Think About It

The other day I was around a young man who was kind of having a tough day. You could tell he wasn’t doing what he wanted to do. I decided to ask if he would like to help me with a task, and immediately, his countenance changed. He perked up and handled the responsibility well. In fact, I believe he actually enjoyed doing it. As I look back, I wonder if he enjoyed being asked to do something “grown up” or if was the fact that a “gown up” asked him to do it. Either way, his day got better and mine got easier. As I thought about this, I wondered if our children miss out on being asked to do age-appropriate tasks? I understand trying to make their lives easier, but the sense of feeling useful can change attitudes and behaviors. I believe we have an innate desire to be helpful and, when we are asked to help, it makes it even more special and more fun. I understand that projects can take twice as long when shared with a child, but the lessons they learn and the memories we make ju...

I learned to type on a manual typewriter that didn’t have any letters visible on the keys. (Actually, my first typing class was with an IBM Selectric typewriter, but we moved in the middle of the year to a school that used the old manual machines and I almost failed typing – but that’s another story for another time.) We didn’t have a “back-up-and-correct” key or a correction ribbon and we couldn’t use white-out, so we had to actually learn how to use the keys. We had to master typing basics, so now that I type nearly every day, I know what I am doing. Sure, throughout the years I have gotten into some bad habits and rely too much on the backspace key – but I do know my way around a keyboard. The reason I share this with you is to tell you this is that it has helped me understand a biblical principle. When Jesus was asked about the important principles of godliness He went back to the fundamentals, “’You shall love the Lord you God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and ...

I believe that in the interest of improving self-esteem we may have given our children too much credit and assigned them too much praise. Now, please hear me out. Children should be encouraged and appreciated, but not to the point that they are the focal point of the family, church or community. Yes, they are valuable and deserve our love, but we must find balance for their lives. Now having said all that, there is at least one thing I would like to emulate from their lives – the pure joy they can express. As I write this in my office, there are several children playing just outside my door. They are loud – but they are happy – and that thrills my heart. The older I have gotten, the less pure joy I tend to find. Maybe I need to become a little more childlike in my approach to just having a genuine old fashioned good time. It is too easy to become jaded – let’s work on being joyous. There is plenty of time to be serious about life … it’s okay to let a little levity slip in as ...

I like this time of year. For one thing, people seem to be nicer to each other. There seems to be more joy and good will toward mankind. (Maybe we think that Santa really is keeping that list of his.) People tend to be more generous and – except for a few outbursts that result from a limited supply of the hottest toys of the year – there is a bit more patience with others. Another thing that tends of come to the forefront during the holiday season is a focus on religion. Whether it is the presence of reminders of spiritual living or even portions of the Bible on open display, the general public is more apt to display their religious side. Now, while there is something fun about this time of year, it can also be a bit discouraging. Why can’t we be this way twelve months each year? Why do we reserve our best for a “season” rather than striving to live it throughout the year? I understand the temptation to lament the limited presence of religion year round, but let’s do ourselve...

Is it possible to be right and do wrong at the same time? Okay, I realize that this may be a bit confusing, so let me see if I can make it a bit simpler by asking if we can have the right answer, but the wrong spirit? (By the way, I believe the answer is “yes”. We can be technically correct but display an attitude that all but negates our correctness. While truth can be expressed in a definitive way, unless we do it with an appropriate attitude, it has a tendency to lose is effectiveness.) Centuries ago, the wise man, King Solomon wrote a lot about knowledge and wisdom in the Old Testament book of Proverbs. Throughout the book he sought to balance the two related concepts. Knowledge allows us to understand facts, but it is wisdom that helps us put them into practice – especially when interacting with others. In the book he observes, “The tongue of the wise makes knowledge acceptable, but the mouth of fools spouts folly.” (Proverbs 15:2). Let’s seek to be as accurate as we c...

December 7, 1941 … a date that will live in infamy. When I was a child these words, echoed in my ears. No, I wasn’t alive when they were spoken, but it had only been a couple of decades before that they were uttered and they launched us into the second World War. When I look back on that date and that conflict I think of it as good vs. evil … democracy vs. world domination. Maybe it was just how I was raised, but it seemed much easier to tell the good guys from the bad guys back in that day. One of the struggles of modern life is trying to delineate the good from the bad. Maybe it is our permissive society to even the situational ethics that surround us, but good and evil are not as defined as they used to be. Now, while that may be true in a relative society, we can still find the definition of good and evil in we look in the right place. No, righteousness is not determined by politics or social morays, it is determined by the Word of God. Sure, each society takes it upon its...

Does it seem like religion has become too complicated? One criticism I often hear is that there are too many factions in “Christianity”; but, there is something else that seems to trouble me. I believe that we have made Christianity too complex. Now, I realize that mankind can never fully comprehend the depth of the mind and workings of God; but, I also understand that we can make things more difficult than they should be. Centuries of study and commentary have tended to muddy the waters when it comes to the essence of spiritual living. From the beginning Jesus highlighted the simplicity of His movement: love your God and love your fellow man. By being obedient to the King and kind to our neighbors, we are able to be pleasing to God and uplifting to each other. While we should all seek to gain a deeper understanding of our spiritual lives, let’s never overlook the true spirit of discipleship. Let’s keep in mind the message of Paul who said, “May the Lord direct your hearts into...