Who Qualifies?

You have probably noticed you have alot of people in your world. And, with all of those people, you have roles and responsibilities to go along with them. Take a few moments to write down the names of those people who are most consistently present in your life.

Now that you have a little more clarity, who chooses how your life is going to go? How is all going to fit together? It is your life. You are writing your story. So, who is going to be holding the pen? I think it is more important than you may know.

To begin with, you are purposed in this life. You have been placed here for a reason. Every day you have a distinctive part to play. With that in mind, no one qualifies to create your life but you. I personally believe the only one who qualifies but you is the God who created you. Begin with Him. Listen. Stay aware of His lead.

The alternative is to play the victim. Let someone else choose and you will always have someone to blame. Unfortunately, victim's aren't highly valued in this life. They are pitied. They are looked upon as the unfortunate. Who wants to live that way, on purpose?

The reality is yours. You choose how your story will be written. God has great intentions for what He has created. Others don't qualify. They aren't responsible for your choices. You are. Celebrate it. Do well, my friends.

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What Are You Thinking?

How consciously do you prepare for living each day? How prepared are you for dealing with things in life that typically provoke anger in you? How about the people and situations that frustrate and create stress in you? Stress and anger are created from the inside, out. What you think about any given thing will define how you manage it. Will you react or respond? Will emotion or reason play the biggest part in those times? Those questions will be answered by what is going on in your heart and in your mind.

The ancient Greeks thought of the mind as the seat of both your intellect and your emotion. It really is the working relationship between these two forces that create peace or stress. Most of what creates anger and stress in your life flows from what you fear. Fear is the culprit most of the time. Fear, however, is defined by you. Your thoughts establish your context. The key is to anticipate and prepare for the life contexts you most often experience. Staying philosophically fit is your challenge.

Reading is nourishment for your mind. What you listen to and what you watch creates so much of what goes on in your mind.

What do you think about rejection for example? If your thoughts define rejection as being failure, you will probably avoid anything where rejection is possible. What if, however, you see rejection as opportunity to create possibility? What if you regard it as a qualifying moment? No failure just opportunity. What you think makes all of the difference in the world.

My encouragement for you is to prepare for the life you are about to live. What are your narratives? Are you afraid? Are you discouraged? Are you stressed? Get behind what you feel and find the thoughts that are defeating you. Rethink life. Read, listen, and be exposed to things that support and encourage you. What are you thinking? You choose. Do well, my friends!

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Success Defined

Success is clearly a personal concept. Its definition is as diverse as the human population. There is, however, one dynamic found in any definition of success you might encounter: the recognition and conveyance of value. Someone creates and communicates value in which someone else is willing to invest. When a person represents value and that value is recognized and respected through the invested response of others, success is achieved and experienced.

So, success is achieved anywhere value is represented and received. As a result, success is a prize experienced both in the personal dimension of our lives as well as in the professional. Forty-two years ago, Barbara invested her life in me in becoming my wife. She saw something in me worthy of her investment. I believe her investment in me as being the greatest success of my life.

I have friends who have invested in me as well. Likewise, I have invested in them. As human beings we represent value. How that value is perceived by others is another matter altogether. People regard what you represent and they choose. Now, before you get worked up over the judgement word, you have to know that everyone experiences and renders value judgement, including you. Standing in judgement of another from a prejudicial vantage point is never wise, nor is it the point here.

Here is the point. People will embrace others as more than a life acquaintance if and when they perceive their value to be worth more of their time, emotion, and risk. As a result, over time, people invest themselves in the friendship of others. Over time, people will be worthy of the invested relationship of employment. People will be perceived as representing the value of higher levels of trust and so they are promoted into more significant roles of influence. People invest their vote in people who they judge to be worthy of that affirmation and so they cast their vote. I hope you get the point.

The challenge we face daily is effectively representing our created value. My encouragement to you is to always begin with God. Place Him at the center of your world. Then, because of His love for you, invest yourself in others. Your valuing of others will actually make you valuable to them. It is not manipulation. It is serving meaningfully and personally. Contentment in life will be learned through investing in others and in making yourself a value in whom they choose to invest. Think about it. Do well, my friends.

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The Power of Recognition

Understanding the power of recognition is essential to powerfully influencing the world around you. Far from manipulation, recognition is about actively showing respect for the actions of others. By celebrating the value of what you see, you are validating them and the choices they are making. Otherwise, how will they know?

