Integrity: Aligning Actions with Words - Part 1

Each of us will in time accept that change in our life is needed, simply because we're imperfect and that change is therefore necessary. Yet change is difficult to integrate even as old patterns of behaviors have a negative impact on a marriage or family. Choosing to change requires a plan of action along with commitment and determination to make it happen.

It's at this point where personal integrity becomes the aligning force between what is said and what is done. Integrity keeps you centered on the truth even if you're failing miserably. Integrity brings you back to commitment and an all-out effort to do what is right. Faith provides victory over difficult obstacles.

Listen to Job 27:4-6. "My lips will not speak evil, my tongue will not utter deceit. I will not deny my integrity. I will maintain my righteousness and never let go of it." God's word consistently reminds us that change is doable when our commitment is to Him, for He is merciful and full of compassion. God provides help for making change a reality. 

Strengthening Your Integrity - Part 3

Anger is one of those emotions that makes some people want to act out in  hostile, aggressive ways. In others, anger produces withdrawal and isolation. Expressing healthy, normal anger can clear the air, articulate grievances, and establish better communications. Anger, when conveyed appropriately, can be the pathway to deeper intimacy and closeness.

Guilt, caused by inappropriate anger or by justifiable anger expressed  inappropriately, leads to damaged integrity. You can't mix integrity and guilt, just  as oil and water do not mix. Where guilt abounds, integrity suffers. As a rudder is to a ship, so integrity is to a person. Integrity keeps you on course even in the storms of life.

Integrity helps you come back from failure to reclaim God's purpose. Strengthened by God's word and the presence of Christ in you, integrity insists on confession, repentance, and forgiveness so you can do what is right to correct what is wrong. Where sin abounds, God's unmerited favor does much more abound. God's grace gives you power to change. 

Strengthening Your Integrity - Part 2

Integrity is a corrective force that keeps us on track when life seems to be lurching out of control. Accepting Christ as one's personal Savior gives strength to integrity as nothing else can. Christians are imperfect and subject to sin, so our integrity can be damaged when wrong-doing is justified to protect oneself from embarrassment or shame.

Someone said: "I don't understand what's happening to me. Instead of telling the truth, I find myself lying about everything, even small, insignificant matters of no consequence." Misrepresentations of truth result in erosion of integrity. Some Christians choose this behavioral pattern knowing it damages their integrity and self-worth.

Permitting your integrity to erode invites despair. God's plan for anyone who feels enslaved by this condition includes confession, repentance, and re-commitment of your life to Christ. Choosing God's way insures positive change, so decide now to anchor your life where there is forgiveness, a new beginning, and God's purpose for living.

Strengthening Your Integrity - Part 1

To believe all anger is wrong creates perpetual guilt. While anger may be frustrating, even destructive, normal anger can be healthy and helpful if properly channeled. Healthy expressions of anger take the initiative to correct what is wrong or unfair. Other healthy expressions of anger lead to the pursuit of knowledge and improved communications to clarify misunderstandings.

Our integrity is strengthened when anger is expressed in a non-accusatory way rather than as a means for harming and controlling others. Guilt is accrued when anger is used as a weapon against another person. Guilt will overshadow healthy integrity and eventually lead to despair.

Pursuing resolutions for anger enhances integrity. God calls us to follow his initiative in managing anger. Listen to Exodus 34:12: "The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in faithfulness and love." Choose to shield your integrity with these attributes, for they will prevent guilt from getting a foothold and dominating your life. 

Christmas: Great Expectations - Part 5

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Day is a time of great expectations, not only for children, but for most adult as well. Adults may or may not give or expect elaborate gifts, but still the desire for a happy, joyful family gathering with good food, great conversation, and laughter catches the heart and nourishes the soul. Loving care makes sure all the preparations live up to expectations.

It's incredibly important to give thanks to God for wisdom to manage all who arrive with varying attitudes, needs, and expectations. God sent Jesus to be the Light of the World, and from that light come patience and insight to help navigate the celebration of this wonderful event. Jesus, as the Light of the World, can shine brightly through you on this blessed Christmas Day! 

Christmas: Great Expectations - Part 4

Merry Christmas!

Christmas music lifts my heart and soul as I grasp the wonderful  message the composers intended for me to receive from each composition. Music revitalizes great expectations God has made possible for today and the future as we celebrate the coming of Christ Jesus. I don't know about you, but it makes me feel appreciative of what God has done as I listen and sing along with this amazing music.

What would bring you the most happiness as you celebrate Christmas this year? When I think about what God has done and the impact he has had on my life, I can't help but be thankful and joyful. With a heart of gratitude, I can say: "It is well with my soul." God bless you.

Christmas: Great Expectations - Part 3

Merry Christmas!

This wonderful season awakens great expectations and stirs up hope like no other time of the year. Christmas can yield many surprises for children and adults who receive gifts they didn't believe were possible. As we center our expectations concisely on the coming of Christ Jesus, it inspires us thank God for his great gift to us.

For many families this is a time great struggle and change related to situations that were beyond what they expected. Jesus, our loving and caring Shepherd, invites you to come to him, everyone that is burdened, sad or grieved, for he promises to be your comforter. This is God's gift to you today and always. May God bless you.

Christmas: Great Expectations - Part 2

Merry Christmas!

