down in the skillet. I left it there for a minute and flipped it back over. BooYah, melted cheese and toasted bread - CHEESE TOAST!!
Sloan loved it, she says it was her favorite now.
When I got home, I bought a griddle. The next time the grand kids came, I spread some olive oil, some butter and sprinkled some cheese on the griddle. I then sliced some cheddar from a block and put some it on top of the bread (a multi-grain I just randomly picked up at Publix). I placed the bread side on the sizzling butter, oil and cheese and left it for a few minutes. I then flipped the bread over to singe the cheese on top. BooYah, an even better version of the cheese toast.
Now, on every visit I buy loafs of Public Multi-grain bread, pounds of cheddar cheese, a bottle of olive oil and make cheese toast for everyone - EVERY MORNING. What a way to bless my family and oh how it blesses me.
I never could have discovered this way to make cheese toast without a series of unplanned, serendipitous events. While I may have desired to make Sloan cheese toast, making a plan to do "what I know" was not the factor that led to the final outcome and its benefit in our lives, lasting memories of Pop for the kids!! Blessings flowed from a series of random events.
just saying ...
Friday, August 10, 2012
visit it often
"I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses ...... and He walks with me and He talks with me and He tells me I am His own"
The Manor House, Nantucket
Where do you go to have the moment with God where He assures you that you are one of His own? It might not be a physical location like a garden (methaphor in this song), it may be where you go in your pyschi to receive the joy of being adored by Him. But wherever it might be, VISIT IT OFTEN!!
Take it from a crazy old man, no one will lay down at the end of his/her life and regret they went there TOO often.
Just something to ponder .....
The Manor House, Nantucket
Where do you go to have the moment with God where He assures you that you are one of His own? It might not be a physical location like a garden (methaphor in this song), it may be where you go in your pyschi to receive the joy of being adored by Him. But wherever it might be, VISIT IT OFTEN!!
Take it from a crazy old man, no one will lay down at the end of his/her life and regret they went there TOO often.
Just something to ponder .....
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
"its not what we know that counts, its ..."
In my first day of a graduate Mathematics class the professor said, "Math is NOT about what we know, but what we can find out from what we know." This was my first conscious introduction to the value of discovery versus the value of accumulation of knowledge. Taleb writes a lot about discovery in his book "Black Swan" as a beneficial outcome of uncertainty vs the calculated by-product of rational inquiry.
The problem with rational inquiry is it's limited by our nature. We tend to extrapolate linearly, it's what our mind does. We are constrained by confirmation bias so that we tend to draw conclusions from data that justifies what we already believe, and so on.
Taleb suggests most scientists and engineers "develop tools for the pleasure of developing tools, not to induce nature to reveal it's secrets." This is especially true when dealing with social implications of technology. It's the impact from application of previous inventions that transforms society more so than the intention associated with the invention itself. Sir Francis Bacon posited that the most important advances are the least predictable ones, those lying "out of the path of the imagination."
Watson invented the computer with no idea of "googling", social networks, or data mining. He actually PREDICTED there would be no need for more than a handful of computers. Penicillium was discovered by accident. Charles Townes invented the laser just to satisfy his desire to split light beams, that's all. He admitted at the end of his life he never had retinas in his mind, given the value of the laser to do surgical stitching on detached retinas is significant to society.
Then there is the story of Viagra. Pfizer was developing a drug to increase blood flow for hypertension, but research found that the rats were having erections. Thus, the beginning of ED treatment for millions of aging men. I have a friend who is a retired cardiologists. He was at the conference where this research finding was presented in the 80's. He immediately bought a great deal of Pfizer stock, which provided much of his wealth for retirement. All serendipitous events - totally unpredictable and seemingly random events.
While planning is usually helpful in 'know how' events like building a house, its "know what" situations like discovery where planning is problemnatic. The most defining principle of discovery is that we search for what we know (India) and find something we didn't know was there (America). This suggests that we should possibly spend more of our attention on awareness of unexpected events and making sense of these Black Swans than planning, which depends on extending our current knowledge via limited abilities to predict.
Of course this is foreign to our nature or we would already be practicing discovery.
Something worth pondering ......
The problem with rational inquiry is it's limited by our nature. We tend to extrapolate linearly, it's what our mind does. We are constrained by confirmation bias so that we tend to draw conclusions from data that justifies what we already believe, and so on.
Taleb suggests most scientists and engineers "develop tools for the pleasure of developing tools, not to induce nature to reveal it's secrets." This is especially true when dealing with social implications of technology. It's the impact from application of previous inventions that transforms society more so than the intention associated with the invention itself. Sir Francis Bacon posited that the most important advances are the least predictable ones, those lying "out of the path of the imagination."
Watson invented the computer with no idea of "googling", social networks, or data mining. He actually PREDICTED there would be no need for more than a handful of computers. Penicillium was discovered by accident. Charles Townes invented the laser just to satisfy his desire to split light beams, that's all. He admitted at the end of his life he never had retinas in his mind, given the value of the laser to do surgical stitching on detached retinas is significant to society.
Then there is the story of Viagra. Pfizer was developing a drug to increase blood flow for hypertension, but research found that the rats were having erections. Thus, the beginning of ED treatment for millions of aging men. I have a friend who is a retired cardiologists. He was at the conference where this research finding was presented in the 80's. He immediately bought a great deal of Pfizer stock, which provided much of his wealth for retirement. All serendipitous events - totally unpredictable and seemingly random events.
While planning is usually helpful in 'know how' events like building a house, its "know what" situations like discovery where planning is problemnatic. The most defining principle of discovery is that we search for what we know (India) and find something we didn't know was there (America). This suggests that we should possibly spend more of our attention on awareness of unexpected events and making sense of these Black Swans than planning, which depends on extending our current knowledge via limited abilities to predict.
Of course this is foreign to our nature or we would already be practicing discovery.
Something worth pondering ......
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
stuck in a "run down" condition
I walk by this house every time I walk to the beach at Nantucket. For over 10 years this house has looked the same, run down. Today a thought came to me that just needed blogging, this house is stuck in a run down condition. I not sure why, but obviously the owner has no aspiration for the house. Paint on the windows is peeling and plants are growing up around the house. I wonder if the house "feels" hopeless.
I then thought about peeps I know and have known who have been stuck in a "run down" condition (maybe even myself at times). I don't think it is a function of age. I have seen students stuck and I watched my father-in-law age to 93 who never seemed stuck short of the last few weeks of his life, even in the midst of circumstances (health) that was not going to change. I saw him motivated to get a dog at 91, he wanted to buy a new gun and a horse just a month before he died. While the things he had enjoyed to do in his life were no longer available to him, he still loved to take "road trips", to go places and see things. He continued to aspire to something and never got stuck.
So maybe the answer is in the way peeps manage their aspirations. Hopelessness (being stuck in a run down condition) need not be a result of circumstances. Its a matter of whether one's spirit can continue to reach out, to keep moving and growing, to stay interested in something. These are like a paint job for the soul, like weeding the flower beds and cutting the grass. Peeps who continue to scratch the itches of their soul will never be stuck.
Somehow this run down house (some would now call a shack) reminded me of all the things I can still aspire to, even as my possibilities diminish with age. Maybe this house can inspire U 2??
just saying .......
