Think About It

Have you noticed how easy it is to be adversarial today?  Before the era of mass media, to be angry at someone they probably had to do something to you personally to generate ill will.  However, as our ability to reach out to others has increased, so has our propensity to become upset with people we’d never even met.  We might hear a news story about someone or read something they wrote and, if we didn’t like their perspective, we would become adversarial.  Now, with so many outlets and opinions, it easy to stay riled up.  Honestly, we don’t even need to invest time in getting to know someone anymore because the friend of my enemy almost automatically becomes my enemy.  It has become easy to dislike someone just because they think like or even look like someone we don’t like.  We need to be careful because, if we look hard enough, we might be at a odds with everyone!   I’d like to a ask a couple favors of you.  First, please don’t get ma...

Have you ever lashed out at someone and then realized you weren’t as much angry at them as you were at the situation you were in?  The  individual hadn't done anything deserving of your fury, it is just that you were so emotional about what was going on that they just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.  We may have been upset, embarrassed or frustrated about what was happening and they caught the brunt of our emotional reaction. While this is understandable – and quite natural – it is also unfair.  When we react personally to someone, they can’t help but take it personal even if it wasn’t their fault.  Now, they walk away wondering what they did to deserve our wrath, trying to decide whether they should feel embarrassed, angry or hurt.  All because we responded in the wrong way to the wrong people.   Let’s make sure we respond to the issue rather  than reacting to the situation.  When this happens, there is less collate...

There are certain rules of life that we count on. One of them is that, if we do good to people, they will do good to us. Now, while most of us operate in this way, not everyone follows the rule. Those who violate this unwritten social contract are the reason for the adage, “No good deed goes unpunished.”. Even when most of us practice the doctrine of fairness, there are others who take advantage of the goodness done to them and they are the ones who create doubt. While we know that there are people who function this way, one of the struggles with this is that, sometimes, they seem to succeed through their deception. They not only mistreat us, they are also rewarded for it. Now, while this does happen, there is a proverb that can help us balance our dismay. The wise man of the Old Testament notes, “He who returns evil for good, evil will not depart from his house.” (Proverbs 17:13). No, this isn’t a hard and fast rule, but it’s a pretty good standard. Sure, there are some peop...

Last Sunday I did a sermon on proper speech and came across something I’d never thought of before.  A portion of the lesson dealt with telling the truth.  As I was doing some research, I noticed an interesting passage that discussed a problem with lying.  The Apostle Paul wrote, “As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ …” (Ephesians 4:14-15).  I have done a lot of lessons based on the principle of speaking the truth in love, but it was an earlier part of the passage that got my attention.  Have you ever thought about why people lie?  One reason is to manipulate others to do what they want them to do.  They can’t convince them with the truth, so they lie in an effort to get their way.  Lying isn’t just dece...

Have you ever wondered why anxiety is so draining?  I hope you have never had this experience, but those of us who deal with stress and anxiety often feel worn out.  Being stressed is hard work – not physically, but emotionally.  When we analyze the nature of anxiety, it is easy to see why it wears us out.  First, anxious people have trouble turning off their brains.  They are constantly thinking, rethinking and rethinking about their issues.  Often, since there is typically no identifiable issue, you never get to the point of being able to figure out the problem.  It is kind of like starting a race only to find out that there is no finish line.  You head off in this direction, then there is a sign that the finish line has moved.  Then, they change the length of the race.  Then someone comes in behind you and strings the tape where you have already been.  It’s like shooting at an imaginary target that they keep moving.  (Sounds...

I like new, cool stuff – especially when it comes to electronics … including computers.  I don’t need the latest and greatest machines, but it is fun to have one.  I can do most of what I need to do on an average machine (in other words, one like I already have); but something with new shiny buttons on it is cool to have.  This was my thought process last week when I started looking for a new computer; but the more I looked, the more I realized that what I had was fine – the investment in something new wasn’t worth the cost or inconvenience of starting over.   As I thought about my decision to forego my purchase, I got to thinking about how many other elements of our lives are “just fine”.  Maybe it was a job that is going stale, a marriage that we have grown comfortable in or maybe how we practice our religion.  There are times when it might be tempting to change for change’s sake, but is it really worth all the problems that come with it?  Could...

A couple of days ago a friend of mine preached a sermon that centered on Jesus feeding the multitudes.  Often, when we consider these stories, we seem to focus on the power of Jesus to feed thousands of people with a “Kid's Meal”, but my friend brought up an interesting point.  Jesus didn’t just have power, He also had compassion.  When Mark tells of a second feeding he begins by noting, “In those days, when there was again a large crowd and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called His disciples and said to them, ‘I feel compassion for the people because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come from a great distance.’” (Mark 8:1-3).  Folks, it is cool to focus on Jesus’ miracle, but I believe it is His mindset that also teaches us a great lesson.  Jesus cared about the people and He wasn’t about to let them suffer when He could do something ab...