As Christmas Day approaches this year, I can't help wondering what my four-year-old granddaughter's expectations are today and what she will remember about this Christmas as she grows up and becomes an adult. Her expectations are, in all probability, that Santa will leave wonderful gifts for her and her family under their gorgeous Christmas tree.

It would be difficult for her to grasp the theological implication and facts portrayed in the story of Jesus' birth found in chapter 2 of Luke's Gospel. Nevertheless she will hear that story and perhaps be astonished that God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son so all people of the earth could be saved. May God bless you today. 

Christmas: Great Expectations - Part 1

Merry Christmas!

Christmas is most often accompanied by great expectations. I realize there are those whose expectations may not measure up to past Christmases when families gatherings were filled with excitement and abundant joy. Expectations change with the passage of time, but change should not negate what God intended Christmas to be.

Hope that accompanies expectations is available when we accept what does not change. God's word reminds us that the Lord remains the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Remembering God's great love embodied in his gift of Christ Jesus refreshes our heart, rekindles our faith, and restores feelings of joy and peace. God bless you today.

God's Gifts: Love, Hope, Freedom - Part 3

When my six-year-old daughter was told by her Sunday School teacher that it was a sin to be angry, she could have gone through life experiencing guilt each time she felt this emotion. Guilt can mar one's integrity and self-esteem. False guilt is created by a flawed belief system, such as believing that all anger is a sin and that punishment awaits those who feel or express it.

Little children growing up with guilt and shame seldom feel accepted. When they compare themselves to others, they consistently fail to measure up and may come to the conclusion that it's hopeless even to try to succeed. Can you see the relationship between false guilt and the damage it can do to one's integrity and self-esteem?

Yet there is hope. God sent his son Jesus to redeem you, to make you right with himself and others. Choose to believe God has the power to cleanse and heal you from whatever has wounded you. Guilt can be unrelenting, but the power of Christ Jesus in you breaks that hold and gives you freedom and peace. This is God's gift to you.  

God's Gifts: Love, Hope, Freedom - Part 2

After Bible study and worship service, I asked my daughter, a first grader, what she learned in her class that Sunday morning. "You must never be angry, for it's a sin to be angry," was her reply. She had learned something that isn't true, for God designed us to express this emotion. However when out of control and destructive, anger can be harmful and sinful.

To be restricted from sharing your thoughts and feelings with a loving, trusting intimate other is to smother the person God created you to be. Otherwise you're pretending to be something that's false. To come to the end of life without having been able to articulate what you think and feel, which is a very important need, would be a great loss.

To avoid this loss and the despair it creates, choose to accept the freedom and autonomy God makes possible through faith and trust in Christ Jesus. Jesus said that God "has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives." Integrity grounded in love for God, for others, and for oneself breaks the restraints of self-imprisonment. Jesus will help you do this.  

God's Gifts: Love, Hope, Freedom - Part 1

As we experience life each day we often encounter people who profess to be something they're not.  Duplicity portrays unfaithfulness or perhaps living two separate live styles. Webster defines duplicity as deliberate deceptiveness in behavior or speech. The word duplicity derives from the Latin word duplex, meaning twofold.

How does duplicity affect integrity? For integrity to be strong and able to guide us toward honesty and truth, it must be integrated with knowledge of God's word and committed to practicing what it teaches. "Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful." A person's integrity is rendered ineffective by duplicity.

Life is complicated as Jeremiah 17:9 acknowledges. "Who can understand the human heart? There is nothing so deceitful." Choosing to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind is the antidote that saves and strengthens integrity. This choice empowers us to make significant changes that reflects God's love for each of us. 

Damaged Integrity: Restoring and Rebuilding - Part 3

A person of integrity refrains from deliberate dishonesty and deception. What comes to mind when you hear the word deception? Perhaps something from your experience like being deceived into thinking or believing something that wasn't true. Deception can look and sound like truth, can have shades of truth, but beneath the surface things are not as they seem.

Have you omitted some of the facts concerning an issue because you were scared or anxious about what could happen if the whole truth were known? All of us are guilty of behaviors that have hurt or harmed others. However we can change if we feel genuine sorrow and regret for these behaviors and have made commitments to change.

Believing that hope exists for new beginnings is motivation for rebuilding a wounded integrity. Think of integrity as a guiding light within your conscience which guides you through difficult decisions that would temp you to turn from God's truth. Jesus said he is the Light of the World and in him there is no darkness. Choose to walk in his light.  

Damaged Integrity: Restoring and Rebuilding - Part 2

There's an interesting biographical book and movie called "Catch Me if You Can" about a man who was skilled in creating identities that allowed him to remain a fugitive. To him it was an art as much as it was an escape from justice. God equips us with gifts and talents, but we have the responsibility of choosing whether to use our God-given intelligence and skills for good or for evil.

Our integrity is measured by how we choose to use what God assigns us. Integrity is designed to be a guide for making godly choices. Integrity will serve as a guard against reacting detrimentally to oneself or others. In the Bible, Job is projected as a man of integrity, for in his darkest days he refused to abandon what he knew was right for him.

Being deceptive can harm or even destroy our integrity. Choose to change by believing God's purpose and plan replicates what is good and right for you. Trust God to give you wisdom to act on what will support the highest level of integrity. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." 

