Think About It

How do we go about changing the world around us? The older I get, the more I begin to realize that few people are actually satisfied with the way things are. People on one side of a discussion believe we are too permissive, while those on the other hand feel constrained by the way things are. One of group of people believes we need more, while another group approaches the same problem advocating restraint. Honestly, I am not sure that we are ever going to agree, so that makes it important to set groundrules for disagreement. In a speech in 1956, Dr. Martin Luther King observed, “As you press on for justice, be sure to move with dignity and discipline, using only the weapon of love. Let no man pull you so low as to hate him. Always avoid violence. If you succumb to the temptation of using violence in your struggle, unborn generations will be the recipients of a long and desolate night of bitterness, and your chief legacy to the future will be an endless reign of meaningless chaos....

Jeane and I enjoy traveling. We actually like the process of going on the trip as well as arriving at the destination. Me, on the other hand, I also really like the shopping and planning for the trip. I am the type of person who will shop and shop for deals, then book the best trip I find. However, I don’t stop there. Even after booking the trip I will keep trying to improve on what we have. Can I find a cheaper rental car? Can I find a better hotel deal in a nicer location? If we go a day earlier for the same price can we get a better bang for our buck? There usually comes a time in the preparation for our trips that Jeane will say, “Enough already. Just stop!”. The reason I bring this up is I wonder if Jesus is as fed-up with us as Jeane gets with me. Before leaving the earth, Jesus established His church and set out the criteria by which people would be saved. Yet do we keep trying to change His plans? Are we constantly fiddling with His ideas – trying to make them mor...

How do we handle it when people do things that are wrong? As we contemplate this, I believe there are three things we can do with sin. First, we can ignore it – we can just pretend that what the other person did either wasn’t bad or that we don’t care. Second, we can excuse it – we might credit it to environment or individual weaknesses, but in the end, we just blame someone or something outside them for their action. Finally, we can hold them accountable – then forgive them for what they have done. Now, which of these resolutions seems to be the best option? If we tolerate sin it is just going to continue and will probably grow worse. If we continually excuse people’s actions, they will keep doing what they are doing and might even grow more committed to their actions. However, if we call them out of their wrongs (but let them know what we are willing to forgive them) we are able to correct the wrong without coddling the sinner. By forgiving them, we continue to have the abi...

Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s 43rd Sonnet contains one of the most familiar phrases in English Literature. As she evaluated the presence of love, she wrote, “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.”. There is no telling how many times this poem has been used to profess one person’s love to another nor how many times the phrase has been used to begin a general discussion of love. Interestingly, the Bible has something in common with Browning. You see, it too asks – then answers – the question, “How do I love thee?”. There are many places that describe love, but I came across a rather unusual one the other day. The Apostle Paul may be best known for his description of love in I Corinthians 13, but in his letter to the church in Ephesus, he observed, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:31...

Have you ever wondered why Christians can appear so glum? According to the New Testament, we are to be people who see the best in the world around them and are filled with hope, yet it is easy to spot a believer who is down. Doesn’t that seem contradictory at best and hypocritical at worst? Shouldn’t true believers be up and positive all the time? To be honest, I have struggled with this from time to time. I enjoy the blessings of Christianity and the hope that goes with it, but I am often overwhelmed by the evil in the world and the grand task of evangelizing the world that faces disciples. Is my faith too weak? Am I the only one who struggles with this? When I was younger, I might have been a bit more critical of my dilemma, but then I read the heart-wrenching assessment of our Lord, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you...

One of the things I like about college football is the increasing parity among the teams. Sure, there are still some great programs that are expected to win and typically have an edge in the competition, but there have been a lot of upsets this year. The first two weeks of the college season have reminded us that there is no true “sure thing” in college football. Teams like Jacksonville State and Montana are reminders to hold out hope of the ultimate upset. (Now, while I find this generally fun and exciting, I just hope that they leave my favorite alone.) The reason that I bring this up isn’t to help build interest in another weekend of college football, it is to remind us that the story of David and Goliath can be played out in every aspect of life. Whether it is on a ballfield, in a board room or even in a community; upsets do happen. The value in this observation is that our job is to do what we have been called to do and not worry about the size of the adversary. When we be...

One of the challenges we face as a developing human race is that we have gotten pretty good at overcoming obstacles. Wait! You might have to go back and reread that comment. How in the world could being good at overcoming obstacles be a challenge? The problem with it is that when we become comfortable with being comfortable we tend to avoid things that are inconvenient or uncomfortable. The thing prompted this thought was the headline from a newsfeed that proclaimed hundreds weathered a rainstorm to attend a 9/11 anniversary concert. While I was glad that people were willing to do that, the thing that piqued my interest was that it was newsworthy. This gathering was designed to honor and remember those who suffered one of the most horrific events in our lifetime – why should a little rain interrupt it? Modern society is continually facing the dilemma: Convenience vs. Commitment. Are we willing to endure “hardships” to take a stand? Are we committed enough to a cause (any c...