So, what difference does it make? It makes none if you are content with moving through life having limited effect. In reality, the difference you make in this life has less to do with what you do and more about how you celebrate the life performance of others. By recognizing and praising them for what you see, you actually multiply your own effect.

Think about it. While what you value in life is important for you to represent, it is through the encouragement you communicate to others that your influence is actually maximized. It is your influence in the lives of others that makes the difference. Recognition is the key.

All it really takes is active awareness. By staying more aware of the people in your world, you are able to catch them in the act of distinctively representing the very things you value. Your active recognition of their behavior encourages them to keep going. People need to know. They need your validation. They may say they don't but they do. They need your reflection of them as much as you need theirs.

It is not about allowing others to define you or you them. It is about being responsive. It is about giving and receiving feedback. Relationships are about relating. Relating to others involves communicating what you see, hear, and think. Commit to recognizing and applauding the best in others. It is the best way to represent yourself. Do well, my friends.

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Beginning Again, Again

Half of this year is almost gone. It is hard to believe. But, I said the same thing last year at this time and the year before. As "halftime" approaches, it is time to think about things you have done well in the first half and things you need to adjust or change altogether for the second. It is important to begin with intention. It is equally important, however, to "begin again" with integrity. What is there in your life you intended when you began this year and yet you realize now you simply are not getting done? It may be time to begin again. It is ok. It is really more than ok. Don't give up on your process.

The first thing to ask yourself is, "Was it important when I intended it?". It is typically when you begin that you have the greatest clarity. You knew what you needed to do and how you needed to do it for the most part. Some adjustment may be required along the way. It is part of the process of living and learning. Where you will get lost is in the why. Over time, sure, you might need to adjust the how some. You may even need to reconsider the what. Most often, however, the real culprit is in the diminishing vision and connection you have of , and to, your reason why. It must stay strong and clear in order for you to stay consistent.

Staying clear about why is important because of the alternative you will face. To the degree you lose sight of your reason why, to that degree you will invite a level of disappointment and depression into your life. Your self talk will begin to become filled with negative self analysis. You will begin to hammer yourself about what you are not doing. You are a loser. You always give up. You are weak. It is just like you. Do any of these statements sound familiar?

Accountability is about maintaining clarity. It is about staying reminded of your what and your why. It is maintaining the integrity of your life intentions. Remember, "Intention without execution creates depression". It is true. And, you can do something about it. Choose to begin again. It is a power you have as a human being. Choose to exercise it now before things go any farther. I know where I need to begin, again and I know why. Do you? Do well, my friends.

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Choose Your Culture

Where do you spend most of the time in your life? My guess is for most it will be in the workplace. Each week, we have 168 hours to live. If you sleep like most average Americans, you probably don't get much more than six hours of sleep per night. Which means, you would have 126 waking hours to experience. If you approach your work like most of us do then, one way or another, you probably spend somewhere close to 50 hours either in or traveling to your place of work. I would suggest most Americans spend over half of their lives at work.

Here is the point. If you are going to spend over half of your life in a place with people who aren't the people you love most or to whom you have the most commitment, why would you not want to do your part to make it the most positive, productive, and powerful experience of your life? Yet, the culture experience at work being produced by most of us is toxic to say the very least. We live it and then go home completely wasted. Then, we get to take on the hard part of living. Is there any wonder family life in this country has and is being ravaged.

I believe we need to create workplace cultures where we receive energy to live the rest of our lives. Before you think it, I know it is work. I also know work done well in the midst of others who are equally committed to creating a special, if not protected, professional environment in which to work can be an experience that is both healthy and positive.

Here is your reality. You are going to have to choose to create it. You cannot wait for others to produce it. You can encourage others to join you in producing it. You can't wait for management or ownership to produce it. They can't do it for you, and in many cases, they won't. You can, however, manage up and influence them toward the difference it will make in company productivity, morale, and ultimately, profitability.

Start a movement in your workplace. Begin as you travel toward it. Listen to something instructive and positive. Choose to represent the culture you want to experience. Respect others. Recognize the kind of behavior in others, management included, you want to continue to experience. Determine to grow and develop. Learn something even if it does help "the man" make more money. Do it for you. Learn to communicate clearly and with power. Engage conflict and learn to produce through the opportunity it represents. Then, go home. Take home with you the energy you will have created. Do well, my friends!