Damaged Integrity: Restoring and Rebuilding - Part 1

As we go through life, we try to be prepared for the unexpected because life is not always predictable. Parenting is seldom what we expects it to be. Marriage has lots of surprises, for there are unseen variables that are beyond our control. However as we trust that God will help us manage difficult situations, anxiety and stress can be kept within appropriate boundaries.

The inability to find solutions for common and difficult problems sets a person or family up for conflict and sometimes alienation. All of us are guilty of this behavior to varying degrees, but God designed us for change. The Lord Jesus Christ will forgive, heal, and restore where there is confession, repentance, and genuine sorrow for sin.

Our hope is found in choosing to change instead wasting our lives away for nothing of real value. The empowerment for making this choice comes by committing our lives to Christ Jesus. The reward is having integrity restored rather than lapsing into despair for the last years of life. Your choices determine your future. 

Finding Purpose in Life's Ups and Downs - Part 3

Integrity determines how success or failure is managed. Personal failure can be devastating because failure is attached to our values, morals, and sense of uprightness. It is not unusual to overestimate what we can do with the skills and abilities that God has given us, but failure does not require a denunciation of who we are as persons.

By his mercy, kindness, and forgiveness God will, by Christ Jesus, renew a meaningful and purposeful spirit within us. Finding purpose beyond failure is where integrity plays a major role. When we are enlightened and strengthened by the Holy Spirit, our integrity prevents us from lapsing into despair when failure, whether perceived or real, comes our way.

A friend was forced to take early retirement, but resigning to a life without purpose was out the question. Instead, he determined to find a new purpose for the remaining time God would give him. His integrity allowed him to use this crisis as a means for determining how all things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose.  

Finding Purpose in Life's Ups and Downs - Part 2

Is it possible to live without purpose? People will devise a purpose, even if contrived of nothing more than accumulating things. Material things provide only short-term pleasure and do little to strengthen and solidify your integrity. Integrity is strengthened and fortified when you know that your life, your ideals, and beliefs exist for a significant, godly purpose.

Speaking on this subject, General Douglas MacArthur said, "You don't get old from living a specific number of years; you get old because you abandon your ideals. Years wrinkle your skin, but renouncing your ideals wrinkles your soul. Worry, doubt, fear, and despair are enemies that bring us down and turn us to dust before we die." An ideal is an honorable or worthy principle that supports integrity.

Believing you have a godly purpose for living is a wonderful choice. Purpose for living is a blessing to God that brings hope to yourself and others. Never close the door to what God can do with you, whatever your age. Jesus stands at the door of your life waiting for an invitation to come in. 

Finding Purpose in Life's Ups and Downs - Part 1

God's people often fail to live by the values they know please the Lord Jesus Christ. Integrity is built on inner moral strengths that are enlightened and empowered by God's presence. When integrity fails, it must be cleansed and set right by repentance and forgiveness. Integrity depends on a moral character that's anchored to Christ Jesus by faith and trust.

Integrity helps us face aging. A woman in her late twenties expressed  concern that the wrinkles that were forming around her eyes had been caused by the unrelenting stress of her career choice and home life. We need to take inventory regularly to see if we have concerns about aging that equal this young woman's worries.

If our integrity remains uncompromised, meaningful work helps sustain integrity while providing freedom to have a purposeful life. Philippians 2:13 reminds us  that "God is working in you to help you want to do and be able to do what pleases him." When our lives are centered on Christ Jesus, we make choices that strengthen our integrity. 

Crisis and Compromise: Choosing God's Way - Part 3

It's not unusual to get stuck in a career before understanding what best suits your personality. Someone thought you were a good fit for a particular job; an opportunity opened up, and that's been your career. Integrity is compromised at the point of knowing that something else would have been better but that too many obligations exist to risk changing.

Those who endure these situations often come to retirement feeling compromised. Who you are and what you want is often in conflict with what you have to do. However integrity is invigorated by finding meaningful life purposes beyond a career. Choosing to serve God in ways that utilize your gifts and talents prevent lapsing into sadness or even despair.

Believing that God's provides opportunities insures you can feel confident rather than languish in frustration. A clear conscience, fostered by integrity and combined with hope, gives energy for doing what God provides. Listen to Proverbs 2:6: "The Lord gives wisdom and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding." These blessings make life worth living. 

Crisis and Compromise: Choosing God's Way - Part 2

If you could choose to live your life over what would you change? Could you say, "Given the entirety of my life, I would want it to be the same"? Such a  person lives life with a healthy sense of integrity. This person has experienced the reality of God's word "that all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purposes."

In fact, God desires for you to live a life of adventure and challenge while refusing to damage your integrity by deliberate, sinful choices. Do you realize that God gives you the right to determine your destiny? You can choose your own path, regardless of the cost to your integrity, or chose to follow God's plan and purposes as he reveals them to you.

There are internal, social, and spiritual imperatives for sustaining a healthy integrity. We can choose to live by specific values that identify us as the person God created and loves. We can choose to live by God's command to respect and love others as we love ourselves. Healthy integrity depends on putting God first in your life. These are choices God will bless.  

Crisis and Compromise: Choosing God's Way - Part 1

Middle-aged men and women are subject to having the wind knocked out of their sails just when they should be the happiest and most content with their life's achievements. The twenty year period between ages forty and sixty produce an alarming number of divorces. What do you think could be the reason for this sense of discouragement and alienation?