Friday, July 27, 2012
making sense of leadership
I sittin' here in my study staring at my bookcase. For the most part, many of the books are about leadership. There's "R E Lee on Leadership", "The Ascent of a Leader", a book by John Maxwell, Coach K, Rudy Guliani, and Truett Cathy and on and on. I think leadership may be the most over explored and under understood topic around. Have U ever wondered why we have some much written and presented on leadership yet it may be the greatest crisis of our time. The upcoming Presidential campaign is largely about leadership, but hardly anybody gets it.
see what I mean
Do we really know much about leadership? Can we only recognize it from someone's results. No one thought much about Coach K's leadership until he won a bunch of titles. Was he not a great leader before he was soooo successful? The debate on whether leaders are born or made gets lots of discussion but little resolution. How do you make sense of LEADERSHIP?
He's the skinny on my take of leadership. First of all, leaders at any level do primarily two things: (1) make decisions about how to win (strategy) in a "hostile environment" and (2) influence peeps (followers) to act in accordance with that strategy. Developing strategy is a whole big area I'll leave for later, but I will offer a brief perspective on the second point of leadership.
For any peep that has the responsibility for the behavior of others, he/she has only two options: the behavior of others can be induced or it can be inspired. The choice must be made for each behavior. Thus a leader has to do both and choose which approach to take depending on the behavior in question.
Inducing behavior requires setting up structures of exchange for the behavior. These include things like policies, rules, rewards, job descriptions, and other forms of controls. This approach is based on Social Exchange theory which states that peeps will exchange behavior for extrinsic benefits as long as there remains equilibrium in the exchange. A leader's ability to induce behavior comes from one's positional power over another the follower's desire to maximize pleasure and minimize pain for themself. These types of leadership actions are normally called managing.
Inspiring behavior requires relationships. Here the leader must invade the intrinsics of another so that the follower determines from within that the result of the behavior is meaningful, purposeful, or enjoyable. Inspiration comes from the leader's personal power (referent or expert) over the follower and involves establishing a vision that is shared by the followers, thereby gaining commitment of followers to something beyond themselves.
Let me illustrate. As a professor I have responsibility to influence student behavior. One such behavior is attending class. I decided that I should induce that behavior. Its easier and I have a better likelihood of success. Thus, I set up rewards and punishment for class attendance that are sufficiently salient to get students to come to class (I experience an 85-90% attendance rate). I also desire that the students ATTEND to class when they are there. This is more difficult to induce unless I gave pop quizes every 10 minutes. I find i must inspire students to listen and engage the topics. This is much more difficult, especially since building relationships with 25 - 35 students is not easy. To inspire I "invade" their intrinsics for learning. Make it fun, appeal to its purpose, help them create a vision, and provide regular feedback to each to encourage them and show that i care. I must show them my own passion for the topics, that is contagious. THIS IS WHAT WE NORMALLY CALL LEADERSHIP.
In summary, both types of actions are required by the one responsible for others' behavior. The trick is knowing which behaviors to induce (and how) and which to inspire (and how). You won't read this approach in any book on leadership but its a condensed conclusion I have come to from both being a leader for many years and studying it's moving parts.
I hope this helps --- it's certainly worth pondering .....
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Faith and works OR Faith vs works
Yesterday in small group time time with my buds we were reading in James chapter 4. Most peeps know this for its famous "faith without works is dead". This is not too difficult to reconcile with salvation by grace through faith doctrines of Paul when we grasp Jame's notion that without acting on the faith we have, our faith has no power to life.
The problem I faced with James 4 came in verse 24 where James proclaims that "by works man is justified and not by faith only." Here James is dealing with our justification, not the power or testimony of our faith. This position by James seemed to me to be in direct conflict with Romans 3:24 (ironically, same verse number), "being justified gratuitously by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." The key to understanding this "contradiction" may be found earlier in Romans 3 where Paul says, "by the works of the law no flesh can be justified."
A closer look reveals that Paul is saying that in no way can a peep's human nature (flesh) make him/her in harmony with the heavenlies or right before a Holy God. Our nature is flawed and can never satisfy the behavioral demands of the Law. James is not focusing on our works (actions) as satisfying God's Law. What he seems to be positing is that it's peeps acting out their faith (as opposed to obeying the Law) that makes them right before God. This may be a subtle but it is a profound difference and not a contradiction. In fact, James seems to be saying what Paul says in Romans 14:23 where we find "anything that is not of faith is sin (enmity with God)."
Thus, the standard for justification is not some behavioral code (ethics, morality, law) but faith in God's love and sovereign power. This is a difficult distinction for Christians steeped in legalism. James is completing what Paul says in Romans 3, not contradicting it. Both encourage us to understand that it's acting on what we believe about God, who He is, what He's done though Jesus, etc. that puts us in right stead with Him. In other words, how do we respond to difficult circumstances? what is our reaction to someone who hurts our feelings? How do we act when we win? Being right before God occurs when we trust Him, not act out of our nature. When we deal with evidence not seen vs what we see. Here justification (being made right with God) is an ongoing reality, not a single transaction, such as salvation.
While Jesus made us right with God through the Cross, its actions we take from a Kingdom mind that actualizes (makes real) this relationship. This is not collaborative destiny (Armenian), but the reality of our life as one who has received the completed work of redemption. Just as our body and our spirit cannot be separated, neither can our faith and acting on our faith be disconnected, otherwise it is NOT faith!!
Just saying .....
The problem I faced with James 4 came in verse 24 where James proclaims that "by works man is justified and not by faith only." Here James is dealing with our justification, not the power or testimony of our faith. This position by James seemed to me to be in direct conflict with Romans 3:24 (ironically, same verse number), "being justified gratuitously by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." The key to understanding this "contradiction" may be found earlier in Romans 3 where Paul says, "by the works of the law no flesh can be justified."
A closer look reveals that Paul is saying that in no way can a peep's human nature (flesh) make him/her in harmony with the heavenlies or right before a Holy God. Our nature is flawed and can never satisfy the behavioral demands of the Law. James is not focusing on our works (actions) as satisfying God's Law. What he seems to be positing is that it's peeps acting out their faith (as opposed to obeying the Law) that makes them right before God. This may be a subtle but it is a profound difference and not a contradiction. In fact, James seems to be saying what Paul says in Romans 14:23 where we find "anything that is not of faith is sin (enmity with God)."
Thus, the standard for justification is not some behavioral code (ethics, morality, law) but faith in God's love and sovereign power. This is a difficult distinction for Christians steeped in legalism. James is completing what Paul says in Romans 3, not contradicting it. Both encourage us to understand that it's acting on what we believe about God, who He is, what He's done though Jesus, etc. that puts us in right stead with Him. In other words, how do we respond to difficult circumstances? what is our reaction to someone who hurts our feelings? How do we act when we win? Being right before God occurs when we trust Him, not act out of our nature. When we deal with evidence not seen vs what we see. Here justification (being made right with God) is an ongoing reality, not a single transaction, such as salvation.
While Jesus made us right with God through the Cross, its actions we take from a Kingdom mind that actualizes (makes real) this relationship. This is not collaborative destiny (Armenian), but the reality of our life as one who has received the completed work of redemption. Just as our body and our spirit cannot be separated, neither can our faith and acting on our faith be disconnected, otherwise it is NOT faith!!
Just saying .....
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Practical vs Principled, a challenge at every turn!!
