Think About It

Happy Labor Day! I find it interesting that on the day we honor the value of working, most of us take the day off. Even though that is ironic, I am glad we have a day to celebrate work and have the ability to enjoy a day of relaxation. Ever since the Adam sinned, work has been a drudgery for mankind. There are times we can find value in what we do, but so often work becomes a necessary redundancy. We do what we do as long as we need to do it and can’t wait until we don’t have to do it anymore. While it is easy to see how we have gotten to the point we have gotten, what would happen if we could be re-energized by our jobs? While this is possible, the key may not be in changing jobs – what would happen if we changed attitudes? The Apostle Paul spoke of this when he wrote, “Whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” (Colossians 3:17). When we work to make a living and pay our bills it is easy to get ...

Are you ready for some football? Well, ready or not, here it comes! Football used to be a fall sport, but with the expansion of the seasons, it is getting an earlier start. Now, mind you, I am not complaining … I’m just saying. When football season rolls around, it takes me back to some happy memories – and not one of them relates to when I was playing. I was too small, too slow and probably too passive to participate in organized ball, but that didn’t stop me from being a big fan. When and where I grew up, there were several teams to follow – one of them being the Miami Dolphins. As a youngster, I was a fan – not just of the Fish, but of their coach as well. Don Shula was a fixture on the football scene during some of my most impressionable years. As I was looking through some quotes by the coach, I came across an interesting one, “You take what’s right in front of you. You want to do the best you can with the opportunities you have.”. As I read this quote, I was taken ba...

What do you do when you hear someone gossip? I am sure that some of us join in and add to the discussion, but a lot of us probably just listen. We don’t fan the fire of negativity, but we don’t squelch it either. Maybe we merely nod in agreement or even fain interest, but we don’t do anything to put it to an end. Now the reason I bring this up isn’t (necessarily) to critique our passive complicity in gossip as much as to remind us that if people are talking to us about others, they are probably talking about us to others. There is no way that we should expect to be free from being gossiped about when we associate with people who gossip. I am almost certain that when we are outside of earshot, the target becomes us. The wise man of Proverbs reminds us, “He who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets. Therefore do not associate with a gossip.” (Proverbs 20:19). It is engrained in the nature of gossips to talk about others, we shouldn’t expect to be exempted from the criticis...

Whose life can we make better today? I don’t think most of us wake up in the morning wondering how can make someone’s life miserable – but sometimes it feels like it turns out that way. Do you ever have those days when you feel like whether intentionally or not, we find ourselves at odds with multiple people? Most of us have those days periodically, but there are times when it just seems like we are magnets for mad people. When we find ourselves in that type of rut, maybe the best thing we can do is find a way to intentionally make people’s lives better. By setting out to be proactive in positivity, we will look for ways to improve the lives of the people we meet. Sure there will be times when we feel like no good deed goes unpunished, but when we set out to find ways to help people we will accomplish good. When Jesus was teaching His earliest disciples He challenged them, You’re your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father w...

What do we do when we make a mistake? There are a variety of ways to deal with our own failure, but the most responsible is to address it with those who have been negatively affected. If what we did was a sin, we should approach God seeking forgiveness. If our acts created a hardship for others we should find the ways to make it right with them. While these are adult responses to our failures, there is something else we should probably consider. When we have done what we need to do with others, are we willing to put the past behind us? Are we capable of moving forward with our lives by forgiving and forgetting our past? No, I am not talking about searing our consciences so that nothing bothers us – my point is a willingness to fail forward, then pick ourselves up and never look back. When King David reflected on God and his own shortcomings he wrote, “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is...

Have you ever heard someone say something completely out of character for them? While this might have been them dropping a word that you never thought you’d hear them say the focus for this thought is when someone makes a statement that is either false or in opposition to what you expected from them. When we hear this type of message, the most natural response is to be shocked at what they said – and too often the next response is to go around and tell other people what that person said. We can get a lot of mileage out of, “You’ll never believe what Charlie said …”. While it might be tempting to spread the message, our first step should be to go to the person making the statement and asking them if what you heard was their intent. Sure, there are times when people will surprise us with a new belief, but all too often what we’ll find is summed up in a failure to communicate. Maybe it was a misspoken word on their part of even a mistake in hearing or processing their original messa...

Unfortunately, I live vicariously through my sports teams. If my favorite baseball team is doing well, “we” are on a hot streak and life is good. If my beloved college football team is in a slump, “we” are having a down year and I am a bit gloomier than normal. Now the interesting thing about this observation is the presence of the word “we”. I have absolutely nothing to do with their ability on the ball field, but somehow I connect my contentment to their success or failure. It just doesn’t make sense! It’s okay to be an interested bystander as long as I realize that’s all I am! Now, the reason I share this is because the same thing can be said about our relationship with much of what goes on in our community – and even in our nation. There are times when things are going well and we can enjoy life, but there are also times when things are going poorly and they adversely affect our emotions. When we see people all around the country doing bad things, it can tend to make us f...