Researchers refer to the emergence of a crisis of integrity. It's not unusual for a person's integrity, that personal sense of respectability and uprightness, to become fragmented and damaged. The movie Liar Liar was based on a person's agreeing not to tell a lie, even an insignificant, small lie, for twenty-four hours. Have you tried this test of integrity?

White lies and other misrepresentations of oneself diminish integrity; yet there is hope for restoring damaged integrity. The Lord Jesus Christ makes this possible through confession, repentance, and forgiveness. Jesus enables and empowers each person to choose righteousness and faith, which is a decision for healthy, positive change. 

Integrity: Character Strength for a Lifetime - Part 3

As newborn babies, we begin life helpless and dependent on others to nurture and care for us in ways that develop feelings of safety and trust. Infants need to be loved and cherished so feelings of trust and security can emerge. Others of God's creation may nurture by instinct, but humans depend on the integrity, love, and compassion of their parents.

Feelings of safety and trust are the foundation on which all developmental stages of life are built. Therefore children need constancy and order, guidance and training, to help them develop integrity for making life's decisions throughout all the other phases of life. Integrity is the character strength that enables a person to face death, as life ends here on earth.

Refrain from idealizing integrity because it doesn't imply perfection. Integrity, strengthened by the Holy Spirit, Christ Jesus, and God's word, gives us guidance for making tough choices that life forces upon us. Integrity and appropriate behaviors form a partnership to create a clear conscience in the person who loves God and desires to please him.  

Integrity: Character Strength for a Lifetime - Part 2

Experiencing a crisis of integrity at any stage of adult development is possible. Integrity is one of those words that has far-reaching implications, for it's deeply enmeshed into our character and personality. Integrity reaches into the core of our soul and, in some respects, serves as a guiding light for all of life's opportunities and problems.

When integrity is diminished, our character suffers grave consequences. How would you define integrity? A friend in her late fifties responded with: "A person of integrity has backbone." Another friend said: "A man of integrity is a square shooter." Courage and conviction to do what is right, along with honesty, define integrity for these two people.

God intends for us to evaluate the strength of our integrity because it's vulnerable to change. Our choices sustain, elevate, or diminish integrity, so it's crucial  to remember that God supplies us with his grace, mercy, and forgiveness when sin damages our integrity. God promises to restore and strengthen our integrity as we, in faith, ask him to do so.  

Integrity: Character Strength for a Lifetime - Part 1

The years between youth and retirement often are filled with giving your absolute best for the highest possible achievement, yet both success and failure are prevalent on the pathway to retirement. You're well aware of the determined adolescent who leaves home for college only to return home a semester later unable to re-enroll because of poor grades.

Getting back on track is a requirement at specific intervals along the way to success. What helps is knowing that God is at work to provide confidence for facing an uncertain future. Jesus gave us these words of challenge. "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, about your body, what you will wear." He's telling us to re-focus. God cares and will provide.

Moving past failure and disappointment is ultimately dependent on faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, who endows us with intrinsic value and self-worth. This motivates us to be receptive to God's purpose for us as our aging consistently progresses onward. God gives us wisdom and discernment for choosing what is appropriate at each stage of our development.

Spiritual Integrity: Hope for the Family - Part 3

What does it take for the family to survive intact from all the troubles that are bound to surface? Family members will change, so wisdom and emotional energy are required to strengthen and hold the family together as it changes. The spiritual integrity of the family depends on parents' personal choices and what they model for their children.

The alternative is to avoid conflict and problems that are difficult to manage. It's an absolute necessity to believe the fact that the family is vulnerable to troubles, so taking time to evaluate priorities is a critical choice for strengthening the family. Few would argue that a successful career requires a constant investment of time and energy. Your time, skills and wisdom are a requirement for keeping your family together.

Prayer and determination are required for changing bad habits in the family system. The good news is that God stands ready to help by giving strength to the needy. Listen to Isaiah 12:2. "God is my savior; I will trust him and not be afraid. The Lord gives me strength and power." Hold fast to these promises.

Spiritual Integrity: Hope for the Family - Part 2

If you were to take stock right now, what would you say is your most important life concern? The majority of people say family takes first place, but  prayer is needed to alleviate the anxiety that comes with facing an uncertain future. Hope for the future tends to diminish where pessimism and negativity are allowed to gain a foothold, for these indicate an attitude of hopelessness.

Integrity anchored in faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ provides hope for the future. Integrity under-girds a belief that God faithfully supplies a good  purpose for our existence at every stage of development. Growth, change, and discovery become a never-ending process for those who maintain hope and are willing to participate in what God has to offer.

St. Paul put it this way, "For this reason we do not give up. Even though on the outside it looks as if things are falling apart, our spiritual self is being renewed day after day." Our integrity gets a boost when we put into action what we believe and know to be true of God's faithfulness, mercy, and compassion. 

Spiritual Integrity: Hope for the Family - Part 1

Every day is a challenge in some way, ranging from minor obstacles that are easily managed to major tasks that require precise focus and concentration to conquer. Financial analysts say we're coming out of the economic recession, but have cautioned against overactive expectations. The biggest challenge might be more personal than finding ways to enjoy prosperity.