The recent Colorado movie theatre massacre touched a common chord of horror in all of us. However, random events like this stimulate the human need to attribute causality to such outcomes. Invariably the need for a causal linkage and the illusion there is one leads to the ultimate debate between practical and principled responses. The practical approach would be to limit guns that can kill so many so quickly. Yet this approach violates a principle of constitutional liberty where peeps are restricted in bearing arms. The practical approach seems like a reasonable solution to a specific concern but would contradict a broader principle of freedom granted to us by our founding fathers possibly causing harm in other ways to the greater society (same for requirements to provide birth control vs religious freedom). BTW, those advocating tighter control on guns are the same ones who have succeeded in weakening the ability of mental health authorities to commit those that appear as dangerous to protect their civil liberties. That's how confusing this issue is.
The question of practical vs. principled reveals itself quite often in decision-making and has significant consequences. Whether we should opt for a practical solution that conflicts with a broader more complex applied principle sits at the heart of much of our public and private discourse. Stephen Covey wrote extensively of this is his best seller, “Principled Center Leadership.”
The financial crisis was an example of this tension. Should government bailout private firms who would fail otherwise? The practical response was that without doing so there were significant risks that our economy would collapse in the short term. Yet, in doing so the government interfered with the market economy, picking winners and losers. Practical peeps were for the bailouts. Principled peeps were against them believing that while the short term may be more difficult, the markets would better sort out the issues and return quicker and stronger if left to work without interference. After all, the credit crisis was a result of practical leaders believing that all peeps should own a home, whether they could pay for it or not (principle).
On an individual level, Joe Paterno covered for his long time friend Coach Sandusky in the child abuse crimes. While none of us can read Paterno’s mind, it seemed that he opted for the practical response by protecting his colleague and the university with silence, knowing the actions by his friend were wrong (principled). Joe Pa’s statue is down and Penn St is paying a big price for the actions of its leaders.
In looking back at “harmful” events, we seek to make sense of them so we can predict and thereby “dodge” any future occurrence. The question for us, however, is what do we do when faced with such choices? While each event has its own specific issues, I contend that opting for the practical is an ethical issue, really short sighted and “arrogant.” The attraction to the practical path is a manifestation of our quest for knowledge and control. The risk is that we don't trust principle and make the longer term or broader context worse. It is arrogant because it assumes we can figure out causality to what simply may be random, and in doing so predict and maneuver around so that we control events in our lives (these are considered "Black Swan" events, see previous blog). Principled choices recognize that if we trust universal truths (“true north” as Covey calls it) that things will ultimately come out as best they can and if we act against what is true, “the hens will come home to roost” (Covey’s expression for ultimately paying the price of our actions).
Is it possible this is behind many of the issues we face personally and collectively today, such as soaring debt? We see it is practical if we can make the payments knowing that debt is bondage and risky. Is practical oriented decision-making anchored in short term gratification and “epistemic arrogance”? Is our world becoming more and more mediocre because peeps (especially leaders) are more and more practical at the expense of principle?
I not smart enough to know but it’s worth some understanding and pondering ….
Just saying!!
Sunday, July 15, 2012
"epistemic arrogance"
"it's tough to make predictions, especially about the future."
"the future ain't what it used to be."
Yogi Berra
My reading this summer has been Nassim Taleb's "The Black Swan." No, this is not the story of a ballerina with an eating disorder. Taleb's focus of Black Swan is based on the phenomenon that while the evidence of observations suggest all swans are white, one day there appeared a black one. So what? Taleb has found that peeps are miserable failures at dealing with the randomness of life for a number of reasons. Primarily, peeps use data to confirm what they already believe (confirmation bias) and that when something totally unexpected happens, they create a narrative to explain why it was predictable. Such is the case with 9/11, the 2008 financial crisis, etc. The three most significant technological advances in our lifetime (computer, internet, and laser) were unplanned, unpredicted, and unappreciated. Taleb posits that our existence is driven more by our instincts (behavioral tendencies) to make sense of events by looking backwards with an illusion of understanding than our choices.
One of those "instincts" is the way we deal with episteme (Greek word for knowledge). In fact, Taleb suggests, peeps have an arrogance that correlates with knowledge. We become more arrogant as we gain knowledge, overestimating what we know and underestimating uncertainty. The more expert one becomes, the more likely they are to be whacked by what they don't know they don't know. We gain a greater confidence we are in control because we can better explain past events and better predict events in the future. The fact is, research has shown that knowledge gives peeps comfort not capability about the uncertainties of the future. Unpacking this notion takes many pages in Taleb's book and can be quite complex, but the bottom line is that reality is full of randomness and the human condition is designed to diminish the role of it in their lives because uncertainty fuels anxiety and fear and a sense of being out of control.
Now I do not know if Taleb is a Christian or not, he never brings in spiritual insights in his work. However, there are insights in his work that have spiritual implications. What Taleb has described in his books and essays is the flaws in our human condition and he associates it with a form of ARROGANCE. That is, the human is not made to effectively deal with the future and accompanying uncertainties. To support an illusion of control, peeps diminish the possibilities and consequences of "randomness" with episteme.
The Bible has another perspective. Faith is the assurance of things NOT SEEN. Faith, not knowledge, is our quest. For the Kingdom mind, randomness is simply "God's sovereign hand." Instead of resulting in arrogance, this results in humility. Instead of fearing the future, the Kingdom mind gives us hope. Recognizing that we are under Grace, the future is not filled with Black Swan events and associated risks, but assurance of being glorified in the Creator and Sustainer of the universe who loves us beyond imagination.
Needless to say, "The Black Swan" is considerable pause for pondering ....
"the future ain't what it used to be."
Yogi Berra
My reading this summer has been Nassim Taleb's "The Black Swan." No, this is not the story of a ballerina with an eating disorder. Taleb's focus of Black Swan is based on the phenomenon that while the evidence of observations suggest all swans are white, one day there appeared a black one. So what? Taleb has found that peeps are miserable failures at dealing with the randomness of life for a number of reasons. Primarily, peeps use data to confirm what they already believe (confirmation bias) and that when something totally unexpected happens, they create a narrative to explain why it was predictable. Such is the case with 9/11, the 2008 financial crisis, etc. The three most significant technological advances in our lifetime (computer, internet, and laser) were unplanned, unpredicted, and unappreciated. Taleb posits that our existence is driven more by our instincts (behavioral tendencies) to make sense of events by looking backwards with an illusion of understanding than our choices.
One of those "instincts" is the way we deal with episteme (Greek word for knowledge). In fact, Taleb suggests, peeps have an arrogance that correlates with knowledge. We become more arrogant as we gain knowledge, overestimating what we know and underestimating uncertainty. The more expert one becomes, the more likely they are to be whacked by what they don't know they don't know. We gain a greater confidence we are in control because we can better explain past events and better predict events in the future. The fact is, research has shown that knowledge gives peeps comfort not capability about the uncertainties of the future. Unpacking this notion takes many pages in Taleb's book and can be quite complex, but the bottom line is that reality is full of randomness and the human condition is designed to diminish the role of it in their lives because uncertainty fuels anxiety and fear and a sense of being out of control.
Now I do not know if Taleb is a Christian or not, he never brings in spiritual insights in his work. However, there are insights in his work that have spiritual implications. What Taleb has described in his books and essays is the flaws in our human condition and he associates it with a form of ARROGANCE. That is, the human is not made to effectively deal with the future and accompanying uncertainties. To support an illusion of control, peeps diminish the possibilities and consequences of "randomness" with episteme.