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Life's Limiting Factor

Life is difficult and fear is the complicating factor. In fact, it is the limiting factor in all of our lives. It complicates life because it limits the relationships we were meant to know and enjoy. Fear serves to limit us on several levels, however, it does its primary work in the area of intimacy in relationships.

Fear of someone really coming to know us is one of fear's most limiting factors. The best definition I have ever heard for intimacy is "the ability to share our most present fear with absolute confidence". It is our lack of confidence in who we are that serves to defeat us. Because we are insecure in ourselves, we hide from others.

We are afraid to get too close to others because of our fear of losing them. Once again, fear tends to limit the very thing we were meant to enjoy. We stay afraid of losing something we were never meant to own. Relationships are not possessions. They are privilege. They are meant to be a life experience where we can love and be loved.

Fear keeps us afraid of exposing ourselves and all of our weaknesses. We don't want to look, or feel, foolish. In fact, we work overtime to keep from being seen as we are. We disguise ourselves. We wear masks to hide our weakness. We want to avoid being vulnerable at all cost.

We will only come to know true relationship with others when we allow them to know us as we really are. It is when we allow ourselves to be vulnerable to another person that we begin to know and be known. It is by engaging our fears that we conquer them. The work begins within. We have to find peace. Our identity issues need to be settled. It really is a spiritual matter. Knowing others begins with knowing ourselves. Make peace with self and know peace with others. Do well, my friends.

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How Will You Think?

Why do we think the way we think? We think the way we think because of what we have experienced in life up to this point in time. So, as we begin this new year, we all have the opportunity to think new things because we are all about to experience the unknown of tomorrow. A few weeks ago, I suggested that there is one thing you can depend upon during the year to come, and that is the unexpected. You have a life waiting for you over which you have no control except for the way you will respond to it. Your thinking will be changed forever because of the reality of the unexpected.

What will you do, on purpose, to influence new thought for yourself? I mean knowing that you will have things happen, over which you will have no control, what will you do, on purpose, to influence yourself? I want to encourage you to begin this new year with a determination to change your own thinking. It is going to happen to you anyway. Why not approach it with specific intention?

Begin by meeting new people...on purpose. Make the decision to spend time with people you admire. Contact them and ask for the opportunity to interview them. Ask them questions that make a difference. What motivates them? How do they handle disappointment or failure? How do they deal with conflict? Who has influenced them the most? How have they gone about maintaining some kind of balance in their lives? If they had anything they could change, professionally speaking, what would they do? Keep the time short but make it meaningful.

Read something you have never read before. Read a different genre of book or material to wrap your mind around. Think about reading Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. Read Oh the Places You'll Go by Dr Seuss or Harold and the Purpose Crayon by Crockett. Read The Traveller's Gift by Andy Andrews and think through unique eyes of history. Pick a classic. Choose some poetry. Read Scripture again for the first time. If you want a suggestion as to where you might begin then read Stephen Covey's, The 8th Habit. If you get into it then read, or reread, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Covey. I would personally encourage you to begin with The Arbinger Institute's, Leadership and Self-Deception. Just read something.

Ask new questions. Change old habits and choose some new ones. Spend time looking through the eyes of children. Get up earlier and watch the sun rise. Choose to specifically pay attention to more sunsets. Take dance lessons. Learn a new language or at least study a new culture. Watch the Discovery channel. Spend some time alone just for thinking purposes. Maybe use the time for listening to God.

I just want to encourage you to begin this year with new intention. Intend to think, on purpose. To a measured degree, what you think will determine how 2014 will go. Do well my friends living a purposed new year!

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Everyday Miracles

Everyday really is a miracle. Think about it. Every breath you take is a miracle in and of itself. Everything you see is a miracle. Having eyes that provide insight into the world itself is a miracle. What we call natural is really not natural at all. The expression “natural” childbirth is really pretty ridiculous. If you have ever witnessed the birth of a child, you could never think in terms of it being natural. It is an “out of this world” experience from beginning to end.

How about all of the “coincidental” things we experience in this life? What qualifies as coincidence? What if they aren’t coincidental at all? What if they are meetings that have been intended from the very beginning? If you think about it, relationally speaking, our story is not coincidental or chance based. We were born in a particular place, at a recorded time, to specific people. Our life entry suggests purpose and intent. Coincidence and chance simply do not qualify as an adequate explanation for who and where we are. Neither does it qualify for our intersections in life. Our chance meetings simply do not qualify as chance.

