Think About It

The other day I did a lesson on the difference between “temptations” and “trials”.   While these words or often used interchangeably, there seems to be a distinct difference between them.   In fact, the New Testament book of James takes on the topic by noting, “ Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. ” (James 1:3-4).   In essence, God provides trials to challenge us to grow; but satan tempts us in an effort to steal our soul.   To put it succinctly, trials are good – temptations are bad. At the end of the lesson a friend of mine added another “T” to the mix – “tragedies”.   As we considered tragedies we discussed that due to circumstances, sometimes things happen.   Sure, some tragedies (such as school shootings and drug-induced crashes) have a connection to evil, but I can’t believe that God is the Source of all tragedies and I am not sure that the de...

Have you noticed how easy it is to argue policies?  Whether it is immigration, health care, social injustices, or whatever else the issue of the day happens to be, it is simple to develop a philosophy and be adamant in our defense of it.  We can sit in our “ivy covered castles” and remain unyielding about what we know to be right for the rest of the world.  While it is easy to develop a uncompromising ideology when it comes to rules, the thing that creates a problem for us is people.  The less we see the “policies” and the closer we are to the “people”, the more difficult things become.  As long as I don’t know any aliens ... or poor ... or mentally challenged ... or addicted people I can remain staunch I in my principles, but when a personal element becomes involved it is more difficult to toe the hardline.  That transition is called “compassion”.  It is great to be able to exchange ideas based upon clean, clinical circumstances; but we change th...

          Just in case you need a reminder, we are exactly six months away from Christmas.  Now, if you are like me, that means that I still have about 180 days to complete my shopping – but, if you are one of those planners, you might want to start getting on the stick because we are already on the downhill slide.            I tend to think of myself as a planner, but the truth of the matter is that I am comfortable procrastinating.  I assume that I have plenty of time to get done what I need to get done.  While procrastination is not always a bad thing (you can usually get some pretty good deals on Christmas Eve), there are some times when it can have serious – and disastrous – results.  The most troubling of these times comes with our spiritual lives.  Most of us live like we believe that we have our whole life is ahead of us, but we never know how quickly or how seriously things co...

One of the things that has made America great to this point is volunteerism.   From the beginning of the history of our nation, people have been willing to invest their time, their finances – and most important of all – themselves into our communities and our country.   However, as I look around at volunteer agencies today, it seems that volunteerism is waning.   Whether it comes from a sense of feeling too busy to help, a belief that unless someone pays us for our time/expertise we aren’t going to be involved or just a flat-out refusal to help others, people don’t seem to be drawn to volunteering.   While this may be a growing trend, it is a damaging one.   First, due to decades of cost-cutting, many of the programs that used to be publicly funded are no longer receiving funds and must depend upon volunteers.   If we believe in the value of non-essential services that improve our communities, we’d better be willing to invest our own time and money.  ...

          As I was boarding a plane the other day I was reminded of the value of “orderliness”.   Can you imagine what would happen if scores of people rushed to try to be the first ones on the plane as soon as the boarding doors opened?    There would be fist-fights to determine who got the First Class seats, brawls over who got the overhead space and a general bottleneck as everyone tried to crowd onto the boarding ramp.   It would be chaos and the idea of on-time departures or arrivals would be mere fantasy!   The airlines realize the value of an orderly boarding process, so beginning with the fare structure of buying seats all the way through the ticketing process and even zone seating there is a plan that makes schedules possible and travelers manageable.           As I thought about structure and planning I got to thinking about God’s design and creation of the wo...

Last week Jeane and I had the opportunity to visit Whitehall, the Henry Flagler Museum on Palm Beach, Florida.   I have been to a lot of museums and historic houses, but I have to tell you that what Flagler accumulated is impressive.   Not only did he have an incredible amount of money, he also acquired a lot of impressive stuff.   If you get a chance to stop by and see how the REALLY rich people live, it is worth the price of admission.   While I was impressed by the “stuff” in the house, the thing that made the biggest impact on me may have been the iguana that was sunning on the lawn.   Basking in the glory of opulence was an invasive species – an interloper –   that was clueless to what all this stuff was suppose to mean to us humans.   He didn’t pay to enter the grounds and while we walked around drooling at the possessions, he was relishing the impeccably manicured grass. As I thought about the lizard on the lawn it got me to thinking about ...

Last week I made a statement that I had made many times fully believing that what I said was accurate.  In fact, it had been a go-to comment I used to show my knowledge and make light of the ignorance of others.  The problem is that I was wrong and Jeane called me on it.  After getting a bit miffed at her, I did some research and found out that she was right and I was wrong – and had been wrong often and for a long time.  At first I was embarrassed by my error, but the longer I thought about it, the more I began to learn about me and the situation.  First, it dawned on me that not everything I had learned in the past was necessarily correct.  I need to make sure that I take the time to investigate what I am told to make sure it is accurate.  While this might be important in my social and educational life, it is vital in my spiritual beliefs.  I was reminded of Luke’s comments about the Christians in Berea who were, “… more noble-minded than ...