The Bible has another perspective. Faith is the assurance of things NOT SEEN. Faith, not knowledge, is our quest. For the Kingdom mind, randomness is simply "God's sovereign hand." Instead of resulting in arrogance, this results in humility. Instead of fearing the future, the Kingdom mind gives us hope. Recognizing that we are under Grace, the future is not filled with Black Swan events and associated risks, but assurance of being glorified in the Creator and Sustainer of the universe who loves us beyond imagination.
Needless to say, "The Black Swan" is considerable pause for pondering ....
Saturday, July 14, 2012
making sense of "our house"
In the past few months we have had a barrage of problems with our house that needed fixing. The microwave and dishwasher died. The pipe under the sink in utility room leaked requiring $1300 to just dry out the hardwood floors. Then there are planned expenses due like major landscaping project and regular maintenance like restaining the deck and power washing a variety of surfaces. The compressor on one heating/cooling unit failed right as warranty expired. Its easy to begin to think of "our house" as an albatross when it consumes so much unplanned expenses.
Then their are those who think of their house as fulfilling their "dream." "Our house" can become an idol. For many the house represents identity or value (much as a job may). Peeps gain status or recognition and can be admired for the size, beauty, or features of their house.
After many, many years of living in this world, I have come to see a house as a facility, it facilitates. Based on Motivation Theory, peeps allocate their resources towards what they value. So what a house facilitates for a certain peep depends on what the peep see as important. If one values family, a house facilitates a home, a safe place to be together. If one values hospitality, the house provides the opportunity to bless guests. If one values the opinion of others, their house represents the opportunity to gain image by impression management. If one values their personal economics, the house may be a part of their investment portfolio. And so on ....
So, making sense of "our house" starts with the notion of what value the facility provides. What your house facilitates for you is probably worth a little pondering .... Just saying :-)
Then their are those who think of their house as fulfilling their "dream." "Our house" can become an idol. For many the house represents identity or value (much as a job may). Peeps gain status or recognition and can be admired for the size, beauty, or features of their house.
After many, many years of living in this world, I have come to see a house as a facility, it facilitates. Based on Motivation Theory, peeps allocate their resources towards what they value. So what a house facilitates for a certain peep depends on what the peep see as important. If one values family, a house facilitates a home, a safe place to be together. If one values hospitality, the house provides the opportunity to bless guests. If one values the opinion of others, their house represents the opportunity to gain image by impression management. If one values their personal economics, the house may be a part of their investment portfolio. And so on ....
So, making sense of "our house" starts with the notion of what value the facility provides. What your house facilitates for you is probably worth a little pondering .... Just saying :-)
Thursday, July 5, 2012
get vs have
Its typical of peeps to sometimes have more of their focus on the desire to get than the desire to have. In more benign life situations like vacations and buying cars, peeps can find much more enjoyment in the anticipation and pursuit of the target of their desire than they do when they experience its reality. The letdown of actually having something can often be a drag on our well-being as our closet is full of clothes we don't wear and car payments come every month.
However, in some life situations this tendency can create confusion, frustration, and significant disappointment. More often than we'd like to think I observe a young bride or a groom aspiring to get married only to find out being married (having the spouse) is not what they had bargained for. This "mistake" can haunt them for years as their dream to "get" did not consider the "have" of marriage.
Recently my grand daughter found that wanting to get a dog was way more exciting than the reality of having it. It just wasn't fun getting up each morning to take it out, feeding it, making arrangements for it when she's gone, etc. The time and commitment has been difficult to handle and has overwhelmed the earlier pursuit to "get a dog". Unwinding the decision to pay good money for and attach herself to a dog has been traumatic, but a good life lesson.
My wife and I laugh sometimes about her desire to get a garden is much stronger than to have it. She enjoys shopping for and buying new plants and anticipating what her English garden will look like. However, while she likes to look at it, the garden has to be watered, weeds have to be pulled, plants have to be dead-headed, and often at times these demands are not convenient for her. She likes to get a garden but not to garden (or have it).
There are so many examples in life each of us can identify with. Its part of the human condition. So what can we do. It seems that our fascinations for and dreams of things we desire should be better examined. We must focus more on the HAVE than the GET to determine the long term implications of our aspirations.
Maybe most of the time these "mistakes" will be just nuances in our life but some can be sources of discontent, disappointment, guilt from hurting others, and our own pain. I have just seen a blitzkrieg of these recently and felt it was worth pondering ......
However, in some life situations this tendency can create confusion, frustration, and significant disappointment. More often than we'd like to think I observe a young bride or a groom aspiring to get married only to find out being married (having the spouse) is not what they had bargained for. This "mistake" can haunt them for years as their dream to "get" did not consider the "have" of marriage.
Recently my grand daughter found that wanting to get a dog was way more exciting than the reality of having it. It just wasn't fun getting up each morning to take it out, feeding it, making arrangements for it when she's gone, etc. The time and commitment has been difficult to handle and has overwhelmed the earlier pursuit to "get a dog". Unwinding the decision to pay good money for and attach herself to a dog has been traumatic, but a good life lesson.
My wife and I laugh sometimes about her desire to get a garden is much stronger than to have it. She enjoys shopping for and buying new plants and anticipating what her English garden will look like. However, while she likes to look at it, the garden has to be watered, weeds have to be pulled, plants have to be dead-headed, and often at times these demands are not convenient for her. She likes to get a garden but not to garden (or have it).
There are so many examples in life each of us can identify with. Its part of the human condition. So what can we do. It seems that our fascinations for and dreams of things we desire should be better examined. We must focus more on the HAVE than the GET to determine the long term implications of our aspirations.
Maybe most of the time these "mistakes" will be just nuances in our life but some can be sources of discontent, disappointment, guilt from hurting others, and our own pain. I have just seen a blitzkrieg of these recently and felt it was worth pondering ......
Sunday, June 24, 2012
the heart of a teenager
"I am weary from moaning, every night I flood my bed with tears, I drench my couch with weeping. My eyes are wasting away from grief."
I now have a granddaughter who is full steam ahead teen. Recently she has been texting me her anxieties. "Why do I feel alone right now?" "Why is my friend being so mean to me?" "What do I do with my feelings when I really like a boy and he's moving away soon?" "Do you think I am too young to be in love?" and on and on, questions about life and why its so tough. I'd have to say that this is a mixed blessing. I am grateful she is willing to include me in her quest for answers, but it reminds me of the "greater than life pressures" that faces peeps in this difficult life stage.
Yet, are any of us ever exempt from such anxieties? Oh, maybe the circumstances are different, maybe the stakes are higher and maybe maturity helps us better make sense of what's happening (BTW, this is the biggest issue for teens). However, while the quote above sounds like the late night texts I have been receiving, it is actually from Psalm 6 where David is lamenting his troubled soul.
None of us escape a "troubled soul", Why? Because all emotion is simply a complex human response to discrepancies arising from our expectations. Positive emotions come when we exceed our expectations and negative ones come when they are unmet. Specifically, anxiety is the fearful anticipation that our expectations will NOT be met based on how we view ourselves and the world around us.
The bottom line for my granddaughter and all of us is that anxiety and fear are a crisis of faith. Basically, we trust that our soul's well-being is met through our circumstances rather than through God's loving reign over our life. We believe we know what is best for us and those we love. That's where maturity helps. One thing I have learned is that I may be the last peep that knows what's best for me :-)
I regularly encourage my granddaughter by reminding her of an eternal truth. God loves us and desires the best for us. While Satan cannot effect our eternal destiny, he can surely demoralize us with fear and anxiety by distracting us from what God is doing and how He sees us. Pondering the invisible and eternal truths of God when our feelings suggest otherwise is always worth pondering .....