Bruce Wilkinson wrote a book a number of years ago called The Prayer of Jabez. The book captured the imagination of the world because of three short Biblical verses that celebrated the spirit of prayer. People all over the world were awakened to the reality of a supernatural heritage from which we can draw. Jabez looked to his God as One who could “expand his territory” and who would provide him blessings beyond his ability to imagine. All he needed to do was ask in faith.

Wilkinson has now written a sequel to his expose on Jabez entitled, You Were Born for This. In this book, he suggests that the prayer of Jabez actually ushers us into an every relationship to the world of “miracles”. His suggestion is that every single day we can look forward to living in the midst of the supernatural. He describes God as being One who is actively moving in His world and who is inviting those who believe to join with Him on a providential journey.

It is ultimately all about life perspective. We get to choose. Are we living a life of coincidences? Or, are we living a life that provides the potential for miracles everyday? While you can argue against the reality of a heritage and a calling that is a miracle from beginning to end, I am not really sure why you would want to. Think about it. Do well, my friends.

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Fierce Leadership

Welcome to Tappe Talk, a Purposed Connection podcast by The Tappe Group. Leadership is not easy.  Allen spends some time discussing why we should take a more passionate approach to leadership.

1. It is our destiny
2. It is our responsibility
3. Its is our opportunity
4. It is our role to play
5. It is our integrity
6. It is our fulfillment and our joy

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Changing Seasons

The seasons are changing. Fall is falling. You can feel it in the air. Things are getting cooler and precious rain is falling. I love it. However, it won't be long before Winter will be blowing in and it is not a pretty thing in Texas. At least, not in Dallas/Ft. Worth. Our snow is ice and it can get brutally cold. Of course, people in Montana would not have much sympathy for us nor would those living in Michigan, Minnesota, or Alaska. It is all relative. However, even when Winter comes we know that the relief Spring is just aroung the corner and the birds will sing. For awhile at least, and then the blast of Summer's heat will be felt. We will begin to look for some place cooler to go or we will look for water to soothe our sense of burn alongside some beach. And then, Fall saves us again. Somehow, nature knows just what we need.

I think life has its seasons, too. Sometimes it is so hot we don't think we will survive. We can't breathe. It feels that was for many of us right now. Then, we will feel some welcomed relief. Things will ease. And, I think that is where we get confused. Somehow, when relief comes our way, we think it is going to stay that way. We believe that we will stay in the glory days of Spring and we throw caution to the wind. Life is good. And then, summer's blistering heat hits us between the eyes. We have to quit being surprised by the changing season's of life. Life, like nature's seasons, will change and we may not like the experience. So, what do we do? I think we invite them. I think we should learn from the wisdom change brings.

Think about it. In the midst of this brutal season of life, what have we learned. People are getting actively out of debt and they plan to stay that way. Others are realizing that life is more than a job. Still others are gaining new understanding of continued education. Learning is becoming a lifestyle for people who had otherwise become stale and tired. Without the extreme discomfort of this season, it would never have happened. It is like there was a need for change and it came our way at just the right time.

I think we need to realize life is dynamic. Like the seasons He created, God knows how life needs to turn. His timing is always just right. It really is good to believe and trust that Someone knows and understands. I think He can handle it. Do well, my friends.

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Maximizing Our Resources

As we have turned the corner and are into the 2nd half or this year Allen encourages us (in this past podcast) to give some serious attention to maximizing our resources. So, we start by evaluating our unused resources.

• Make a list of all of the resources you have at your disposal
• Create an analysis for how you are using those resources available to you
• Change your life response to maximize the resources you have been given
• Journal the difference the change makes in your life and work experience
• Spend time giving thanks for what you have been given and for what they mean to you
• Invest time in helping others understand what they are leaving on the table

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How Is Your Smart Working For You?

I sometimes wonder just how smart I really am. It may be the world around me is moving more quickly and I am missing a step or it may be a fitness piece I need to become a little more serious about in my life.

I remember reading years ago about studies that were showing people with higher IQs outperforming people with average IQs 20% of the time while people with average IQs were outperforming those with higher IQs 70% of the time. I heard the term "emotional intelligence" for the first time in Daniel Goleman's great book by that title. Since that time, emotional intelligence" has become a more familiar conversation but I wonder how seriously it is really being taken.

