You Think You Have Problems?

So what's your problem?  Everybody has on.  At least one.  Have you ever had one of those conversations where everybody is trying to out do each other on how bad they've got it.  Is it misery loving company?  I'm not sure.

So we can get caught up in our own misfortune.  I think that we suffer from the delusion that if we have it worse than everyone else, than we have the justification to do nothing about it.  But there is another side to facing a problem, it is your capacity to overcome it.  If I get sick, that's a problem.  Here in the US I can go to a doctor or hospital and I may be able to be treated.   This same illness is a much bigger deal in an undeveloped country that does not have the same access to health care.

Fortunately, Christians have access to the ultimate capacity for problem solving.  No matter what problem we are facing it is not bigger than God.  The Holy Spirit works through us and through those around us to create opportunities where only problems exist.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God -Philippians 4:6

And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” - Mark 11:22-25

So we all have problems.  After a while we just get used to them.  Managing them becomes part of us and what we do.  However God can give us victory over these problems and the other ones we haven't noticed yet.

What Is Your Passion?

One time I was getting a hair cut and I noticed that the barber had a lot of old baseball memorabilia on the walls and shelves around his shop.  As he was cutting my hair I made a comment about it and he started telling me about it.  You could tell he was really into this collection and baseball history and it was really interesting.  I wish that he would have cared as much about giving a decent haircut as baseball.  When a barber says, "In a couple of days you won't even notice that spot,"you know it didn't go well.

 

So what are you passionate about?  What stirs you inside and makes you notice.  Picture this, you are about to sit down to dinner and the phone rings.  What could that call be about that would make you want to skip the dinner and get right at it.  

If you can't think of anything, maybe what you are most passionate about is that dinner.

So what cause do you care about and how can the skills and gifts that God has given you help in advancing that cause?  

Some workers just show up, phone it in, go through the motions.  They are doing there job, nothing more nothing less.  And we need those people.  Sometimes a job just needs to be done.  It would be great if someone felt a passion for shoveling snow, but in the mean time, the walks need to be cleared.  That being said, the person who just shows up does not have close to the impact of the person with passion.

Focus

Can you multi-task?  Once I was on facebook and I am having a chat-conversation with someone and what do you know, a second chat window pops open and another person starts chatting with me.  I know teenagers who can carry on a eight different conversations between text, snapchat, facebook and the like.  For me, two is one too many.

Brain research says that true multi-tasking is impossible.  The brain can only concentrate on one thing at a time.  We can do several things poorly, but we cannot do multiple things as well as if we did each, one at a time.  The problem is that our world does not often give us the luxury of one thing at a time.  When was the last time that you were able to move through a task from beginning to end without someone trying to interrupt you?

And so far we are talking only about the mundane tasks that make up our days.  If we are talking about the important stuff, real change, purpose, that type of thing, there will be people who are actively working against it.  They have a different point of view or a different position.  They are profiting from the status quo and hate to see it end.  

God has a purpose for out lives and we need to stay the course and keep from being distracted. Whether those distractions happen because of busyness or opposition we need to keep focused on the goal.

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. - Collisions 3:2

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. - Philippians 4:8

I keep thinking of hall of fame running back Barry Sanders.  He was hard to stop on the football field.  He would get bumped and blocked, but he would pivot, spin, side step, jump whatever it took to keep moving down the field.  If he did get knocked down he was back up next play wanting to do it again.

When trying to accomplish our goals we need to be like #20.  Pivot and spin from the distractions and keep our eyes focused on the goal.

And Then Some

George Toma has been a groundskeeper in Kansas City for several decades.  Though now retired, he had been the head Groundskeeper for the Kansas City Athletics, then the Royals and the Chiefs.  He was chosen to supervise the grounds crew for every Superbowl, two Olympics and the World Cup.  Permanently upbeat he was quoted as saying that in 70 years of baseball, he had never met a bad player.

George Toma made excellence part of his life by subscribing to the motto, "and then some." His philosophy is to do everything that you need to do ..... and then some.  If you live that way long enough, excellence becomes a habit.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. - Philippians 4:8

 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, - Collisions 3:23

 There are people and organizations that are consistently excellent.  Think about actors or actresses that you have never seen in a bad film.  Everything they do is excellent.  Some brands we buy consistently because they are always good.  We go to that mechanic, get our hair cut at that place, go to that restaurant.  We know what people and places are committed to excellence.  As Christians, we are called to be one of those people.

Excellence needs to be a habit or it's just luck.  I think about fast food french fries.  Sometimes they are hot fresh and crisp.  Other times they are soggy and limp.  Some people ask specifically for fresh, or for no salt, so that they have to be made fresh.  When you get good ones it's just luck not excellence.

