Think About It

How do we defend our faith?   Most of us know that, as believers, we have a need to stand up for what is right – however, do we understand the perimeters of what this entails?   You see, it is tempting to prove our rightness in a way that others won’t forget it.   Our reasoning is that if we are confident in what we believe and forceful in defending our beliefs, we win.   The question is “what” do we win?   Do we gain respect or just a reputation for being hard nosed and hard to endure?   A little earlier, I purposefully used the word “rightness” not “righteousness”.   You see rightness is knowing the answer while righteousness involves doing the right things.   I believe we can have the right answer, but if we combine that with the wrong attitude, we won’t be good influences.   We might win the argument, but lose points in the game of life. Years ago, the early Christian leader, James, observed, “And the seed whose fruit is righteousness...

Several years ago I spent quite a bit of time studying adult education.   One of the lasting lessons I learned was that we are all intelligent in our own way.   (Or was it that we are all ignorant in our own way?   Actually, I think both are true!)   When we stop and think about it, it's easy to see that we have our talents and we all have some sort of personalized intellect.   Not only do we learn differently, we all learn different things. The reason I bring this up is to encourage us to acknowledge the differences between people.   First, as we interact with someone we should try to put them in a position where their smarts are shown.   Figure out what they know and give them a chance to shine.   Second, let’s give ourselves credit for what we know.   We may not be able to explain geometry, but if we are a whiz at geography, let’s be out there teaching other people about how to navigate the world around them.   Most of us are well...

I am not sure why I was chosen, but I am getting several phone calls a day offering me some kind of a “really neat” loan opportunity.   All I need to do is call them back and (I assume) start repaying the loan.   Now, I realize this is not something I am interested in and since they don’t use the same phone number, I can’t block them, so I just let it go to voicemail and delete it.   I have heard their pitch so often I just ignore it.   I can’t imagine it will ever happen, but if some legitimate financial offer was made, I would probably miss out on it just because I have tuned out the rhetoric for so long. As I erased another one of those calls the other day I got to thinking about how often people have claimed that we are on the cusp of the Lord returning again.   They figure they can read the signs and begin to proclaim that the end of the world is at hand.   They get people wound up, only to be let down when nothing ever materializes.   I am co...

Who are we hanging out with?   As I look at that sentence, I am not sure it is grammatically correct; but I think you get my point.   Who is influencing us?   In years past, this might have been relegated to who we saw on a day-to-day basis, but in today’s digital world, we can even be influenced by people we have never met.   So with global influence in mind, I want us to consider the question, “Are they good for us?”.   Do the people we have a physical relationship with make us better?   Do the people we follow on social media help us to be our best?   One of the things I have come to notice in my lifetime is how contagious anger and hatred can be.   Humans have a propensity to get whipped up into a frenzy pretty easily.   Again, in days gone by we might be able to mitigate this potential by reducing the size of the crowds (mobs); but caustic people can have a massive footprint today.   This is why we need to be very careful who we...

As we close out September, there is still no final decision on whether we are going to change the time again on November 1.   The practice of changing the clocks twice a year has been around for a long time in the United States; but it has been the standard since the Uniform Time Act was passed in 1966.   This process has been under fire lately and some changes seemed to have been made when the United States House of Representatives passed the Sunshine Protection Act; but as of now, the Senate hasn’t acted so, here we sit – waiting and wondering.   This article is not in defense or opposition to whether we should adjust our clocks or not, rather it is a reminder that no matter what mankind decides to do, life still remains pretty much the same.   We may switch the digits on our timepieces, but the sun will still rise and set on its schedule.   We will have the same amount of daylight no matter what our timekeeping devices say.   It may be a bit frustrat...

If you go back to the New Testament, especially in the Gospels, you will find an interesting blending of terms.   The phrase “tax collectors and sinners” is used multiple times in Matthew, Mark and Luke.   Have you ever wondered why these terms (and those people) are conjoined?   The answer is probably related to a social perception of the day.   The tax collectors weren’t the professionals they are in modern society.   They were Jews who were considered turncoats because they collected taxes for the oppressive Roman (Gentile) government.   Additionally, there is an accusation that some of them may have actually over-collected what was owed by the citizens and pocketed the money.   As you might imagine, they didn’t have a good reputation among their kinsmen, especially those who held to a strict interpretation of the Law of Moses.   This background can help us understand why Jesus (who was known to hang out with this crowd) was criticized by som...