I now have a granddaughter who is full steam ahead teen. Recently she has been texting me her anxieties. "Why do I feel alone right now?" "Why is my friend being so mean to me?" "What do I do with my feelings when I really like a boy and he's moving away soon?" "Do you think I am too young to be in love?" and on and on, questions about life and why its so tough. I'd have to say that this is a mixed blessing. I am grateful she is willing to include me in her quest for answers, but it reminds me of the "greater than life pressures" that faces peeps in this difficult life stage.
Yet, are any of us ever exempt from such anxieties? Oh, maybe the circumstances are different, maybe the stakes are higher and maybe maturity helps us better make sense of what's happening (BTW, this is the biggest issue for teens). However, while the quote above sounds like the late night texts I have been receiving, it is actually from Psalm 6 where David is lamenting his troubled soul.
None of us escape a "troubled soul", Why? Because all emotion is simply a complex human response to discrepancies arising from our expectations. Positive emotions come when we exceed our expectations and negative ones come when they are unmet. Specifically, anxiety is the fearful anticipation that our expectations will NOT be met based on how we view ourselves and the world around us.
The bottom line for my granddaughter and all of us is that anxiety and fear are a crisis of faith. Basically, we trust that our soul's well-being is met through our circumstances rather than through God's loving reign over our life. We believe we know what is best for us and those we love. That's where maturity helps. One thing I have learned is that I may be the last peep that knows what's best for me :-)
I regularly encourage my granddaughter by reminding her of an eternal truth. God loves us and desires the best for us. While Satan cannot effect our eternal destiny, he can surely demoralize us with fear and anxiety by distracting us from what God is doing and how He sees us. Pondering the invisible and eternal truths of God when our feelings suggest otherwise is always worth pondering .....
Saturday, June 23, 2012
"it's a hold up!!"
I have a friend who went through some very difficult times. I'll spare all the details but I want to share a lesson I learned from knowing her. She is very competent and hard working, yet she was drowning in life circumstances because she had no job. Significant financial stress led to self-esteem and self-confident issues. Its easy for someone in this situation to feel hopeless, and often she did.
Yet I knew that her life would turn on a dime when she got the right job. I just tried to "hold her up" during the tough times. Keep her afloat financially where I could but mainly encourage her and continue to help her see a vision for her life. She even found that she felt the best when she was helping others although she was "falling". My thoughts were "just don't let the pressure of the moment overtake her". I repeatedly told her that one day soon her soul would soar, this was just a small glitch in her life that seemed much larger than it really was due to the saliency of her immediate situation.
I knew she had gotten a job that seemed just right, but I had not heard from her for weeks and din't know how things were going. Yesterday she calls to report that life is great. The job is a perfect fit, she is very happy, fulfilled, and is indeed SOARING!
WE all have peeps in our life going thru difficult times that are temporary for them, yet they seem overwhelming. These peeps are special and deserve our support. Its amazing how moments in our lives can be so difficult that we let them define us, rather than letting the special person God made us to be to define us. This is where our support is so important. Helping someone stay afloat in these times makes us a "blessing partner" with God. Not only are we blessed when we are helping others, but when others are held up during tough times, they come out the other side to be a blessing to others. God is a multiplier of blessing!!
So, when we find someone struggling to stay afloat in life, remember how special they are and the best thing we can do for them is to be present and say "it's a hold up" and you will not sink!!!!
pondering them soaring is one of the greatest joys in life .....
Yet I knew that her life would turn on a dime when she got the right job. I just tried to "hold her up" during the tough times. Keep her afloat financially where I could but mainly encourage her and continue to help her see a vision for her life. She even found that she felt the best when she was helping others although she was "falling". My thoughts were "just don't let the pressure of the moment overtake her". I repeatedly told her that one day soon her soul would soar, this was just a small glitch in her life that seemed much larger than it really was due to the saliency of her immediate situation.
I knew she had gotten a job that seemed just right, but I had not heard from her for weeks and din't know how things were going. Yesterday she calls to report that life is great. The job is a perfect fit, she is very happy, fulfilled, and is indeed SOARING!
WE all have peeps in our life going thru difficult times that are temporary for them, yet they seem overwhelming. These peeps are special and deserve our support. Its amazing how moments in our lives can be so difficult that we let them define us, rather than letting the special person God made us to be to define us. This is where our support is so important. Helping someone stay afloat in these times makes us a "blessing partner" with God. Not only are we blessed when we are helping others, but when others are held up during tough times, they come out the other side to be a blessing to others. God is a multiplier of blessing!!
So, when we find someone struggling to stay afloat in life, remember how special they are and the best thing we can do for them is to be present and say "it's a hold up" and you will not sink!!!!
pondering them soaring is one of the greatest joys in life .....
Sunday, June 10, 2012
"But for this purpose ..."
"The Purpose Driven Life" has been a big hit as a book and personal study. There is something about peeps that drive them to the meaning or "why" of life. While this focus on purpose has and can lead to a more productive and satisfied life, there is caution!!
When a peep makes sense of his/her purpose driven life thru a carnal mind, the point of purpose is self gratification, self-exaltation, and self righteousness, even when the purpose is "good". Mazlow's hierarchy notes the highest level of human need is SELF-ACTUALIZATION. Thus, the flesh (or human nature) seeks self above all else, even when the pursuit is deemed honorable by society (culture). The carnal mind leads us to believe "purpose" is about what we contribute, accomplish or achieve.
Is there another way to make sense of "purpose driven life"? Of course, if you have been reading my blogs you know by now there is the Kingdom mind. How is it different? Jesus gives us some insight into this when he explains His own sense of purpose (the account of this is John 12: 27 -36).
"But for this purpose I have come to this hour." Jesus is pointing to the Cross as the purpose to which He is driven. However, the preceding statement is often missed. He says, "Now is my soul troubled and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour?" Wow, Jesus is acknowledging that His circumstances are not working in His favor. His goal is not faring well in the eyes of the world. It appears to all He is defeated, not winning. He admits this ain't fun. While Jesus' focus of goal accomplishment is not understood by the world, His situation still troubles Him. One option He admits is to be delivered from His situation, but he understands circumstantial deliverance is not consistent with His purpose.
Does this sound familiar to you? It seems we find ourselves more often "troubled" than victorious. We try to give to others but they don't seem grateful and sometimes even betray us. We try to be honorable in our actions and yet we often don't win. We "obey" God but He doesn't seem to prosper us. Yet, Jesus positions His notion of fulling purpose in the context of a "troubled soul." This doesn't sound like our approach to purpose. Remember, we want to fulfill our purpose so we can "look good" and are happy and fulfilled.
If we read on, we see another statement from Jesus, "This voice (God proclaiming His purpose) has come for YOUR SAKE, not mind." Oh, the point of our purpose is not us. Its NOT about OUR GLORY, its what God wishes for us with respect to someone else's benefit so God gets the glory. Maybe our purpose (like Jesus) comes from our actions which have circumstantial headwinds, not tailwinds, that visibly show our weakness, lack of self-sufficiency, and the absence of personal victory. Maybe its in our darkness that peeps see His light. Maybe that's our purpose.
I think that's the point. Jesus concludes with these words, "believe in the light, that you may become sons of light (peeps who shine)." Why do we spend so much time fretting about finding our purpose in life? Here it is, "this little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine .."
