Think About It

I was at a meeting last week where I caught up with several people I hadn’t seen in a lot of years – in fact it had been over a decade since I’d seen some of them. The great part of the visit was that we picked right back up where we left off years earlier, the troubling part was that these people had gotten older! They were still their same selves – they just looked different (okay, they had grayed). At one point I joked, “You guys have gotten older – even though I haven’t changed a bit.”. One of them challenged my statement and said that he had come across a photo of both of us recently and, yes, I had changed, too. The reason I bring this up is not to lament the aging process – it tends to beat the alternative – rather it is to remind us to make sure we look at ourselves honestly. While this is important when it comes to accurately assessing our physical appearance, it is more important to do a spiritual assessment. We shouldn’t criticize the faults and failings of others wi

Last week I shared with you an observation from Jacula Prudentum – a book of wisdom from centuries ago. Well, here is another one: “One enemy is too much.” As I reflected on this observation, several things came to mind – including wondering if anyone can really be enemy-less. Very few people I know (if anyone I know) can go through life without making an enemy. Even if we don’t intentionally set out to do it, merely by our reputation or what we believe, someone is going to take issue with us. However, a quick reminder about proverbs – they are guides by which to live, not necessarily absolutes. With this in mind, maybe the real application is that we should do our best to not set out to antagonize people. The point may be less about being liked by everyone, rather we should strive to avoid being unlikable. In essence, let’s not live in such a way that it makes it easy for people to dislike us. (Do you know people who seem to be intent on making enemies? Let’s not be those t