At a Bible conference for business men and women, many stated a desire to grow spiritually. To obtain a deeper spirituality, a greater challenge has to be met  and conquered. What is that? The greatest challenge is to hold in check the drive and desire to acquire more "stuff" that we're certain will satisfy our need to be happy and content.

God's desire is for us to mature in order to be realistic. With this attribute we can fulfill our commitment to serve Christ Jesus and overcome the challenges we face. Listen to God's promise to Joshua. "No one will be able to stand against you...I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you." That promise is for you.

Accomplishment: A Fresh Look - Part 3

Taking stock of how you spend your time and what you've achieved is critical to establishing new objectives and goals. Employers consistently outline objectives and goals they expect employees to accomplish. Your job security depends on complying with what's expected. Taking stock includes seriously and honestly evaluating compliance and performance with what is expected.

I heard someone say, "My golf game has improved a hundred percent this year, but my work and family life have suffered." These words may be an honest assessment, but they imply neglect and irresponsibility. Jesus, speaking to the religious teachers of the day, accused them of neglecting the important matters of the law - mercy, justice, and faithfulness.

There are times when neglect can produce grave consequences, but by  choosing to change, repenting, and requesting God's help, a fresh start is possible. Romans 12:21 offers this initiative. "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Christ in you is your hope for change.  

Accomplishment: A Fresh Look - Part 2

What would you say is your greatest accomplishment in the time frame God has given you so far? It's helpful to measure our progress against the goals we set in place at an earlier date because we encounter distractions. Distractions may have been associated with a crisis or with opportunities that couldn't be passed up. Sometimes original objectives need to be re-prioritized.

In some cases it's appropriate to let go of a hope or dream that could not come to fruition. It may be impossible to reach an objective because of issues and factors beyond our control. It's important to evaluate carefully and prayerfully what role God's purpose and objectives play when disappointments or downright failure are unpreventable.

Celebrating what you have accomplished and what God has provided is a positive way to take stock and accept what could not come to fruition. Philippians 3:14 instructs us press on to what is possible. "Forgetting what is behind, I press onward toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me." This is a good and godly choice.  

Accomplishment: A Fresh Look - Part 1

Most everyone begins adulthood with dreams of the perfect job, the perfect spouse, and perfect children. Dreams of success provide motivation for going out into the world to accomplish great things. God designed us to be ambitious, to reach out beyond perceived limitations and obstacles to achieve what others believe to be impossible for us.

A  successful, caring physician was discouraged by his parents from applying to medical school. When he persisted in pursuing his ambition, both parents withheld their financial and emotional support. Thankfully his grandfather, a physician, encouraged him to follow his dream. The young man's determination and faith helped him meet and overcome the obstacles he encountered.

It's interesting how surprised we can be when we're confronted by obstacles on our way to success. Obstacles test our faith, give rise to doubt, and test our obedience to God's calling. Luke 10:3 portrays Jesus sending his disciples out to meet these obstacles. With prayer and determination, obstacles can be overcome. Give thanks to God for giving you determination to overcome obstacles.

Overcoming Obstacles by Growth and Change - Part 3

How much of your day do you think is devoted to work? Statisticians say about forty percent. If this is true, how important is job satisfaction? Most often job satisfaction is directly related to obstacles that must be managed each day. An obstacle could be thought of as any barrier or drawback to satisfaction with one's work.

Disgruntled, unhappy employees create an atmosphere that affects everyone  within their range of their influence. This not only applies to the workplace, but to the family when negative attitudes are brought home. Jesus advised his disciples to guard against the yeast of the Pharisees. He was referring to their attitudes and teachings because it permeated the whole community.

St. Paul issued a similar warning. "Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough. Get rid of the old yeast of sin so that you can be  pure." Permit Christ Jesus to cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Then it will be possible to better manage complications related to work and care more for your family and coworkers. 

Overcoming Obstacles by Growth and Change - Part 2

What do you believe is the most important part of yourself that you take to work each day? Is it your capacity to think, perhaps your integrity, that permits you to give of yourself beyond what's expected? If not, it's important to examine your attitude to determine what stands in the way. Obstacles could be persons who do not like you or negative attributes within yourself.

God has given you this unique capacity to think, to observe, to analyze, and  make decisions about what to do in any given situation. If you allow a negative attitude to develop about work, then you're vulnerable to becoming entrapped by these obstacles.

Keep in mind that obstacles can be seen as challenges for change and growth. Romans 12:21 lays out a strategy for dealing with obstacles, regardless of their origin. "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." The good you can do is determined by your ability to think and believe that God is at work to help you. Choosing what is good is God's way.  

Overcoming Obstacles by Growth and Change - Part 1

Everyone seeks meaning and purpose for their life, even if what they choose appears misguided or foolish. What gave meaning and purpose at an earlier time can lose significance as we are forced by age or circumstance to move to another phase of life. Adam and Eve were forced from the Garden of Eden to a place of change and challenge.

At some point we're forced to leave what we construct or what was designed  for us. This most often happens in mid-life just when a career or lifestyle appears to be secure. Consider the stay-at-home mom who out of necessity is forced to resume a profession that had been set aside for a higher calling.

Remaining fixated when change is demanded may blind us to present and future opportunities. The good news is that God can do his best work with us in times of transition. Romans 12:2 can be your confidence. "Do not be conformed to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind." What a wonderful choice! 