So, when you are driven to find your purpose, BEWARE of the troubled soul because it is in circumstantial darkness that God's light will shine in your life :-)
Certainly worth pondering ......
When a peep makes sense of his/her purpose driven life thru a carnal mind, the point of purpose is self gratification, self-exaltation, and self righteousness, even when the purpose is "good". Mazlow's hierarchy notes the highest level of human need is SELF-ACTUALIZATION. Thus, the flesh (or human nature) seeks self above all else, even when the pursuit is deemed honorable by society (culture). The carnal mind leads us to believe "purpose" is about what we contribute, accomplish or achieve.
Is there another way to make sense of "purpose driven life"? Of course, if you have been reading my blogs you know by now there is the Kingdom mind. How is it different? Jesus gives us some insight into this when he explains His own sense of purpose (the account of this is John 12: 27 -36).
"But for this purpose I have come to this hour." Jesus is pointing to the Cross as the purpose to which He is driven. However, the preceding statement is often missed. He says, "Now is my soul troubled and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour?" Wow, Jesus is acknowledging that His circumstances are not working in His favor. His goal is not faring well in the eyes of the world. It appears to all He is defeated, not winning. He admits this ain't fun. While Jesus' focus of goal accomplishment is not understood by the world, His situation still troubles Him. One option He admits is to be delivered from His situation, but he understands circumstantial deliverance is not consistent with His purpose.
Does this sound familiar to you? It seems we find ourselves more often "troubled" than victorious. We try to give to others but they don't seem grateful and sometimes even betray us. We try to be honorable in our actions and yet we often don't win. We "obey" God but He doesn't seem to prosper us. Yet, Jesus positions His notion of fulling purpose in the context of a "troubled soul." This doesn't sound like our approach to purpose. Remember, we want to fulfill our purpose so we can "look good" and are happy and fulfilled.
If we read on, we see another statement from Jesus, "This voice (God proclaiming His purpose) has come for YOUR SAKE, not mind." Oh, the point of our purpose is not us. Its NOT about OUR GLORY, its what God wishes for us with respect to someone else's benefit so God gets the glory. Maybe our purpose (like Jesus) comes from our actions which have circumstantial headwinds, not tailwinds, that visibly show our weakness, lack of self-sufficiency, and the absence of personal victory. Maybe its in our darkness that peeps see His light. Maybe that's our purpose.
I think that's the point. Jesus concludes with these words, "believe in the light, that you may become sons of light (peeps who shine)." Why do we spend so much time fretting about finding our purpose in life? Here it is, "this little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine .."
So, when you are driven to find your purpose, BEWARE of the troubled soul because it is in circumstantial darkness that God's light will shine in your life :-)
Certainly worth pondering ......
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
making sense of "my new job"
This is the time of the year that I have former students starting their "big peep" job after graduation. I frequently get requests for perspective (since I don't give advice) on getting started in their new job. Young peeps beginning their careers are achievement oriented. they want to make a difference. They want to use all of the "great" knowledge and competencies they acquired in their time in college. They want their degree to make a difference in what they get to do and how employers view them.
So here are a few of the points I offer to help them gain a healthy perspective:
1. do anything and everything (within the law) that needs to be done and without being asked.
2. the early days of a new job are an interesting tension between a high motivation to achieve and a situation where you are too new to have integrated into the work flow and do not have enough to do - sooo be very patient with yourself, your co-workers, and your boss.
3. learn how your business creates customers and start doing things that works toward that end, this makes you strategic.
4. don't be too quick to take credit for what you do but focus on making others successful.
I love seeing my recent students find their path, scratch the "itches of their soul", and soar in their young lives because they prepared themselves for great things and are now beginning that journey.
Its something I like to ponder .....
Saturday, May 26, 2012
remembering "the tumble"
Those of you that really know me know that I am quite mechanically challenged. Thus, the thought of me riding a motor scooter can be frightening. Some years ago I went to Bermuda with a group of friends who had gathered from all around the country for a week of fellowship. Of course, i desired to play golf, but I found peeps don't rent cars there, they ride SCOOTERS. If I wanted to play golf at the various courses with friends, I had to rent a scooter.
Fortunately the scooter rental place had a practice track for folks like me. With confidence I rented my scooter and headed to the track. It was very small and just went around in a circle. Surely I could do this, so I started around the track.
I wasn't doing great but I was managing. On about the 3rd time around I lost my balance a little, just a little bit mind you. To steady myself and keep from falling, I placed my left foot on the ground while I was still rolling. I wasn't going fast but fast enough to create a "disaster". My foot caught the ground in some bizarre way and my left knee snapped.
Of course the scooter became history as I vaulted over the handle bars and over the curb of the track. That wasn't all, there was a bank there and I began tumbling down it. That's not all, there was a hedge there and I rolled thru it. It seemed like I was tumbling for days. Mind out of body experience for sure.
Well, that's not all, the hedge separated the training track from a golf course and I rolled down onto the tee box of one of the holes. Needless to say i was a bit shaken by this but not as much as the golfers who were just standing there, ready to tee off, but was interrupted by this man tumbling down upon their tee. I looked up and saw a few faces staring at me and I just said "hi there." Fortunately, I don't embarrass easily but it was quite an awkward moment for me and those witnessing this, too.
Not to be deterred from my goal of golf, I then had to ride on the back of a scooter with a friend, carrying my golf bag to the course. My knee was killing me but I was not to be deterred. About half way thru the round my knee just locked up. I could no longer even walk. I traveled back to Charlotte through airports in a wheel chair, repeating this story to all who asked, "what happened?" It made for a pretty good after dinner story for years to come.
It also resulted in surgery when I returned to repair the torn cartilage in my knee. Its Memorial Day weekend, when we focus on remembering (my previous blog). So the tumble I took today brought back memories of this experience. I was working in the yard and Spot (the dog) was outside with one end of his leash tied to a tree. This seemingly harmless and common practice provided a trip line for me as I walking from one task to the other. Of course i took a big tumble, turned a flip, shoes disappeared as they flew through the air, I landed on the driveway resulting in abrasions, bruises, and soreness.
The dog is traumatized but OK .....
REMEMBERING our tumbles in life can help us keep our perspective!!!
Fortunately the scooter rental place had a practice track for folks like me. With confidence I rented my scooter and headed to the track. It was very small and just went around in a circle. Surely I could do this, so I started around the track.
I wasn't doing great but I was managing. On about the 3rd time around I lost my balance a little, just a little bit mind you. To steady myself and keep from falling, I placed my left foot on the ground while I was still rolling. I wasn't going fast but fast enough to create a "disaster". My foot caught the ground in some bizarre way and my left knee snapped.
Of course the scooter became history as I vaulted over the handle bars and over the curb of the track. That wasn't all, there was a bank there and I began tumbling down it. That's not all, there was a hedge there and I rolled thru it. It seemed like I was tumbling for days. Mind out of body experience for sure.
Well, that's not all, the hedge separated the training track from a golf course and I rolled down onto the tee box of one of the holes. Needless to say i was a bit shaken by this but not as much as the golfers who were just standing there, ready to tee off, but was interrupted by this man tumbling down upon their tee. I looked up and saw a few faces staring at me and I just said "hi there." Fortunately, I don't embarrass easily but it was quite an awkward moment for me and those witnessing this, too.
Not to be deterred from my goal of golf, I then had to ride on the back of a scooter with a friend, carrying my golf bag to the course. My knee was killing me but I was not to be deterred. About half way thru the round my knee just locked up. I could no longer even walk. I traveled back to Charlotte through airports in a wheel chair, repeating this story to all who asked, "what happened?" It made for a pretty good after dinner story for years to come.