So is our life, our work, our walk, our testimony more like George Toma and his attitude of "and then some" or is it like the french fry guy, "maybe they will be good, but maybe not."  God is calling us to be people of excellence.

Whatever You Want

Have you ever tried to get a group to decide something?  There is always someone who says that they don't care, until someone picks, then they do.

Maybe we could go here - I don't really want a buffet.

Ok.  What about here? - That's mostly fried food.

We could always go here? - They're expensive and the service is slow.

Why don't you pick a place? - Oh, I don't care, you pick.

I suspect that you have had that conversation.  If you weren't on one side than you were on the other.

As parents we sometimes do it to our children.  We tell them that they get to choose, but we really mean is one of a few narrow options.  The choice is hamburgers or hot dogs.  They aren't allowed to choose steak.  Some friends let their three year old choose the name for their new pet bird.  The child named it, "Mine."

Carte Blanche is a French term that means literally "Blank Check".  Giving someone carte blanche is to give them complete freedom to decide and act.  Whatever the cost.  There are no restrictions, not blackout dates, no exclusions. Whatever they want, they get.

So the question is what permission do we give God to influence our lives.  We are called to give Him carte blanche, but often we are saying "Some Restrictions May Apply." or "Does not apply to holidays, weekends or other times that are inconvenient."  We say, "God you can choose, as long as it's one of these few options."

“Let go of your concerns! Then you will know that I am God. I rule the nations. I rule the earth.” (Psalm 46:10 GW)

Pastor Rick Warren says, "Every day, you have to decide who’s going to be in control of your life — you or God."

When we narrow God's options in our lives, we close off many possibilities.  We restrict God to choosing hamburgers or hot dogs when He wants us to have a big porterhouse steak.

Leading People Out

In the 1980s there were several action movies based on Vietnam and they all had a similar theme. You may remember the titles, "Missing in Action", "Rambo", or "Uncommon Valor."  The idea was that there were still Americans being held captive in Vietnam after the war ended and we were sending in a person or a group to get them out.  So Sylvester Stallone or Chuck Norris go in against the odds, a great personal risk and with many explosions and a stirring sound track manage to set them free.

This is the call of Christianity, to set people free.  Most people have issues in our lives that there is no getting over on our own.  We all think of alcohol or drug addiction, but there are plenty more.  The chains that bind us are those things that keep us from God's purpose.  Ego, Greed, Lust, Insecurity....  They can all be prisons from which we need to be set free.

One difference between the action movies and the prisons that we find ourselves in is that the prisoners in those movies always wanted to be set free,  Chuck Norris didn't fight his way in just to be told, "No thanks. I'm good here."  Some people just aren't ready to be set free.  They don't see the problem.  They aren't ready to give it up and move on.  But God is waiting, and he will be ready when they are.

The tag line in the movie "Missing in Action" is The war's not over until the last man comes home.  And so it is for us.  The war continues as each of us is freed from what binds us and as we help those around us get freed from their own.

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. - Galatians 5:1

Risk - Reward

How comfortable are you with risk?  Are you willing to take a chance, roll the dice, jump in with both feet?  Some people find risk taking thrilling.  They love the adrenaline rush from the risk or at least a perceived risk.

Amusement parks have a lot of thrill rides, but they aren't risky.  The rides go high and move fast, but they are incredibly safe.  You are much more likely to get hurt driving to the amusement park than at the park itself.  Bungee jumping, rock climbing, even skydiving have multiple safe guards so that we can experience the thrill of being risky, but without risking anything.  And that's not the same thing as real risk.

Real risk only comes when there is something to lose.  Some things feel like a bigger risk than they really are.  Shark attacks are exceptionally rare.  Kids are much more likely to be injured by a pool or a trampoline than a gun.  There are no records of anyone, ever, at anytime having been killed by a meteorite.  And people are not putting poison in Halloween candy.

Insurance is all about controlling loss.  When we buy insurance we are saying that I will accept a guaranteed amount of loss now (the premium) so that I am sure there will not be a greater loss later.  The balance between rates, risk and reward are what the insurance industry is all about.

In most situations involving risk. we need to balance the risk with the potential reward.  If I am putting a lot on the line, there better be a chance at a big payout at the end.  I have heard that among people who invest in commodity futures, only a very small percentage make money (less than 10%)  but for those people who do, the payout can be significant.  Even when there is potentially a big reward, risk takes courage.  CS Lewis said, “Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point.”

  So what about Christianity?  Is it safe or risky?  It really depends on the payout or the significance that we want our Christian walk to have.

So what do Christians risk.  In some countries Christians are persecuted and the risks can involve arrest and imprisonment or worse.  In the United States there is not that type of risk.  The types of risks that we take involve our reputation and our standing.  It is the risk of being embarrassed.  So is this a perceived risk like skydiving or tainted Halloween candy or a real risk?