Think About It

The Germans have hosted the Summer Olympics on two occasions – once in 1936 and once in 1972.   Interestingly, each of these events is noted for more than the athletic competition.   In 1936 there was a Nazi presence on display – the same mindset that would lead to a World War.   However, to me, the most personal were the ones I watched unfold in 1972.   On September 5, a group of terrorists besieged the Olympic Village and, before it was all over, 17 people died.   The events were tragic enough, but maybe the thing that makes it memorable for me is that it was played out on live TV.   Some fifty years later, just the thought of the Games generates a strange feeling for me. I am sure that there are lot of lessons that have been and could be learned from the events in Munich, but one that sticks with me is how easy it is for our reputation to be scared.   When I think of Munich, I think of death and devastation.   I am not sure I will ever shake ...

          When you envision love, what comes to mind?  When a lot of us imagine love, we conjure up images of hearts and flowers and, while that can happen, there is another side to love.  A few years ago, “tough love” was a popular phrase; but even without the pop psychology aspect, love can be hard.  If we agree that love is wanting the best for people, we can easily see that it can be difficult.  Whether it is due to their actions or our attitude, hoping that people are successful and helping them to become the best they can be doesn’t always come easy; however, that is not an excuse.  One of the most accepted aspects of humanity is that we should “love our neighbor” – but that takes effort and dedication.            Is there someone we are having trouble loving?  What are we needing to do make it happen?  Maybe the first thing we need to do is remember is that love doesn’t n...

There have been a lot of fads during my lifetime – some positive and others, well let’s just say that society could have been done better.  One of the ones that was as part of my teenage years was the Kung Fu action movies.  Now, I have to admit that I was not a big fan – either of the movies or the drive-ins where many of them were shown.  Even though they didn’t get much of my money a lot of people dropped some cash to watch people like Brue Lee do their thing.  I don’t know much about Lee, but history has proven that his stardom was short-lived – not because of popularity, but because of lifespan.  Lee Jun-fan died at the age of 32.   As was doing some reading about the life and times of the action hero I came across an interesting quote, “Mistakes as always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them.”  While this statement follows a pattern – both spiritual and logical – but the thing that stands out to me is the certainty of the stateme...

Have you noticed that it takes a lot fewer follies to ruin our good name than the number of positives to restore it – or even maintain it?   It seems like it takes a lot of effort to put ourselves in a position where people respect us – but it doesn’t take many mistakes to lose our reputation.  As I reread these couple of sentences, they seem to be a bit laborious – let me see if I can offer a quote that explains it better and more succinctly, “Dead flies turn a perfumer’s oil rancid, so a little foolishness is more potent than wisdom and honor.” (Ecclesiastes 10:1).  Now, while this might be a bit colorful, it is true.  It doesn’t take much foolishness to humiliate us! Sometimes, all it takes for us to avoid this downward spiral is to think about what we do before we do it.  It doesn’t take much planning to play the fool, but if we add just a bit more wisdom, we might be able to avoid trouble.  Let’s stop and think about ...

               Happy Labor Day! Labor Day means different things to different people.   For some, it is a Monday holiday.   For others, it represents the unofficial end of the summer.   For some hunting enthusiasts, this year it is also the beginning of the fall hunting seasons.   In an odd way, this is one of the transitional days of the year.   Yet, lest we get too far away from it, Labor Day is also a celebration of labor in America.   It honors the work being done and the workers do it.   So, for those of you who are working to keep America moving forward, thank you. Now, speaking of work, how do we approach it?   Do we see our labor as something we have to do or something we get to do?   Do we lament that we have to go to work or do we find value in what we do?   Not long ago, I was reminded of another aspect of work – it is a way to glorify the Lord.   The Apostle Paul noted, “W...

For a lot of people, this is the beginning of the end of summer.   Most of us are familiar with the fact that the summer season extends until September 22, but for all practical purposes, the Labor Day weekend is the beginning of the end.   Since Labor Day is September 1, it’s almost like we have been cheated out of a week!   As we prepare for the transition that includes cooler weather and the beginning of the school year, it is easy to lament the loss of summer; but let’s not say good-bye too soon.   Let’s enjoy the nice weather that we still have ahead of us – and let’s not forget all the good times we had during the season.   As the days fade into autumn, let’s not forget what we did get to enjoy. In a sense, life is kind of like this.   It is full of seasons and transitions.   While it is tempting to harken back to what used to be, let’s not lose sight of what still might be.   Just because we are moving on from where we have been, that doe...

          This week is a fun one for a lot of us.   While a few college football teams got a head start over the last few days, a lot of us will see our teams take the field for the first time this weekend.   Now, I am sure that there are a few “quality” games on the schedule, but there will be a lot more tune-ups for the 2025 season.   This is the time of year when most of the larger universities get a real-time test and a lot of the smaller schools get a pretty good payday.   Yet, no matter the matchups – we are ready for some football!           In honor the kickoff to the college football season, I thought I would offer a quote from Knute Rockne.   The hero of college coaching is credited with a lot of words of wisdom, but one statement I found interesting was, “One man practicing sportsmanship is far better than a hundred teaching it.”.   Honestly, I think sportsmanship has lo...