It also resulted in surgery when I returned to repair the torn cartilage in my knee. Its Memorial Day weekend, when we focus on remembering (my previous blog). So the tumble I took today brought back memories of this experience. I was working in the yard and Spot (the dog) was outside with one end of his leash tied to a tree. This seemingly harmless and common practice provided a trip line for me as I walking from one task to the other. Of course i took a big tumble, turned a flip, shoes disappeared as they flew through the air, I landed on the driveway resulting in abrasions, bruises, and soreness.
The dog is traumatized but OK .....
REMEMBERING our tumbles in life can help us keep our perspective!!!
making sense of "remembering"
Remembering was the way generations passed down the values and norms of their time. Remembering is about making the effort to bring to our consciousness things that are not active in our minds. For generations throughout history, story telling (the art of sharing memories with others) was as admired as Facebook, if one can imagine that :-)
What does remembering accomplish? Does it necessarily do anything for those we remember? Not really, most have passed on to Glory or somewhere else. Then what value is there in days we set aside to memorialized others?
Remembering anchors our being in where we have come from, how we got here outside of our own efforts, what those were like who formed us and our world! Making sense of not only our past but the people and events that shaped the world we came from broadens our perspective of ourself. We are not a creature of our own creation. We are peeps in the flow of something much greater than us.
Remembering should feed our humility, especially since there's not much else we do that does :-)
Its our nature to assume we create our life and perform in a way that accomplishes what we have. We over value the personal influence we can have on cause and effect.
Remembering ushers in a more significant sense of identity and personal worth. When we can understand our self in light of those who loved us and even those who didn't even know us but acted in heroic ways to affect our life, then we can truly see both how small we are and how important we are all at the same time. We can receive the blessings that have been made ours at no expense or effort or deserving on our part.
Remembering is God's gift to us that makes His Grace real in our lives!!
Now that is worth pondering this weekend (and other days too) ......
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Tsunami of rationale
What do you do when you face insurmountable obstacles? How relentless can you be in chasing your dream? How easily are you defeated when you have something you want? In many ways the answers to these questions define us and our life's journey.
My 9 year old granddaughter can be relentless at times, It does somewhat define her. While it can be problematic for parents when perserverence defines a child, the character that is being shaped and refined is interesting to watch and predict what kind of an adult will ultimately emerge.
"And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint" God
Syd has wanted a dog for a number of years now. Each push she makes is met with fatherly resistance, coming in the form of "reasons" her dad progressively gives her why she can't have one "right now." To maintain peace he has never totally shut the door on this request but continually counters with "over powering adult logic." Well, I think she has had enough. She composed a thesis with 73 points about having a dog she has presented to support the notion (and title of her paper) "I WANT A DOG."
The reasons she gives to support her request are found in her perspective of "dog ownership." some of these are
"don't get a dog that barks at other dogs"
"don't get a crazy or wild dog"
"make sure the dog fits in your house"
"don't get a dog that is nippy"
"if you don't want a shy dog, don't try to get one"
"don't forget to pay the bills"
"make sure your dog is playful, if you want a playful dog"
"don't forget to pick up your dogs poop"
"if something goes wrong with your dog, think of giving it away"
and
"you might want to get a non stressful dog witch will be a better choice"
The reasons are also color coded to add emphasis!!
Now if a nine year old girl can go to these extremes to chase her dreams, surely each of us adults can be equally relentless at pursuing the itches of our soul :-)
"Passion is that which propels us through obstacles as if they weren't there in the quest for the object of our love." Dudley Hall
something to ponder ...
My 9 year old granddaughter can be relentless at times, It does somewhat define her. While it can be problematic for parents when perserverence defines a child, the character that is being shaped and refined is interesting to watch and predict what kind of an adult will ultimately emerge.
"And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint" God
Syd has wanted a dog for a number of years now. Each push she makes is met with fatherly resistance, coming in the form of "reasons" her dad progressively gives her why she can't have one "right now." To maintain peace he has never totally shut the door on this request but continually counters with "over powering adult logic." Well, I think she has had enough. She composed a thesis with 73 points about having a dog she has presented to support the notion (and title of her paper) "I WANT A DOG."
The reasons she gives to support her request are found in her perspective of "dog ownership." some of these are
"don't get a dog that barks at other dogs"
"don't get a crazy or wild dog"
"make sure the dog fits in your house"
"don't get a dog that is nippy"
"if you don't want a shy dog, don't try to get one"
"don't forget to pay the bills"
"make sure your dog is playful, if you want a playful dog"
"don't forget to pick up your dogs poop"
"if something goes wrong with your dog, think of giving it away"
and
"you might want to get a non stressful dog witch will be a better choice"
The reasons are also color coded to add emphasis!!
Now if a nine year old girl can go to these extremes to chase her dreams, surely each of us adults can be equally relentless at pursuing the itches of our soul :-)
"Passion is that which propels us through obstacles as if they weren't there in the quest for the object of our love." Dudley Hall
something to ponder ...
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Making sense of "the weight of this world"
There have been a recent rash of breakdowns in my life. First the dishwasher went out, then the microwave, both having to be replaced. Not long after that we had a pipe burst and flood parts of the house requiring expensive process to dry out the floor and walls. This week the pump on our water feature died and has to be replaced. Then today, my car wouldn't start and I was 25 miles from home with a busy day ahead. The Cliffs bankruptcy also will place new financial demands.
lately i have had friends to die, some have struggled to keep a float financially to the point of losing everything. Some friends have serious health issues, some "friends" have betrayed me. I bear the burdens of others when I want to and have helped them in many ways as I could. Strangely, the more I give to others to help them, the more things in my life seem to break down and my own financial demands grow.
When peeps like me find themselves with significant headwinds, we often say we feel like we are carrying "the weight of the world".
The word "weight" can be an interesting word in this context. The Old Testament Hebrew word for something that is very "weighty" or has considerable mass is kavod. The New Testament Greek word doxa, which was used in a similar context, focused on the weight of one's opinion of another or the weight of reputation something has, the degree it is honored by us. Both words translate into the word glory.
Thus, might it be that when one feels "the weight of the world", what we are really experiencing is glorifying the things of this world. We make things of this world carry "weight" with us. It demands our affection, we give it a place of honor in our lives. The result is anxiety, fear, disappointment, lack of fulfillment and sometimes pride!!.
God is jealous in the sense He doesn't want competition for His Glory. While He wishes us to not place the weight of honor on things of this world, He does wish to share with us His Glory. He wishes that we receive the weight of His provision and perspective. Instead of bearing His weight, He bears ours. This leaves us filled and joyful, and makes the things of this world ineffective in our soul's well being. Understanding that bearing the "weight of this world" is giving devotion to stuff, especially when compared to the deeper life issues many of my friends face, which I can help with freely when I glory in God's economy for my life.
"we have this treasure in earthen vessels. we are hard pressed on every side, we are perplexed but not in despair..... we do not lose heart. for our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."
So, when I(we) think or feel that our life's circumstances have brought down on us "the weight of the world", remember that is not the glory we were made to receive and enjoy!!
lately i have had friends to die, some have struggled to keep a float financially to the point of losing everything. Some friends have serious health issues, some "friends" have betrayed me. I bear the burdens of others when I want to and have helped them in many ways as I could. Strangely, the more I give to others to help them, the more things in my life seem to break down and my own financial demands grow.
