Friday; May 22

As governments are beginning to ease the restrictions on movement and freedoms around the nation, one of the issues is staying healthy.  Do we need to keep our faces covered?  Should we go or not go to public events?  Is it safe to eat together or shop together?  Throughout this whole ordeal one of the underlying themes has been a return to protecting our health. 
         While I think it is important to stay healthy, we must not overlook another vital aspect of our lives – we must protect our spiritual health.  What would our society look like if we spent as much time talking about our spiritual well-being as have our physical health over the last couple of months?  How different would our lives and our communities be if we had been as interested in protecting ourselves from satan has we have been protecting ourselves from the virus?  Again, I think we need to be doing everything we can be doing to maintain our health, but we must not neglect our spiritual well-being as well.
         A friend of mine, who is a church leader, continues to say that our goal is to avoid any spiritual casualties as a result of what is going on.  Centuries ago, the Apostle John began a letter to his Christian brethren put it this way, “Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.” (III John 1:2).  Let’s make sure we are protecting our soul and spirit as much (or more) as we are protecting our physical selves.  Remember, the quality of our lives on earth depend on good health habits; but our eternal souls demand that we stay in good spiritual health.
Think About It!

Popular posts from this blog

Tuesday; November 29

The biblical story of the Good Samaritan has changed our world. Notice I didn’t say that it had change religion or even Christianity, it has influenced the world. There are very few people who don’t know the moral of Jesus’ parable about the Good Samaritan. In fact, the phrase has become a common description of everyday people doing good to their neighbors. While Jesus’ parable from Luke 10 shares several spiritual lessons, one of the most practical is that good can be done by anyone. You don’t have to be a church official to do good, it is not only possible for each one of us to help, it is required of all of us. If a Samaritan can be good, so can we! After presenting the parable, Jesus asked the man who had originally asked the question about being a good neighbor which character in the story was a good neighbor, “… he said, ‘The one who showed mercy toward him.’” at which point, the discussion from theoretical to personal, “Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do the same.’” (Luke
Read more

Thursday; January 12

The other day I was watching a television show that used a rather common term applied to overcoming challenges. When organizations experience unexpected setbacks – especially when they lose key people – they rely upon the concept of “Next Man Up”. In essence, when our starters (or stars) go down, effective organizations rely upon their next levels to step into the vacancy. While this is an effective response, have we given much thought as to how we prepare to be the “next people up”? First, we must know our job. Even when we aren’t the primary players, we need to be preparing ourselves to be ready when we get the opportunity to shine. Second, we must do our best when we get the chance. Knowledge is important but what turns potential into talent is effort. Yet, maybe the most underappreciated aspect of this concept is a willingness avoid excuse-making and whining about the unfairness of our situation. When we complain about the circumstances that caused the need for replacements
Read more

Monday; September 25

When I was a youngster, I remember hearing about this thing called the Generation Gap. I was a little bit too young to be active in the social movements of the 1960s, but I do remember listening to the challenges the generations were experiencing way back then. Interestingly, now that I have been on both sides of the aging process, I have to admit that the Gap of the 1960s was nothing new. With the development of each generation comes conflict. The young people don’t feel like the older people understand them and the older folks tend to believe their input is being underappreciated. Too often trust is the casualty when two generations collide. The sad thing is that it doesn’t have to be this way. When we can capture the innovation and energy of the younger folks and harness the wisdom of those who have been around for a while we can develop a winning combination. No, we won’t always see things eye-to-eye nor will we necessarily speak the same emotional language, but when we app
Read more