Work Choices: Are You Satisfied? - Part 3

Some people hate their work and feel sick just thinking about it. Others find meaning and purpose doing any type of work. For them, wasting time is out of the question. However don't confuse relaxation with idleness, for leisure is required for healthy living. Ecclesiastes 10:18 reminds us that laziness produces trouble. "If a man is lazy, the rafters sag; if his hands are idle, the roof leaks."

If you despise your work, trouble and hardship may show its face unless you adjust your attitude. You can choose to change by allowing yourself to develop a positive attitude toward your work. You can refuse to be negative by choosing to see your work as God's provision for you and your family. Ask yourself, "How can I be helpful to those I work with each day?"

Pay attention to your co-workers. Determine to be a role model of the love and compassion God has shown you through Christ Jesus. He endured the Cross to save you and give you a life worth living. Would you begin demonstrating this attitude and see what God will do with it? 

Work Choices: Are You Satisfied? - Part 2

Most Americans believe work should be a source of reward by providing meaning and purpose as well as financial security. Linus Carl Pauling, winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry and the Nobel Peace Prize was known for his carefree enjoyment of life. "I just went about doing what I liked to do." He liked to do almost everything, whether trivial or difficult.

Even in his nineties Linus Pauling possessed the enthusiasm and curiosity of a young person. Life was not easy growing up in poverty or working at menial jobs as a teenager and college student. Yet he found harmony between these trivial jobs and his work during the rest of life. He followed the encouraging advice of Colossians 3:23. "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, for it is Christ Jesus you're serving."

God told Adam he would have to work to make a living, but he promised to  be his help and guide. When you choose to work as if working for the Lord, you're in a position to receive what Colossians 3:24 calls an inheritance from the Lord. Wouldn't that be wonderful?

Work Choices: Are You Satisfied? - Part 1

So many people detest their work and yearn for an opportunity to make changes. Others shift the emphasis from work to leisure because work fails to  provide satisfaction. Some individuals in their mid-life years seek change by taking dangerous risks because of disappointment and burn-out with their work.

In Luke 12:16-21 Jesus conveys a story about a farmer who became wealthy, but because of a misguided attitude toward work and leisure, he failed to reap the harvest of his labor. Work and leisure fail to bring satisfaction and meaning when God is excluded from our choices. God's desire is to be included so we can feel blessed and enriched by him.

Permit yourself to see work as God's gift and as an avenue for expressing your love to Christ Jesus. He not only saves us from our sins and but saves us from negative attitudes that ruin our joy and happiness. Ecclesiastes 2:26 is instructive. "To the one who pleases God, he gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness." Seek to please God with all your heart.  

Re-creating Job Satisfaction - Part 3

Two objectives for working are to attain satisfaction and a earn a livelihood. The degree of satisfaction you experience is linked to your attitude toward work. A positive attitude will enhance your chances for satisfaction in other areas of your life. The happier you are with work, the higher your chances for finding meaning and purpose for your time here on earth.

What are you trying to extract from your work? Is it just a means to an end, a way to get the necessities of life and other things you want? Is work a channel for retirement and security for old age? I'm reminded of Jesus' parable about the farmer who reaped such an abundant harvest that he had to build new barns to store the overflow.

His attitude was to eat, drink, and be happy, but he failed to consider God's plan for his future. The point Jesus made is that your attitude toward work may not produce the rewards you expect. However deciding that your work is God gift to you can be the attitude you take to work and pass on to others. What could be more pleasing to the Lord Jesus Christ?

Re-creating Job Satisfaction - Part 2

The attitudes you developed toward work as an adolescent most often endure for a lifetime. Some adolescents want to avoid work while others seek out employment. Those who to have a positive attitude toward work as teenagers tend to make better adjustments to the changes life requires during the decades of the forties and fifties.

For some adults, mid-life necessitates redefining specific goals for working. More than a few men and women reach mid-life and conclude they have been chasing the wind, as Solomon pointed out in Ecclesiastes 4:6. The attitude you possess toward work determines in part whether you come to judge your life's toil as meaningful or meaningless.

Without Christ Jesus giving direction to your life, what you achieve can be seen as pointless and ultimately worthless. Change must include an evaluation of your attitude toward work, the objectives you've achieved and whether you believe work is God's gift to you. God is at work in your life to show you his way and what you can be for him and others.  

Re-creating Job Satisfaction - Part 1

If you were honest, how would you gauge your attitude toward the work that you do each day? What has influenced you in forming this attitude? A large percentage of the work force consider changing employment to find more fulfillment and job satisfaction. Do you think work is one of the most important dimensions of life, but would rather not be doing it?

The uncertainty of work and the changing attitudes and values placed on work create anxiety and stress for all concerned. What helps determine the importance of work and whether it's meaningful is decided by the influence you believe it has on others and if you believe you're making a positive contribution to the lives of others.

God put in everyone's heart a desire to be creative and to feel blessed in doing so. When you share your wisdom and knowledge, it actually reduces stress and anxiety. Proverbs 29:9 is an encouragement. "A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares what he has with others." Will you let this be seen in your attitude and actions?

Securing Contentment Through Generosity - Part 3

Most individuals are innately a bit self-centered. While it's normal to take care of yourself physically, mentally, and spiritually, most people retain a healthy concern for others. God generously gives us a measure of love and wisdom, which become the hallmark for making life joyful and peaceful. The way in which these attributes get expressed depends on our individual choices.