When peeps like me find themselves with significant headwinds, we often say we feel like we are carrying "the weight of the world".
The word "weight" can be an interesting word in this context. The Old Testament Hebrew word for something that is very "weighty" or has considerable mass is kavod. The New Testament Greek word doxa, which was used in a similar context, focused on the weight of one's opinion of another or the weight of reputation something has, the degree it is honored by us. Both words translate into the word glory.
Thus, might it be that when one feels "the weight of the world", what we are really experiencing is glorifying the things of this world. We make things of this world carry "weight" with us. It demands our affection, we give it a place of honor in our lives. The result is anxiety, fear, disappointment, lack of fulfillment and sometimes pride!!.
God is jealous in the sense He doesn't want competition for His Glory. While He wishes us to not place the weight of honor on things of this world, He does wish to share with us His Glory. He wishes that we receive the weight of His provision and perspective. Instead of bearing His weight, He bears ours. This leaves us filled and joyful, and makes the things of this world ineffective in our soul's well being. Understanding that bearing the "weight of this world" is giving devotion to stuff, especially when compared to the deeper life issues many of my friends face, which I can help with freely when I glory in God's economy for my life.
"we have this treasure in earthen vessels. we are hard pressed on every side, we are perplexed but not in despair..... we do not lose heart. for our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."
So, when I(we) think or feel that our life's circumstances have brought down on us "the weight of the world", remember that is not the glory we were made to receive and enjoy!!
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Resurrection Power - Chuck Colson
born on Oct. 16, 1931, in Boston, the only child of Wendell B. and Inez Ducrow Colson, His father was a struggling lawyer; his mother, nicknamed Dizzy, was an exuberant spendthrift.
In 1970, the president made him his “political point man” for “imaginative dirty tricks.”
“Colson started talking about trampling his grandmother’s grave for Nixon and showing he was as mean as they come.”
Few played political hardball more fiercely than Mr. Colson.
Mr. Colson hired E. Howard Hunt, a veteran covert operator for the Central Intelligence Agency, to spy on the president’s opponents. Their plots became part of the cascade of high crimes and misdemeanors known as the Watergate affair.
Mr. Colson served seven months after pleading guilty to obstructing justice in the case of Daniel Ellsberg, a former National Security Council consultant
In 1976, he founded Prison Fellowship Ministries, which delivers a Christian message of redemption
to thousands of prison inmates and their families.
Chuck Colson died yesterday at 80 years of age. Watergate felon or man of God?
His legacy is the lives he touched for the Kingdom, not his many human faults and mistakes.
The resurrection from the dead occurred before his bios died yesterday and continues for evermore!!
He grew up at 15 different addresses in and around the city and attended eight schools.
In 1970, the president made him his “political point man” for “imaginative dirty tricks.”
“Colson started talking about trampling his grandmother’s grave for Nixon and showing he was as mean as they come.”
Few played political hardball more fiercely than Mr. Colson.
Mr. Colson hired E. Howard Hunt, a veteran covert operator for the Central Intelligence Agency, to spy on the president’s opponents. Their plots became part of the cascade of high crimes and misdemeanors known as the Watergate affair.
Mr. Colson served seven months after pleading guilty to obstructing justice in the case of Daniel Ellsberg, a former National Security Council consultant
In 1976, he founded Prison Fellowship Ministries, which delivers a Christian message of redemption
to thousands of prison inmates and their families.
Chuck Colson died yesterday at 80 years of age. Watergate felon or man of God?
His legacy is the lives he touched for the Kingdom, not his many human faults and mistakes.
The resurrection from the dead occurred before his bios died yesterday and continues for evermore!!
Saturday, April 21, 2012
"The Lucky One"
My coach use to say, "luck is when preparation meets opportunity." While its common to associate luck with random good fortune or destiny, this saying reminds us that while luck has some component of "randomness," which we sometimes call destiny, it also reminds us that good fortune generally comes in combination of "random events" and our response to them.
Its is a bit difficult to understand luck, however, when one's good fortune comes at someone else's expense. Such it was in this movie where Logan's fortune of finding Beth came at the death of Beth's cherished brother. The challenge Beth had in responding to her love for Logan was that her borther's death made way for her love for Logan.
When we make sense of luck through the lenses of the carnal mind, we are constrained by "cause and effect." That is, the human nature is to make sense of ourself and the world around us thru the mechanism of "A because of B". Students make class scheduling choices for many insignificant reasons. Yet often I have a student whose life was signifciantly affected by the class. I ask, "why did you choose my class." The answer, no real reason, it just fit my schedule better. Yet a seemingly unpurposeful action resulted in "good fortnue" for the student. We are apt to call this luck or better yet, destiny.
God's ways are not our ways and He is working ALL things for His purposes. Thus, "event A" doesn't necessarily cause "event B". ALL events are under His Sovereign purpose. While we can never rationalize this in our minds because the constraints of our nature, we can accept His hand in our path because of our Faith in His goodness.
Yet, while we accept that the so called "random events" in our life are under His hand, we still must act for the purpose to be consumated. Logan walked from Colorado to Lousiana, he was patient with Beth and the circumstances of the place she lived, including her ex husband and fathjer of her son. Logan's action in concert with events brought about the good fortune of those involved.
If you really want to delve into God's sovereignty, you might ask why did Logan ever make the effort to pick up the picture when he saw it? What nurtured his heart of thankfulness for Beth. Why did he associate his good luck in Iraq with this picture? Was this all Logan's doings or was God unctioning Logan through all the moments of his journey and Logan was "constrained to act" according to these unctions?
Its possible that's where our good forthune comes from, our "response" to what he is doing in a complex network of lives and events. Something to ponder ......
Its is a bit difficult to understand luck, however, when one's good fortune comes at someone else's expense. Such it was in this movie where Logan's fortune of finding Beth came at the death of Beth's cherished brother. The challenge Beth had in responding to her love for Logan was that her borther's death made way for her love for Logan.
When we make sense of luck through the lenses of the carnal mind, we are constrained by "cause and effect." That is, the human nature is to make sense of ourself and the world around us thru the mechanism of "A because of B". Students make class scheduling choices for many insignificant reasons. Yet often I have a student whose life was signifciantly affected by the class. I ask, "why did you choose my class." The answer, no real reason, it just fit my schedule better. Yet a seemingly unpurposeful action resulted in "good fortnue" for the student. We are apt to call this luck or better yet, destiny.
God's ways are not our ways and He is working ALL things for His purposes. Thus, "event A" doesn't necessarily cause "event B". ALL events are under His Sovereign purpose. While we can never rationalize this in our minds because the constraints of our nature, we can accept His hand in our path because of our Faith in His goodness.
Yet, while we accept that the so called "random events" in our life are under His hand, we still must act for the purpose to be consumated. Logan walked from Colorado to Lousiana, he was patient with Beth and the circumstances of the place she lived, including her ex husband and fathjer of her son. Logan's action in concert with events brought about the good fortune of those involved.
If you really want to delve into God's sovereignty, you might ask why did Logan ever make the effort to pick up the picture when he saw it? What nurtured his heart of thankfulness for Beth. Why did he associate his good luck in Iraq with this picture? Was this all Logan's doings or was God unctioning Logan through all the moments of his journey and Logan was "constrained to act" according to these unctions?
Its possible that's where our good forthune comes from, our "response" to what he is doing in a complex network of lives and events. Something to ponder ......
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