I have become aware of the widening generational gaps in which we find ourselves. We have people who are generation "Yer's". Others who are straddling Y and X. Some who are pure generation "Xer's". And, there are those who are between generations X and "Boomers". Of course there are those who are pure Boomers and then there are those like me who are somewhere between being boomers and death. It really is complicated. There are different languages. Different cultures. Entirely different propensities toward technology. And, interestingly different approaches to relationships. 

Here's the point. There has never been a time when "emotional intelligence" has been more in play. I just know I am not nearly as fit as I need to be. I have have read the book by Bradberry and Greaves, Emotional Intelligence 2.0. They did a wonderful job of reminding us that while we can do nothing about changing our IQ or our basic personalities we can change our emotional intelligence. They provided a test for benchmarking purposes as you work on the emotional growth process. I learned I have a lot of work to do.

So, here is the bad news. No matter how smart you think you are you probably are not nearly as smart as you need to be in order to truly stay relationally connected to the world around you. The good news is the key is available. "Emotional intelligence is your ability to recognize and understand emotions in yourself and others, and your ability to use this awareness to manage your behavior and relationships". Check out their book for the rest of the story. I believe the emotional dimension is the fitness piece that will be getting a lot of my personal attention. How about you? Do well.

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What Do You Have In Mind?

I am sure you have had this question ask of you before - What do you have in mind? The question signals interest in what you are planning. Typically, others would be asking you that question, but what if you were asking that question to yourself about today? What do you have in mind about living today? What do you really mean to be taking up space and air in this world? What is your purpose for living today, or any day?

It may sound pretty deep and it really is. However, it is the kind of deep water you really need to jump into. These times call for clarity. There is enough confusion all around you for you not to have clarity within yourself. There is enough depression living near you for you to not have a clear sense of direction within yourself. So, let's give it some thought.

To begin with, I hope you have recognized there is not another one like you in this world. You are a one of a kind. That, in and of itself, suggests, even to the most shallow thinker, that there is some reason for you to be living uniquely in this world. So, before you can begin to discover purpose, you must believe there is purpose intended for you. Check that off. You are purposed to live this life or you would not be here.

Have you noticed there are alot of other uniquely purposed people around you? They are all distinctively different from you. They don't think like you, look like you, or sound like you but they are all around you. What is that all about? Well, since you are no mistake and they are no mistake, it would seem that you are meant for one another. Your purpose begins with the relationships you create in this life. Your purpose is fixed in others and your relationship to them.

Now, before you begin to start getting all independent on me, it is important for you to get clear about the fact that your being here involved a relationship. It begins with the love of a Creator who put you here that flowed through a relationship, good or bad, between people who birthed you into this life. There really is nothing independent about you at all. You are an interdependent being. You were created to stand alone with your God and in love with the people in your world. Whether you know them or not, your purpose lies in your love for them.

So, here is the launching point. Your purpose and mine is to find someone to love today. When we do it, it's like being a fish in water and not floundering on some shore. When we do, we find wind beneath our wings like an eagle in flight. It really is deep but it is also real clear. You and I were created to love God and love one another. What a gig. Do well, my friends.

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The Responsibility of Presentation

 

Do you give much thought to how you present things? You will if your read Nudge by Thaler and Sunstein. In this book, the authors do a great job of helping us see how easily people can be influenced simply by the arrangement of things presented to them. When I read this book, I began to think about the subtle balance between influence and manipulation. It also caused me to think about how I go about presenting things passionately and yet responsibly.

To begin with, I do believe it is important to be reminded of the power we all have as human beings. We have the power to influence the choices of others simply by the way we communicate ourselves to them. It happens everyday. It is happening to us and we are happening to others. I don't believe most people believe they have that kind of influence but the truth is always there in potential. So, on one hand, it is a terrific thing to realize. I have power to influence. So, how am I using it or am I using it at all?

You see, I believe the realization prompts both opportunity and responsibility. I have the opportunity to influence people every single day in some way. I can influence the way they think and the choices they make simply through they way I present myself and my thoughts. It would seem then that clarity becomes pretty important. Am I influencing people with confidence and purpose? It gives me reason to give more thought to the way I approach each day. I have great potential in everyday and I can't afford to waste it because of personal confusion.

At the same time, I have significant responsibility for what and how I present. Manipulation happens when I remove the freedom of choice from others because of the way I present. So, on one hand, I have the responsibility to present my passion and convictions about products or services or thoughts because they deserve to be heard. People don't know what or how I think unless I present it to them. At the same time, what they think needs to be respected and protected in the process. There really is an art to achieving that delicate balance.