In the parable of the sower, seeds fall on four different types of soil. These soils represent a person's availability to receive the message from God's word. How much joy and peace we experience depends on the depth God's word is allowed to penetrate our heart and soul. Seeds fail to produce when the soil is shallow or when it's polluted and stifles the plants.

The seeds God sows in you are meant to produce love for others and wisdom for living. This takes place when we become vulnerable to God's purpose and plan for our days upon the earth. Let love and wisdom be the soil that covers your skills and abilities so these will generate the bountiful harvest to which Jesus refers in his parable.  

Securing Contentment Through Generosity - Part 2

A young man in his mid-thirties left an extremely lucrative and successful business to take a position in another company that appeared more challenging. He had made enough money to give him a cushion for several months. Two years after leaving his former employment, he's back in town looking for something else. He is still looking for contentment.

By mid-life, most everyone begins to realize some dreams are not going to become reality. It may be that some people are so inflexible that dreams wither and die from lack of hope or like plants with little or no roots. In Jesus' parable of the four soils a farmer sowed his seeds in his field. Some seeds fell among thorns, which choked the tender young plants.

We must continually evaluate what we want to achieve with the gifts and talents God has entrusted to us. Failure to share them will suffocate you like thorns that choke plants. Listen to Proverbs 11:25. "A generous man prospers; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed." As you share with others, you discover God's purpose for your life.  

Securing Contentment Through Generosity - Part 1

I'm reminded that we spend our young adulthood learning the skills of a trade or profession. Then we learn how to apply these skills. In the mid-life years some people stop learning by getting stuck in stagnation, followed by death of enthusiasm for their work.

Listen to words from Jesus' parable of the four soils. A farmer went out to sow his seeds, some fell on rocky places where it did not have much soil. Plants sprang up quickly for the soil was shallow, but when the sun came up the plants withered because they had no roots.

God intended for all people to work as a means of creating a productive life. Meaning and purpose can be experienced when work is viewed as God's gift to us. Failure to do so may result in stagnation and self-absorption. You can avoid these negatives by sharing with others what you've learned at work, in the community, and in the world. This is the pathway for becoming unhooked from self-absorption. We are nurtured and refreshed by the power and strength that comes only from the Lord Jesus Christ.  

Burned Out or Blessed? - Part 3

Jesus told a parable in Matthew thirteen about a farmer who went out to sow his seeds, which fell on four different types of soil. Imagine this farmer walking through his field sowing the seeds. Some seeds fell on a well-traveled path comprised of hard packed soil. These seeds had no chance to get planted, so birds came and ate them.

When work is seen as having little value except for a paycheck, feelings of stagnation eventually replace a positive attitude that made work endurable. What you bring to the work that God can use to influence others gives work a special purpose. If our attitude is centered only on a paycheck then encouragement will diminish like the seeds the birds ate.

Coming to terms with who you can be in Christ Jesus and how that is passed on to others can make a  difference in the value you place on work. You're  encouraged to be committed as if working for Christ Jesus, for he is at work to activate his good purpose in you. With this attitude, you can sow seeds that yield a good harvest.  

Burned Out or Blessed? - Part 2

How would you describe your attitude about the work you do each day? Is it a drudgery or a blessing? Is work a place where you do as little as possible just to keep your job? Do you have enthusiasm for your work? It's true that some tasks are mundane and not challenging, but the attitude you have about work doesn't have to be negative.

Is it possible to perceive work as God's gift to you, rather than punishment to make life miserable? How is it possible for work to be seen as a blessing from God who loves you? Work brings into focus an acute awareness of choices that determines what level of influence you will have on fellow workers and those we serve.

If you've reached mid-life, consider the knowledge and wisdom you can pass on freely to the next generation. You may have to force yourself to count the ways you've been blessed by God in your work. Next, thank God for his blessings by   permitting yourself to enjoy the fruits of your labor. This is possible when you view your work as a gift from God.  

Burned Out or Blessed? - Part 1

Just about everyone eventually gets to a place in their everyday work experience where change would be a welcome relief from the routines that have long lost their challenge. Even the rewards of safety and security of everyday work routines do not compensate for the absence of heartfelt meaning and purpose for how life is spent.

Working only for financial security and recognition may eventually result in mental and physical burn-out, a major cause of crisis for people in their mid-life years. Each person's core being, that part of the self that needs affirmation and nurturing, must be in harmony with the way life is lived. To be out of harmony creates displeasure with just about every aspect of life.

However making sweeping changes during mid-life may not be productive.  It's beneficial to present needed changes to the redemptive power and guidance of Christ Jesus. He will give wisdom and direction for any needed changes. I am confident that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.  

Work: A Gift from God - Part 3

If you were asked to explain what gives meaning and purpose to your work, what would you say? A mother I know worked at a department store for years so her daughters could attend college. Personally, I worked as a young man so I could go to college and support my wife and daughter. God intended for work to give meaning and purpose to life because work is a necessity.

Some people see work as a drudgery and punishment from God. If this fits  your attitude, there will be little joy found in work, regardless of your position or salary. For work to be meaningful and purposeful it must hinge on an attitude that is compatible with God's plan for you. Work is a necessity for the development of integrity, self-esteem and independence.

