Think About It

It has been said that “those who can’t do, teach”.  I don’t know the origin of this phrase; but, the implication is that once we have outlived our usefulness about all that is left is to try to pass on our wisdom and opportunities to others.  When we consider leadership and training from this perspective is it any wonder that we hang on to our opportunities with all of our might – often beyond the time of our effective date?.  In the Business World this is often referred to as part of the “Peter Principle”; but, a better illustration might come from our refrigerators.  How many of us are like milk cartons that hang around past their expiration dates?  At best, we tend to stink up the place and at worst we often leave a bad taste in people’s mouths.  What would happen if we welcomed transition?  Rather than being focused on “doing” until we become ineffective, how much better would we be if we were willing to help others develop the talents they need...

It appears that at the dawning of each day there is some type of new revelation of wrong-doing.  Whether it is a moral lapse, a high-profile criminal act or a violation of the public trust, the news is filled with information on someone who has committed acts that are either immoral or illegal.  The increasing number of public revelations in recent days might tend to lead us to ask if the rules have changed, but the answer is “No”. The truth is that rules have been in place, but have been ignored for a while and, now, there is a new call for accountability which is what has led to the fallout. It is natural to wonder if anything can be done to fix a system that seems to irreparably broken, but that negativism is misplaced.  Yes, we can fix what ails us, but the answer may not be popular.  Centuries ago, when King Solomon instructed the young “up-and-comers” in his kingdom he taught, “ For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and und...

When we envision the final judgement, what comes to mind?  For some, it might be the image of a an old-fashioned scale.  On one side is all the sins we have committed and, on the other side, we have all the good that we have done.  In the end, we hope that the good outweighs the bad (and maybe – if we find ourselves lacking – we hope that God will place His thumb on the good side of the scale to tip the balance in our favor).  Unfortunately, this imagery is contrary to the basic principles of theology because any amount of sin – no matter how minute – will outweigh all of the good we can ever do.  So, in view of a seemingly hopeless situation, where do we turn?  The answer is found in the vision of Jesus hanging on the cross.  This image is the profound answer to our sin problem.  On our own, we cannot balance the scales through a lifetime of effort, but He was willing to solve the problem by spending three days in a grave.  The Bible explai...

A couple weeks ago I was snuggled into my nice warm fleece blanket in my favorite recliner watching a college football game when I got a call from a friend of mine.  Her car wouldn’t start and she asked if I could come and help her out.  For a second my “practical” brain wrestled with the inconvenience – I would have to leave my game, put on warm clothes and drive half way across town … Oh Man!  Fortunately, my next thought was much more productive.  My memory brought to mind a time when Jeane and I were out of town and our daughter’s car broke down on her way to college several hours from home (and several hours from school).  I picked up my phone and called a couple of friends of mine who didn’t bat an eye at helping us out.  Not only did they drive down to where my daughter’s car was, they loaded it up on a trailer and moved it to where it could be repaired.  All of a sudden, my current inconvenience wasn’t all that inconvenient.  Sure, I woul...

I am sure there has always been an natural uneasiness between those who enforce the law and the citizens of a community.  Often, even generally law-abiding citizens have an uneasiness around officers and deputies. (Have you noticed all the brake lights light up even when an unoccupied police car is in the area?)  While there has been a history of conflict between law enforcement and the community, it seems like things are getting more intense these days?  My question is “Why?”.  Is it because the criminal justice system is corrupt or is it because people just don’t like the laws on the books and the face of those laws are people who enforcement them?  Often, those who write legislation are perceived to exist in some faceless isolated environment, so we take out our dislike of the law on those who enforce it? I realize that I am opening a can of worms with this discussion, but this seems to be a natural bridge to a parallel issue involving the perception of Ch...

When people offend us, what do we expect of them?  Certainly, we look for an apology and, most of us hope that they make things right.  Sometimes this is merely accomplished with a sincere “Thank You”, but there are other times when we expect more – either some change in behavior or, on those rare occasions, some type of physical restitution.   I mean, fair is fair, right? Now, let’s turn the tables … when we offend someone what do we expect from ourselves?  For the moment, let’s not talk about those we mistakenly offend by an inadvertent action, what do we do when we know that we are at odds with others?  The most common reaction is hoping that they didn’t notice what we did, but when it becomes apparent we offended them, then what?   Most often we wait for them to approach us and ask for an apology, but is that the right answer?  Shouldn’t we be proactive in addressing the situation and finding the appropriate remedy? When Jesus review...

The other day I was reading the news and noticed an interesting development – a partisanship with regard to bad behavior.  Typically, when we think of partisanship we look down political party lines, but this was something different; it seemed to be more along the lines of friends and colleagues.  Entertainers were defending fellow entertainers while openly throwing politicians under the bus.  Politicians were calling out athletes while excusing the bad behavior of their peers.  Teammates were supporting each other while pointing out the faults of those on other squads or those outside their particular sport.  This type of human nature is nothing new, but it can be dangerous.  When we defend or excuse the bad behavior of those who are close to us we begin a trek down a path toward evil or lawlessness. The Bible says that David was a man after God’s own heart, but when he sinned God held him accountable for this actions.  After having Nathan, His pro...