Thursday; May 6

Are we under-expecting from people? Throughout the years many of us have run into a problem where we expected people to act better than they did. We became disappointed when people didn’t do what they should have done or didn’t reach the potential they could have attained. (Oh, and by the way, I am sure that many of them could have said the same thing about us.) In days gone by, there seemed to be a higher bar that people were expected to reach and, when they didn’t do it, we became disheartened. I feel like there has been a shift in our collective mindset recently and we have intentionally lowered the minimum acceptable behavior. No, the problem isn’t that godliness or truth has changed, the issue is that we have just come to expect less from each other. We are willing to tolerate less in an effort to unify more.
While this movement to dummy-down our behavior may have taken off in modern society, it hasn’t changed God’s expectations for us. Interestingly, if the truth were known, for many of us who grew up being held to an advanced standard, we probably realize that we aren’t doing what we are supposed to be doing. Like much of the rest of the world, we have become comfortable with under-expecting; however, deep down inside us, we know that we should be doing better. Maybe in the back of our minds we are hearing the warning, “Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.” (James 4:17). To those of us who know better, we’d better be doing better.
Let’s not become complacent with the world’s standards. Let’s stretch ourselves to do what is right and pleasing to God.

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