Posts

Thursday; April 16

Are we perfectionists?  In all honesty, I never really thought of myself as one (I mean I never erased the wrong answer until I obliterated the paper as well as the pencil markings); however, the older I get, the more I feel like I am tending in that direction.  The other day, I came across a definition from the “Verywell Mind” that identified a perfectionist as someone “who relentlessly strives for flawlessness, setting extremely high, often unrealistic standards for themselves or others. They are deeply meticulous, detail-oriented, and often driven by a fear of failure or mistakes, frequently equating their self-worth with their performance”.  You know, the more I think about it, the closer I get.  Now, here is the odd part about this observation – I will be the first one to tell you I am not perfect nor do I believe we live in a society that can be perfect; however, that doesn’t make my failure any easier to accept.  When I look at the words from the definiti...
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Wednesday; April 15

I don’t know that Tax Day is as big of a deal as it used to be.  Most of us have figured out a way to prepay our taxes (and even use it as kind of a savings plan).  In fact, a lot of us don’t wait until the deadline to file so we can spend the money the government refunds to us.  Still, whether it when we glace at our paystub, see the bottom line on our Form 1040 or make that final payment for last year’s taxes; it can be disheartening how much we pay.  I remember in years past that about this time of year we needed hear Luke’s words, “And He said to them, ‘Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’” (Luke 20:25).  Now, while this might help us deal with the amount of the withholding, I think there is something that might help us even more if we dig a bit further.  I am not going to get too deep into government taxation, but some of it is earmarked to help our fellow man.  Many of the socia...
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Tuesday; April 14

On this day in 1865 the recently “united” states went from a period of respite to one of grief.   On April 9, General Lee had surrendered to General Grant and the hope for a peaceful restoration of the nation began to be felt.   However, on April 14 President Lincoln was shot in Washington, D. C. and by 8:00 a.m. on the 15 th , he was dead.   The perpetrator of the assassination of the president was John Wilkes Booth whose hatred consumed him to the end.   Within a few days, he would be killed in Virginia; however, that wasn’t the end of the conspiracy.   Before the judicial diaries were closed, four others would die on the gallows (including one woman) and four others were sentenced to prison.   I can’t say that Booth was completely responsible for the fates of the others, but history seems to confirm that his influence contributed to their actions. As I was thinking about this the other day, I came across this bit of wisdom, “Do not associate with a man...
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Monday; April 13

A common response to finding out that we have done something in error is to try to find a way to justify what we have done.  We can either look for a loophole (a technical rationale to support our behavior) or the common response of seeking someone or something else to blame.  While I understand the internal defense mechanism that drives us to excuse our action, when we do this, we miss out on a very special attribute – forgiveness.  When we seek to deflect accountability, we minimize the impact forgiveness can have on us.  However, when we readily accept our guilt, we can find the joy of forgiveness.  I realize that this is a gamble when it comes to dealing with people, but when it comes to God, He is all about forgiveness.  He was so willing to provide us with the relief from sin that He sent His Son to sacrifice Himself for us.  If He went to that much trouble, we should be willing to accept it and embrace the freedom it brings us.  Does this m...
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Friday; April 10

          I am just a little too young to remember the impact that the announcement had, but it was on this date in 1970 that Paul McCartney went public with the news of the breakup of the Beatles.   The boys from Liverpool would not stop making music, they just wouldn’t be doing it together.   It is hard to fathom the impact that this music group had on the world, but over fifty years later, the music of the Beatles is touching people’s lives.   As I was looking through some of Paul’s other observations, I came across this one, “None of us wanted to be the bass player.   In our minds he was the fat guy who always played in the back.”.   If you remember back to the Beatles, Paul played the bass and has continued to do it for decades.   I wonder what would have happened – to the band or to Paul – if he hadn’t been willing to pick up the bass?           I think we all enjoy the place...
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Thursday; April 9

When Jesus’ disciples walked past a blind man, they decided to investigate a bit further.  John recalls, “And His disciples asked Him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?’” (John 9:2).   What follows is an incredible story of the power of Jesus and how truly blind some people can be.  Jesus was able to heal the disabled individual, but the situation left a lot of people in their own religious darkness.  While it is tempting to pounce on (and pile-on) the religious people in attendance, I wonder how often we are like the disciples?  Rather than seeing a chance to help someone in need, are we more interested in figuring out their backstory?  Instead of figuring out how we can be of service, we are tempted to try to figure out how people got themselves into that situation in the first place.  I honestly believe that had Jesus spent the time answering the question about how the man got into this sit...
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Wednesday; April 8

When many of us were growing up we were taught that if we just lived good lives everything would work out for us.  If we worked hard, kept our noses clean and cared about other people, things would be okay.  In fact, we might have been told something like if we just do good, good things would happen to us.  Who knows, people might have referenced the wisdom of Solomon who wrote, “The integrity of the upright will guide them, but the crookedness of the treacherous will destroy them.” (Proverbs 11:3).  It sounds good, doesn’t it?  However, most of us also know of people whose lives seem to contradict this adage.  We know folks who are rotten, but seem to have things continually go in their favor.  We know of others who are notorious for doing good but are just as famous for having bad luck.  How can that be?  If the proverb is in the Bible, how can the good suffer and the bad prosper?  I think the answer to this question comes fr...
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