Think About It

Can you imagine the mood around Philadelphia on July 5, 1776? July 4 had been about dedication and declaration, but when the group woke up on the next day how do you think they felt? The euphoria of the decision was ebbing and the creation of a new entity weighed heavy on this band of leaders. They were still committed to their plan, but it was time for the work to begin. One of the men instrumental in the development of early America was Benjamin Franklin. Franklin was full of insight including this ditty, “For the want (lack) of a nail the shoe was lost, for the want of a shoe the horse was lost, for the want of a horse the rider was lost, for the want of a rider the battle was lost, for the want of a battle the kingdom was lost, and all for the want of a horseshoe nail.”. To put it a bit more succinctly, both preparation and planning are needed to be successful. Whether it is in the formation of a new government or as we plot our own individual course, it is great to develop ...

Happy Independence Day! July 4th is one of the most revered days in our nation. It marks the day our forefathers signed the Declaration of Independence and made their break from Great Britain. True freedom took a war (or two) and the creation of the government that united the states, but in the end, we established a republic based on freedom. While no nation is perfect, I have been blessed to live in this one and I appreciate the work that went into making it what it is today. As I think about America’s Independence Day it causes me to reflect on another type of freedom – emotional freedom. Are there things in our lives that are holding us hostage to a lifestyle of sin? Are there struggles that are keeping us from enjoying life to the fullest? Maybe it is greed, an addition, immorality, anger, laziness, discouragement – or any number of other things that keep us wound up or bound up. Unfortunately, because of this many of us struggle with not enjoying the ability to live free fr...

Preparation is good and necessary, but is there such a thing as trying to be too prepared? We all need good intelligence and information before we set off onto a project or an adventure, but there are some of us who spend so much time analyzing the process that we just never get around to doing what we thought we wanted to do. It could be that we are confused by all the information, but what might be more dangerous is that we get so used to waiting that waiting feels safe for us. Some people might call it a failure to get off center, but the more technical word for it is procrastination. Eventually, if we are going to progress, we must proceed. This might seem to be a mental or emotional health discussion, but in all honesty, it also has roots in Scripture. The Bible cautions us, “He who watches the wind will not sow and he who looks at the clouds will not reap.” (Ecclesiastes 11:4). We will never have all applicable information, nor will times be absolutely perfect to make fo...

When I was growing up there was an emphasis on our “Sunday Best”. When we went to church, we were encouraged to put on our best clothes and look our best for our time in and with the church. Your best might have been a suit and tie, hat and dress or maybe even your best overalls and a clean white shirt, but there was an expectation you would dress for the occasion. Another aspect of our Sunday Best was in our behavior. Not only did you dress better, you tended to live better. In addition to attending church services on Sunday a lot of people took that day off from work (or limited what they did on their farms or in the fields to what was absolutely necessary). There were “Blue Laws” that restricted things that could be sold or done on Sunday. Yet, maybe the most defining part of living our Sunday Best was a focus on more spiritual things. “Saturday Night Sinning” was replaced with living like “Sunday Morning Saints”. Our society has gotten away from the idea of Sunday Best – a...

You can’t make me do that – I have rights! How many times have we heard that? More importantly, how many times have we said it! When I look at this statement, two things come to mind. First, I am thankful that we can honestly say it in our nation without fear of reprisal. We live in a land that has put in place certain rights that we can depend upon. No, we may not always get it right in every case, but the underlying principle upon which our nation was built was to protect certain basic individual rights. The second thing that stands out to me is how this can be a way for Christians to demonstrate our faith – however, it comes with a cost: humility. How powerful could it be to be able to say, “I have rights, but I will do something for you because I care about you.”. When we voluntarily suspend our rights to demonstrate that the love and service of Christ is alive inside us, we give up our civil rights to promote Christian love. When Jesus was teaching His earliest disciples ...

There are many visions of heaven. In fact, if you ask several people how they think heaven will look, I am sure you will get very different answers. While there will be diverse opinions, there will also be some shared visions of God being the focal point and a lifetime of peace and joy. Let me add another image that can be added to a universal expectation of heaven – there won’t be any cemeteries there! Our communities are filled with cemeteries and some of our most revered mental images might be a graveyard next to a community church. However, these won’t be in heaven because there will be no need for them. You see, heaven is eternal – once we arrive we won’t die and without death there is no need for a place to be buried. No death means no graveyards and that may be one of the best revelations about our future. We need cemeteries on earth, but once we advance to heavenly bliss we can put these boneyards behind us. When Jesus described His believers He promised, “My sheep hear...

According to one of those “This Day In History” lists, on this day in 1991 Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall resigned from the United States Supreme Court. Justice Marshall had become the first African American to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States when it opened its 1967 session. Much can be said about Marshall, but I want to focus on one of his statements, “None of us got where we are solely by pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. We got here because somebody – a parent, a teacher, an Ivy League crony or a few nuns – bent down and helped us pick up our boots.” Americans have grown up with the notion that the pathway to success begins with hard work and self-reliance. While this is important, we must not overlook the impact others have made on us. Being self-made is a misnomer that belittles the influence others have had in our lives. Competence may help us sustain our opportunities, but often the thing that opens the doors is the influence others have had in ...