Think About It

Do you know any hypocrites?   Now, before we start listing the names of our adversaries, let me reel this in a bit by re-asking, “Are we ever hypocritical?”.   Do we ever say one thing and do something that disputes what we claim?   I am sure that there are several examples of this in each one of our lives, but the most damaging are those that are affiliated with our religion.   Sure, moral or ethical glitches might taint our reputations, but are there times when our hypocrisy actually gets in the way of our spiritual standing?   Maybe more sobering, do our actions render our spiritual worship ineffective?   The wise king of the Old Testament, observed, “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.” (Proverbs 15:8).   I remember as a child we used to play “church” and, when I look back on children imitating what we saw the adults doing, it was cute.   However, as adults merely “playing ...

One of the fascinating stories from the life of Jesus was how He was able to calm the storm on the sea.   If you aren’t familiar with the story, Jesus and His disciples were on the water in a boat when a tempest arose.   One interesting thing is that as the disciples were fretting, Jesus was sleeping.   Yet, the most amazing feat was when Jesus calmed the storm with a simple, “Hush, be still”.   While this is cool, I think there is one other interesting observation, “Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, ‘Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?’” (Mark 4:38).   While it is easy to be critical of the disciples – to their credit – they hadn’t read the outcome of the story.   As I reflected on this challenging time, I can imagine me responding with something like,   “Of course I care, I just didn’t think it was that big of a deal.”.   Thankfully for the disciples I wasn’t in the boat … and...

When I was younger, I would hear “older” people talk about how difficult it was to age because it seems like everything hurts.   I recall laughing it off – but as I am aging, I am realizing it is no laughing matter.   Actually, it can be kind of funny listening to me and my contemporaries visiting because just about every conversation centers around what is sore and where we are going to the doctor.   Yet, I have recently come to realize that my aches and pains happen when I am sitting around not doing anything.   It hurts less to walk than to sit.   The joints that ache when I am sedentary usually feel pretty good when I am exercising.   As odd as it seems, there may be a life lesson or two in that.   Have you noticed how tough life seems to be when we are sitting around not doing anything; but how good we feel when we are out doing things and making a difference in the world around us?   When we are stagnant it is easy to sit around and compla...

Which would we rather be – the smartest person at the table or the wisest individual in the room?   Interestingly, I would imagine most of us would say that we value wisdom, but how often do we seek to show off our knowledge?   We want to have the right answer and we are willing to bulldoze to prove that we are right.   We would rather win the argument than win the moment!   The problem with this mindset is that it tends to divide us.   When the early Christians (who had made the good decision to follow Jesus) were being taught, they were cautioned to seek wisdom.   While being warned, “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.” (James 3:15); they were challenged, “Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.” (James 3:13).   We must never settle for anything less than truth, but that doesn’t mean that we have the right to be argumentat...

Saturday was just one of those days.   There were lots of good, competitive college football games with several upsets thrown in.   Three of the top four teams lost.   Five of the top ten teams lost and several of the others squeaked by with wins.   For a casual onlooker it was a fun and exciting day on which the action was decided on the field and not on a voting ballot.   Unless your team was one of the ones that lost, it was a good reminder that that’s why they play the games. Now, you might be wondering what college football has to do with life; but, as I reflected on the day it was a reminder that life isn’t about the sure things – often the excitement is in living it out and seeing what happens.   For some of us, uncertainty makes our heads hurt, but when we take the assessment of winning and losing out of the picture and focus on the process, life can be entertaining.   When we allow ourselves to experience “life” wherever it takes us, it ca...

I think that one of the challenges of Christianity in the 21 st Century is that we have “Americanized” it a bit.   Now, please bear with me for a bit before tuning me out.   What I mean by that is we have applied American principles to what we expect from religion.   To be successful, it is tempting to believe that we have to be the biggest.   We need to be politically powerful and socially viable.   We need to be the movement that everyone follows.   Now, while that does have some appeal, I am not sure that is the case today, nor has it ever been the focus of God.   In fact, Jesus noted, “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14).   We shouldn’t be surprised if we aren’t the powerhouse; that was never the intent.   Sure, when it ...