So, take the time to think about your presentation today. Make it with passion and purpose. Present others with the opportunity to hear your perspective. It can change the choices they make so approach them and life responsibly. Just give them a nudge. Help them choose. Do well!

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Destiny?

It seems that "destiny" is an ever elusive and mysterious discussion. People are searching for something they aren't. They tend to believe they are not some place they need to be. Destiny is a life long, never ending pursuit. For most, it is a discovery, or a treasure hunt of sorts, kind of like the "holy grail". But, what if it is not a pursuit at all? What if it is a process we are birthed into and not a pursuit or discovery at all?

I believe we have been created, purposed, and birthed into our destiny. Our story begins with a Creator. We begin with a relationship of "first cause" set in motion by a relationship between two other created beings. Sometimes prompted through love other times driven through lust, two people combine to give birth. We are birthed into a relationshp with a mother and a father. They may not hang around long. They may not be good at being who we need them to be. But, we begin in relationship. And, that is our destiny. Relationships.

We experience them in family. We experience them through friends. We engage them in the marketplace. We create community in living. We create fellowship in love. We live in a world of people. They are our destiny. The people in our world. Our destiny is all around us.

Destiny is where we live. It is not some place we aren't. It is not something we aren't. It is our today. It is the people we meet today. Our destiny is to learn to love and to be loved. We are created by a Creator who loves. We are destined to discover the meaning of love through this life. It is all about relationships. In the words of Darth Vadar, "It is your destiny." Do well, my friends.

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What if?

What if you lost your job? What if your career went away? What if you lost your friends? What if you lost your family? What if you lost all that you have, but you? What would you have? Now, I know the idea of losing everything is not a pleasant one. In fact, it is more than not pleasant. It is clearly depressing. However, it does cause you to stop and think. How is your relationship with you?

While our relationship with others is clearly important, your relationship with you is even more important. In fact, you are the only person in the world you can know will not go away. I mean when you go away it is all over anyway. So, how positive and healthy is your relationship with you?

Begin with how you talk to yourself. You can know about the health of a relationship by listening to how people talk to one another. The same can be said for your relationship with you. Would you want to hang around with people who talk to you the way you talk to you? Most people I meet are their own worse enemy. I find myself talking pretty lousy to myself sometimes. The interesting thing is that you can control the way you treat you. You can't control or change others but you can manage your relationship with yourself.

How about the way you treat you? How much rest and sleep do you give you? What are you putting into your body? How much weight are you lugging around? How supportive of your heart are you? How flexible are you helping yourself to be? How strong are you? How about your environment?

Here is the point. It is time to get serious about your relationship with yourself. You are going to be hanging around you for a long time. So, here are some suggestions. Start talking positively to yourself. Build yourself up. Make sure your environment is healthy for you. Clean it up if you need to. Eat less, probably. Don't make yourself carry around more than you need. Exercise your body. Strengthen and create greater flexibility for yourself. Work at giving yourself a chance to sleep well. Turn off the computer or television earlier. Prepare to sleep. You need it. Breathe deeply more.

Loving yourself is a prerequisite to loving anyone else. My Coach tells me to "love God first and then love my neighbor as I love myself." I emphasized that last part for you. By loving yourself more, you will actually be investing in your relationship with all of those important people in your life. It really makes sense when you think about it. Do well, my friends!
To comment on this blog, click on the COMMENTS link located directly below. I would love to hear your thoughts!

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Inevitability

I once read an article by Charles Swindoll that really caught my attention. It was entitled "Stop the Revolving Door". In the article, he chronicled the rise and fall of civilizations from the Babylonian Empire to the Athenian Republic. The article suggests that there is historical evidence to suggest that there is a certain "inevitability" to the ultimate decline of human efforts. The evidence is compelling. Here is the course of decline Swindoll quoted in his article:

From bondage to spiritual faith

From spiritual faith to great courage

From great courage to strength

From strength to liberty

From liberty to abundance

From abundance to leisure

From leisure to selfishness

From selfishness to complacency

From complacency to apathy

From apathy to dependency

From dependency to weakness

From weakness back to bondage

As I read this description of human decline, I couldn't help but be taken by the sense of inevitability in the flow. Yet, I wondered if it really has to happen this way. Isn't there room for something distinctively contrary to this commentary upon history? Swindoll's article concludes with a plea for individuals to take up the challenge and he suggests, rightly I believe, that it is only through the power of personal response that the tide can be turned.

