Think About It

I like proverbs – not just the literature, but the book as well.  As I was reading from the Old Testament book the other day, I noticed this gem, “The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, but everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty.” (Proverbs 21:5).  When I first read this bit of wisdom, I was inclined to think about someone who doesn’t think things thought.  They make a quick decision and stick with it; yet, as I pondered this a bit further, I wondered if there wasn’t another application to it.  Rather than merely condemning thoughtless rationale, could we learn something about stick-with-itness?  (Yes, I know that isn’t a word but hang with me for a bit.)  Most of us know the dangers of not giving something the appropriate calculation, but could the same be said about conviction?  It is easy to try something and if that doesn’t work, we just give up and walk away.  How much more could we accomplish if w...

What do you do when you are facing a difficult decision?   It is convenient to boil our decisions down to one of two options – either yes or no.   We can either choose to do something we way we perceive it should be done or we walk away from it.   The problem with this reasoning is that there are times when either end of this spectrum can leave us in a quandary.   We miss out on some neat things when we avoid an action or we feel bad because we did something that made us feel uneasy.   Wouldn’t be nice if we could have chosen something in between that avoids the uneasiness and makes us feel good about what we did?   Upon further review – why not?   What if we put in the extra effort to find a way to multiply our options without compromising our principles? When I think about wisdom, this is a scenario that I can easily imagine.   Wisdom isn’t just knowing the absolute rights and wrongs – one of its great traits is to find that solid middle groun...

April 20 th has been known for some famous (or maybe even infamous) events; but one that is not so well known is that it is Steve Spurrier’s birthday.   Now, depending on your perspective, this event could also fall into the famous or infamous category, but you have to admit that the Old Ball Coach has been making news and headlines for a lot of years!   The other day I was reading some of his quotes and came across an old one from 1967, “I can write off 1967.   It has not been especially enjoyable or educational.   I blame myself for two things:   I wasn’t prepared, and I haven’t improved a bit since college.”.   Coming out of the University of Florida, Spurrier seemed to be a can’t-miss; but he did.   As a college quarterback and later as a coach, he was elite – as a professional ballplayer; well not so much.   The reason that I highlight this quote is his willingness to take responsibility for what happened – or, maybe more importantly, what...

What do we do when someone shows us up?   I would imagine that it has happened to all of us – we had something planned and someone did something to either diminish what we were doing or did something to promote their own agenda.   Whether they did it on purpose or not, it can be humiliating, aggravating or painful.   So, getting back to the original question – what do we do?   A common reaction to this is to snap back at them, either by finding a way to make them look foolish or to give them a lecture on their insensitivity which features a dressing down in the form of the question that begins, “How could you do that to me?”.   In the long run, I don’t know that it makes things better, but at the moment, it tends to make us feel vindicated.   Unfortunately, the good feeling we get might be negated by the damage we do.   We might feel better, but we probably don’t look good. Rather than retaliating against the perceived slight, we have two better opti...

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...

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...