Think About It

Which authors do you read? What newspapers subscriptions do you have? From which network do you get your news? Which commentators do you rely on? I realize there are a lot of questions all stacked on top of each other, but I can probably answer them from almost all of us – we tend to navigate to the ones we like. We read and listen to the people we like, those who tend to think the way we think. More often than not, we aren’t as interested in learning something new as we are having the information we believe reinforced. Now, I know there are some people who are insightful and enjoy hearing from all different angles – but, honestly, I am not as open-minded as them. There is nothing wrong with liking what we like, but if that is what we choose, we need to remember there are just as many people on the other side as what we have on our side doing the same things as we are doing. For all the conservatism that I am getting, they are probably being exposed to a more liberal thought-p...

The other day I came across an interesting phrase in a compelling Bible verse. In discussing the need for physical and spiritual discipline, the writer notes, “All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.” (Hebrews 12:11). Interestingly, it wasn’t the application of discipline that struck me, it was the result. I have never thought about the “peaceful fruit of righteousness”. When I thought about this, it really struck me – the most peaceful times in my life were when I was involved in doing right things. Sure, there have been times when making a spiritually-based decision created a bit of a stir, but all-in-all, the better I live, the more peaceful my live is. Not only am I able to be confident in my life, I also avoid the crisis that comes from mistreating others and the ramifications of accountability that bad choices bring. Most of us say that we strive ...

Have you ever thought to yourself, “You know, I should probably give to this cause; but what happens if I donate now and five years from now I need to the money?” Or maybe your internal conflict went more like this, “I should probably serve on that Board of Directors, but if I get a promotion at work in a few years I might not be able to give it the attention they deserve.”? Sound familiar? Most of us have this type of dissonance in our lives. We try to balance the opportunities we have “today” with what the future “might” hold. We are interested in doing what we can, but we want to plan for the future. Now, I am not advocating that we put our future at an extreme disadvantage by frivolous living today, but we need to remember that we don’t know what the future holds. When we are too wary of making the most of today because of what could happen in the future, we miss out on the only real opportunity we have. Not only is today the only thing we can accept for certain, the oppor...

Here is one of the basic challenges of a system built on civility: do we primarily seek to hold offenders accountable for their actions or are we more apt to offer mercy for crimes and seek to rehabilitate offenders? While I believe there is probably a way to strike a balance in the justice system, we spend a lot of time and effort trying to find it. Now, while I understand the value of a discipline-based rehabilitation system, we must not overlook the need for punishment – but maybe not for the reason many people might attribute to me. In all honestly, it isn’t everyday citizens who most benefit from accountability, it is the vulnerable population. Most of us who are physically, financially, mentally and emotionally stable have a pretty good defense mechanism that can help us avoid becoming victims of crimes, but even if we are victims of crime the vast majority of us can bounce back. The people who are at greater risk of criminal activity is the vulnerable population. By defin...

While Presidents Day has come to honor all of the presidents of the United States, there are a couple that tend to stand out on this day: Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. Since Washington’s birthday is this week, I got to looking at some of his quotes. (I am not sure if he if famous because he is so quotable or if he is quoted so often because he is famous, but either way, there is a lot of stuff out there.) As I perused some of his sayings, I came across a short one that packs a powerful punch, “It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.”. At first blush, there is an obvious simplicity to this observation, but the further you dig, the more wisdom you find. Years ago I heard someone describe an excuse as a “tissue-papered lie”. Sure, there are times when we have reasons for why we do or don’t do something, but all-too-often, we try to excuse our way out of failures. There are times when we are tempted to out-and-out lie about our failures; then, probably more often, ...

Are we waiting for something special to happen to us? Are we sitting around prepared to accept our fate – just waiting to pounce on the opportunity that presents itself to us? On the surface this might sound like a good way to approach life; but there is basic flaw – waiting for good things to come our way limits the good things we’ll encounter. It might be fun to sit on a corner of our hometown and watch everyone hustle and bustle to pursue their dreams, but it isn’t very rewarding. Unless we are willing to get off the sidelines and involve ourselves in the pursuit of happiness and fulfillment we probably won’t find it. Interestingly, this is something that Jesus advocated for His disciples. Early in His ministry, He challenged them (and us), “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7). Sure, periodically, we may see something we like by watching the world go by, but until we go out and investigate what is poss...

The other day I was reading a book by Andy Stanley that mentioned, “Fundamental Attribution Error”. I had never heard that phase before, but once I read its definition, I realized I had been around it all my life. Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE) is defined as our tendency to attribute another person’s actions to their character or personality while attributing our own behavior to external circumstances – usually those outside our control. A common example of how this works is in tardiness. When others are late to a meeting, we attribute it to their inability to plan or their lack of concern for the time of others. However, when we are tardy, we are more than prepared to blame unusually heavy traffic or the fact that our boss wouldn’t let us go on time. In essence, we are willing to excuse our own behavior (there is a logical explanation), but when someone else does the same thing we are quick to find their character flaw. Its okay for me, but it is anathema for you to do the...