Think About It

The other day I was scrolling through some randomly generated quotes, but I noticed an interesting connection between a couple of them.   The first one, attributed to President Thomas Jefferson observed, “When a man has cast his longing eye on offices, a rottenness begins in his conduct.”.   The second comes from NFL coach, Chuck Noll, “A life of frustration is inevitable for any coach whose main enjoyment is winning.”.   While these men and their quotes might seem quite different, I believe there is a connection between the two observations.   When we measure our lives by our “successes” we are apt to fail.   First of all, for most of us, there are going to be a lot of losses along the way and if we feel the sting of each and every loss, we are bound to be discouraged – a lot.   For every person who ends a career on the top of the heap, there are many more who are buried somewhere in the pile.   Secondly, if we set our heart’s desire on being recogni...

I used to enjoy political humor, but I believe that like so many other things in my life, I am losing my sense of humor.  In days-gone-by I found some good-natured joking to be funny and even good for the national psyche, but the way things have disintegrated I question the value of poking fun at the beliefs of others.  Sure, I would like to think that everyone should be able to endure some good-natured ribbing, but I am not sure that is a good idea any more.  It has become too easy to be perceived as being offensive.  We might say, “Well, they need to learn how to take a joke”, but the point is that others don’t, so our lampoons create divisions.  Additionally, it has become tempting to use divisive humor as a way to vail our disdain for the thoughts and opinions of others.  By using cutting humor, we pretend that we are being funny when in reality we are disrespecting their beliefs. I doubt that the Apostle Paul had political and social humor in mind w...

          Have you ever been around someone who just keeps things stirred up?  They say and do things that tend to keep the gurgling pot of antagonism stirred up?  They seem to be happiest when the people around them are the most upset.  Now, let me ask a more important question – are we those types of people?  Are we the ones who don’t seem to be satisfied with peace and harmony?  Instead of basking in the glow of good works and good will, we just keep everyone on edge.  The problem with this type of mindset is that it is not only upsetting to our community, friends, family and co-workers, it is an affront to God.  The Bible cautions, “ For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, contention quiets down.  Like charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, so is a contentious man to kindle strife.” (Proverbs 26:20-21).  No, I guess the text doesn’t specifically condemn pot-stirrers, ...

          Most of us know that sin is bad.  That’s pretty much a given – but, there is another aspect of this situation that needs to be considered.  You see, since sin is pervasive in each one of our lives – Paul says, “... for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God ...” (Romans 3:23) – its presence isn’t the question.  The challenge is how do we deal with it when we do it?  Since we all sin, we’d better find a way to mitigate its consequences.  Here are some things we need to do to correct our wrongs: 1.  Seek forgiveness from God .  This can initially be done by entering into a relationship with Him, but even after we restore that relationship, we have an obligation to confess our sins.  When we do that God is faithful to forgive us. 2.  Seek reconciliation to others .  After restoring that relationship with God, we should do the same thing with those we harm.  Sometimes this is by asking...

According to a “This Day In History” website, today is the 80 th anniversary of the release of the Disney movie Pinocchio .   Now, I have to be honest here – I am not sure that I have ever sat through the whole movie, but I do know a few of nuances of the film.   First of all, I like Jiminy Cricket and, secondly, I know that when Pinocchio lies, his nose grows.   (I think I knew that before the Geico commercial reminded a new generation of the hazard of telling lies.)   In all honestly, this character flaw is probably the most notable thing about the movie to me.   While it might be an animated story, it carries with it a pretty powerful message.   Dishonesty has consequences. The discovery of the effects of lying was not something done by the Walt Disney Company, it has been around since the beginning of mankind.   Biblical history is full of examples of the negative impacts lying has on people.   Yet, maybe one of the most insightful verses ...

Several centuries ago a spiritual debate raged among the American Frontier – was faith something that was instilled in the heart of believers after their conversion or was it what was present in the believer that lead them to seek a deeper commitment to God?   There were several opinions on this subject, but one thought came from a New Testament passage, “...   for you have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God.” (I Peter 1:23).   As I considered the debate and the passage I was struck by another thought – no matter when faith is born, from where does it originate?   Often, when we discuss faith, we talk about it coming from an affiliation with like-minded believers or maybe even the result of a Christian upbringing, but according to the Apostle Peter, the spiritual seed that grows in us comes from the Word of God.   The foundation of our faith in God is built...

          We spend a lot of time in the religious world talking about how important it is to protect those who are the victims of social injustice and defending those who are falsely accused.  Yet, have you ever thought about our responsibilities to those who are paying a just price for the bad decisions they have made?  Whether it is the natural result of a sin they committed or the legal consequence of a crime they committed there are people who find themselves burdened by their own bad choices.  So, what do we do with them?  When Jesus told His disciples of their responsibility to visit those in prison (Matthew 25:36) and when He welcomed Peter back into His inner circle after he denied knowing Him in the midst of His greatest crisis, the Lord taught us about how far we should be willing to go to support people who messed up. So, now that we see the need to be there for people, how do we do it?  Here are a few suggestions: 1....