Think About It

Why should we live productive lives? What is the value in having a job and filling the remainder of our time with productive activities? Well, on one hand doing good things produces good results – we can make money, help people and make a positive difference by being involved in good works. Yet, there is another benefit to staying busy – it keeps us out of trouble. In addition to keeping us from doing illegal activities, it also helps us to avoid pitfalls in our social interactions. The Apostle Paul warned a certain group against inactivity by noting, “At the same time they also learn to be idle, as they go around from house to house; and not merely idle, but also gossips and busybodies, talking about things not proper to mention.” (I Timothy 5:13-14). He commanded another group to work, then observed, “For we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life, doing no work at all, but acting like busybodies.” (II Thessalonians 3:11). Have you noticed how easy it is to...

When I was a young parent, people would warn me about children. Now, while some of the things they said made a lot of sense, there were other things that I just wasn’t sure about. One of the things people would talk about was children who acted up just so they would get attention – even negative attention. This didn’t make sense to me because when I was a child I did everything I could to avoid negative attention. I was such a people pleaser that I would choose to be invisible before I would chose to illicit the wrath of an adult, especially my parents. Now, while I still wonder about this childlike reasoning, I have no doubt that it exists in adults. I believe there are some people who do things for shock value. In fact, they will do things that are so inappropriate that people can’t help but react to them. They value attention over acceptance, so their goal is to be noticed. The reason I bring this up is to ask about the best way to deal with this shocking behavior. If we en...

Five years ago I went to Urgent Care to get some relief for my flulike symptoms and, before the week was over, I had been replumbed. Come to find out I didn’t have the flu, I had five blockages. (I am still not sure how I could I have that many blockages – I thought the max was four; maybe I just arrived on “free bonus bypass day”.) I can joke about what I went through today, but it was kind of scary – not just for me, but probably more so for my family! As I look back on that time, I do so with a lot of appreciation. First, had it been a year later, we would have been deep in the COVID pandemic and things would have been much different. Additionally, had I not done what I did when I did it, my cardiologist said what I had is usually referred to as a “widow-maker” and that doesn’t sound too promising! May, 2019 wasn’t the best month of my life; but it sure wasn’t the worst either. As I look back at this time in my life, I am grateful for the way things ended up. For me, it rem...

The other day I was reading about someone who had embarrassed themselves and was trying to “explain” why they did what they did. In offering their reasoning for acting inappropriately, they said that they had a condition that prompted them to drink to excess and that is why they did what they did. On the surface this might sound like a solid rationale, but the more I thought about it, the less sense it made. If I am aware that I am at risk to be negatively impacted by something – but don’t do anything to intervene – am I really guiltless? Do I really have a legitimate reason to do something inappropriate if I can reasonably expect that certain triggers will generate that bad behavior? In other words, it is a reason or an excuse. I realize there are mental illnesses and emotional conditions that can generate problem behavior – and some of those things are uncontrollable. I get that and I can live with those unavoidable actions. However, when we know we are susceptible to stru...

Do you have plans for the summer? Maybe a more accurate question is how many plans do you have for the summer? When our children get out of school there is often a mass exodus toward fun and exciting adventures. In addition to big trips, there are also summer camps, summer schools and summer rec activities. For a lot families our days are filled and our bank accounts are emptied! Summer is a fun time of the year, but as we approach it, I want to ask you to do one thing – don’t forget to keep God in your lives. You might look at that statement and wonder if I think you are out running off the deep end of the moral cliff, but my main point is to make sure to take time to keep up with your worship. Summer is hectic and it can be tempting to use Sundays as a day of rest. While there might be a case made for this, our plea is that you don’t rest from God and your spiritual family. In other words, as you plan your summer activities, don’t overlook your spiritual activities. The Holy...

I had to make a quick trip to Ohio last week and drove close to Kent State University. For some of you, Kent State may not mean much, but for those of us who grew up in the last half of the 20th Century, the phase “Kent State” probably congers up some mixed opinions and a lot of sadness. On May 4, 1970 dozens of students were shot and four of them died during protests. What makes this incident so disturbing is that the shots were fired by Ohio National Guardsmen. In a sense, the event at Kent State captured a glimpse of what was going on in parts of our nation at that time. For most of my life, the phrase Kent State and the song “Ohio” have caused emotional pain. You may be wondering why this comes bubbling to the surface – and the answer is that I am getting a strange sense of déjà vu. In light of the recent protests and disagreements on international affairs, I hope and pray that wisdom and common sense will prevail. We must make sure to agree that the enemy on these issues in...

This is National Police Week and today is Peace Officers Memorial Day. If you have spent much time around me, I hope you realize that I go to great pains to be fair and balanced in most things in my life – but when it comes to the men and women of Law Enforcement – and the profession as a whole – I am unashamedly biased. I am a cheerleader for the people I know who spent decades protecting and serving – those who have chosen to maintain peace and order in our civilized world. They are the ones who make the daily choice to stand in gap between civility and chaos. They put their lives at risk to make sure we sleep soundly and safely at night. Not only do I back the blue, I also do all I can to support their families. I have seen firsthand the price families pay to stand beside their officers – they are the unsung heroes of the Law Enforcement world! Most people have a “cop story” and, honestly, some of them are not very flattering. I, too, have a lot of cop stories but most of m...