Think About It

Have we ever asked God, “Why me?”.  Sometimes we ask this question when bad things happen to us, but there are other times when we seem to inherit the troubles of others.  We may not be directly impacted by events; however, they are close enough to involve us.  We may not be the one who has breast cancer – it may be our best friend.  We may have our finances in order, but our siblings might be in a fiscal mess.  We may not be the one enduring the catastrophic calamity, but it is impacting others in our congregation.  When these things happen, we may not take the direct hit, but we are bound to be impacted with collateral damage in our lives.  This may be particularly confusing when we have gone out of our way to protect ourselves from these events and – now – here we are having to vicariously face them.  Why us?  The other day I was pondering this issue when I was lead back to an Old Testament story.  While Esther was rising to the to...

          The events of the last few weeks remind us that life is uncertain.   We might be cruising along one minute, then embroiled in emotional crisis the next.   We need to be alert to the dangers that may be lurking around us.             While this observation is obvious when it comes to personal protection, it is also true when it comes to our good reputation.   We can spend years building up a good name for ourselves, then in the failure of one moment we can lose it all.   We can invest a lifetime in good will, but it can all be lost in one mistake.   Sure, people might forgive us for our missteps, but the road to the restoration of trust can be long and winding.           Let’s be alert to those situations where we might be tempted to fall into immorality or improper behavior.   Yes, it can happen anytime...

What would you do if you were invited to an intimate evening with the governor?   Honestly, most of us would get excited if we had the chance to just be in the same building with our governor, but can you imagine getting a call asking us to join them for some personal time?   We probably would be just as happy if we were invited to a semi-private gathering with several dozen other people in the governor’s residence.   Can you imagine the excitement leading up to the event – we’d probably even go out and buy a new suit.   What would it be like standing outside in line visiting with others who were invited to the same gathering?   Wouldn’t it be exciting chatting with others who shared the same type of eager anticipation?   We’d probably arrive early and defend our place at the beginning of the line.   Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have the chance to get up-close-and-personal with someone so powerful, so famous, so important? What are we doing with our...

          One of the things I have learned about living in a “free and open society” is that everyone has an opinion and everyone has the right to express it.   One of the things that I have learned from living as long as I have in a free and open society is that we are better when we are willing to discuss things – even those things about which we disagree.             I think that most people would intellectually agree with the preceding thought, the problem comes when we put it into practice.   I may say that I like discussion, but it is very easy for me to shutdown communication with those who disagree with me.   Some end these discussions just by closing our ears (and our minds) and walking away. I guess we have the right to do this and, while I think it lessens our development and effectiveness, it is an inoffensive option.   Yet, there is another way to cease disc...

          One of the more intriguing stories of the Gospels occurred on a dark, stormy night.  Jesus had just finished a busy day with thousands of people and decided He needed a little break.  He sent the disciples on ahead of Him on the lake then He decided to join them later.  As all of us learned in science class, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, so He took off to join them by walking on the water rather than taking the longer route by land.  By the time Jesus caught up with the disciples’ boat they were scared and worn out by the storm.  Jesus reassured them that He was not the Grim Reaper coming to take them away, which prompted Peter to ask if Jesus would help him walk on the water – to which Jesus said, “Come on!”.  Most of us are familiar with the story of how Peter was able to walk on the water for a while, then was overcome by his fear of his surroundings and began to sink.  While there a...

  Have you noticed that when a law enforcement officer is charged with a crime it makes the news?  Another group that is a pretty big media target is our public officials – people seem to make a little extra effort in pursuing politicians and are a bit more vocal when they snag one.  On the surface, it might appear that this is a bit unfair, but when we take a good hard look at it, it is probably the proper thing to do.  Those who are in public service – whether they make the laws or enforce the laws – are given a lot of authority, so when they cross those lines, it is reasonable that they would be held to a higher standard.  Public trust has some benefits, but it also comes with a price tag. The reason I broach this subject is not to demean our public servants, rather as a lesson to those who hold themselves out as being godly.   When we profess Christianity, we need to understand that people will be watching us ... and some of them will be hoping to c...

          I have come to believe there are three types of people in the world:  critics, fixers and helpers.            Let me see if I can explain.  Have you ever watched as people evaluate the work of others?  Take for example, a minor repair project.  When we are in the process of working on something, people will tend to do one of three things – either they will tell us where we messed up (and go on their way), they will wait until we leave and fix it themselves (in other words fix what we are working on) or they will work with us and help us complete the project.  I believe that each one of us is predisposed to be one of these three types of people – but I also believe that there is one that provides more leadership than the others.  For the most part, when we offer to help other people we tend to rise to a higher level by showing cooperation and care.  “Critics” see the...