So, I want to issue a challenge to those who have ears to hear and who will take up the challenge of writing new history into the future. What if we moved ...

From bondage to spiritual faith

From spiritual faith to great thankfulness

From great thankfulness to personal humility

From personal humility to spiritual discipline

From spiritual discipline to personal blessings

From personal blessings to blessing others

From blessing others to greater abundance

From greater abundance to greater thanksgiving

From greater thanksgiving to greater faith

From greater faith to greater humility

From greater humility to greater spiritual discipline

From greater spiritual discipline to greater blessings

From greater blessings to greater blessings for others ...

Why couldn't that be the way the story goes? I just believe it could work that way. I think the key lies in staying anchored in a humility that only faith can produce. Arrogance will forever be our fall. And yet, it is not our inevitable conclusion. We have seen it lived differently before and for over two thousand years we have been invited to follow His lead. I for one believe His way to be the answer to the this question of inevitability history seems to demand. I personally choose to follow His lead. Do well, my friends. Our future depends upon it!

 a082609t

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The Power of Confusion

Conflict is an unpopular word. In speaking to audiences across the country, when I ask them how they handle conflict the inevitable response is, "We avoid it." People hate conflict. At least in our part of the world they hate it. The Chinese culture on the other hand has a different take on the word. In fact, to them, the synonym for conflict is opportunity. So, what do we do with this piece of confusion. If we follow the Chinese line of thought then it seems that we are actually repelled by opportunity. How does that make sense?

The truth is we hate what conflict represents and requires. We have created a culture where inconvenience and discomfort are avoided at all cost. We take pills to avoid the experience and escape the discomfort of pain. While that might be a wise course in acute and exceptional situations, it is not wise for those that are chronic. Furthermore, there are clearly times when pain itself is a great teacher and needs to be experienced.

We change relationships to avoid the discomfort of building them. Once we figure out that other people think differently than we do and might want to respond differently, we see it as a problem. In fact, diversity is a concept that has been legislated in this country in order to be experienced. Instead of seeing it as our greatest strength, we see it as a discomfort and an inconvenience that needs to be our right to avoid.

We build lifestyles around the need to avoid inconvenience. Many times we go into great debt to put ourselves in convenient places. We buy cars and houses and services to keep from having to embrace life's challenges. So, what is wrong with that you might ask. Only that somewhere in the escape of it all we have lost a vision for great value and opportunity.

Anything of real value emerges through the fire of conflict. It is forged. It is something that insists upon discomfort and inconvenience. What it creates, however, is more than worth the effort. Think about it. Relationships are nothing more than mere acquaintances until you live and work through conflict together. Jobs are only jobs until they are experienced as opportunity in life to grow and develop. Once you have successfully graduated from conflict's experience you will have built something that can last for a lifetime.

Living in challenging situations is not all bad. Many times the experience itself is worth it. Many people pay a lot of money and spend a lot of time looking for wilderness experiences and challenging situations. They have become a great value for which we are willing to pay for someone else to create for us. We yearn for opportunity to experience real life.

So, take some time and think about the things you might be working hard to avoid. It might just be that the great opportunity you seek is within your reach. Stop running from it. Reach through it. Do well, my friends

a081209t

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Freedom?

This past week, we celebrated freedom. I wonder what everyone was thinking. It really is a matter of perspective, isn’t it? For the person who escaped to this country from the tyranny of dictatorship and worse, freedom represents liberation in a dramatic sense. To the person who escaped from a physically or an emotionally abusive relationship then freedom means release from the nightmare of control and domination. To the person who has been set free from the harsh reality of financial debt then the sense of release is palpable. And on, and on, the freedom stories could go.


But, what is freedom in its purest form? It seems to me that freedom in its purest form is “opportunity”. Freedom really is the “opportunity to choose”. Certainly, when my choice limits, inhibits, or eliminates someone else’s opportunity to choose then issues are raised. Laws have to be created to protect the innocent in those cases. It is so easy for government itself to move beyond protection into inhibition, if not interference, with regard to freedom.


The question for me, however, involves my relationship to freedom. How committed am I to keeping freedom alive in my world? It is vital for me to remember that I have the responsibility to the people in my world to stand for freedom in giving them the best opportunity to choose in their lives. I also need to recognize that I need to work hard to keep that same freedom alive in my own life. Freedom without discipline is just bondage in disguise. I wrote that a long time ago. It would do me well to remember it. How about you?

a070809t