Do you wonder why adult children of wealthy parents seek careers in public service? Creative work furthers God's plan for you while providing meaning and purpose that prevents stagnation and self-absorption from taking over. Colossians 3:23 offers this encouragement. "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord."  

Work: A Gift from God - Part 2

Most people go to college to qualify for a career that provides great benefits. Those who graduate usually achieve their objective. Should money be the major reason for working? Most everyone would say, "I work to make a living, to provide for my family." To be able to work, to express and exercise your full range of talents is indeed a privilege and a blessing from God.

Creative work is God's gift of love to you. However when the gift of work is used primarily for self-gain, saturation begins to dulls your sense of appreciation for what's been achieved. Saturation is indicative of the need to redefine what's important. Using the gift of work for the betterment others and the Kingdom of God avoids self-absorption and stagnation.

Accepting work as God's gift is a step toward making essential changes. Work that benefits others produces joyful feelings of accomplishment. It pleases God, as Hebrews 6:10 explains. "He will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you help his people and continue to help them." This is indeed a godly choice.  

Work: A Gift from God - Part 1

The wonder of the human species is that we're perpetually in transition, even if changes exist unnoticed. This may be difficult to accept for those who appreciate constancy. God created us for transitions even though change can be disruptive. For those who have reached mid-life, disruptions may be a frequent occurrence whether at work, in the family, or in personal lives.

Turmoil is a time to make needed changes that were previously overlooked. What would you say personally defines you at this stage of your life? What are your major concerns? Jesus asked a related question in Matthew 6:25, "Is not life more important than food for the body, more important than clothes?" How could this question be re-framed for today?

Change could include redefining what you want to pass on to others who observe you, listen to what you say, or use you as a model for their lives. Jesus gave us this guideline: "Seek first God's Kingdom and his righteousness and all these other things will be given to you." This might be a difficult choice, but in reality there could be no better decision.  

Managing Mistakes - Part 3

Finding meaningful work is one of the most important endeavors men and women seek in life. Ecclesiastes 5:19 specifically says that to be happy in one's work is a gift from God. The most important objective, although not always given first place, is finding peace with God by loving and seeking him with all your heart, soul, and strength.

Contentment with work depends on your motivation for work. My mother's  job was being a homemaker. She viewed this work as her career and still in her late seventies stayed busy doing what she defined as her job. She believed her work was a gift from God. Do you see your career as a means of helping others to be successful, either directly or indirectly?

Change must include altering your attitude about work. How would your attitude be affected if you believed your work was a gift from God? If this were possible, you might be more motivated to use your knowledge, skills, and wisdom to benefit the next generation destined to take your place. This would be a great choice for God and others.  

Managing Mistakes - Part 2

Our society has varying requirements for achieving success in a career. One motivation that drives people to strive for success is personal recognition and acceptance by peers and family. Singer/song writer John Denver's success gave him the means to exploit flying, which made him feel acceptable to his father, an Air Force test pilot.

In the drive to succeed it's almost impossible to avoid becoming self-absorbed, which requires staying singularly focused to limit distractions such as the family or an active spiritual life. For the self-absorbed, other important facets of life will have to be partially ignored.

Self-absorption overlooks giving others the essentials for making their lives successful. To change from being self-absorbed to other-centered requires analyzing your attitude about why to be successful. Jesus asked you, "What good will it be to gain the whole world and forfeit your soul?" This could include your family or your physical and spiritual well-being. You can make better choices.  

Managing Mistakes - Part 1

Getting older is desired by adolescents seeking independence and greater control over their destiny. With age comes the privilege of decision-making and the right to choose a career. But by mid-life, disappointments surface as a consequence of earlier choices. Facing disappointments is unavoidable, but the way they are managed depends on your attitude.

Mistakes and bad choices can be attributed to immaturity, but choosing to learn and mature requires being receptive to what God wants us to see about ourselves and to his plan for our future. While mid-life's uncertainties will come, we choose to cope by submitting our future to Christ Jesus who empowers us to make helpful choices and changes.

Your choices permit a shift from trusting your own intelligence and power to trusting God. Psalm 22:5 assures that those who trust in the Lord will not be disappointed. "Trust in the Lord and do good and he will cause you to dwell safely in the land." This is an assurance as well as a choice that ensures positive change.  

Productivity vs. Boredom: Sowing and Reaping - Part 3

Popular books have been written about mid-life, that space between thirty-five and fifty-something. One author described this phase of life as an emotional resurgence of adolescence when the need to break away or separate from what is familiar resurfaces. In the worst case everything familiar, including career, family, and God, becomes the enemy.

What drives this painful life-changer? One explanation is the tendency to become so obsessed with a career or family that little time exists to nurture your-  self or a spouse. In some instances, a restrained loneliness forms that can't be contained beneath a facade of busyness. Feeling empty in spite of all the outer trappings of success has to be a consideration.

What's to be done? Choose to face down the crisis. God will not forsake you even if life seems hopeless. Give Christ Jesus time to heal you, to change your thoughts, and forgive you. Ask God to give you a new vision and purpose for your life. Connections with family and God can be restored. This is a choice you can make.  

Productivity vs. Boredom: Sowing and Reaping - Part 2

When people hit mid-life, that period of life say from thirty-five to fifty, daily routines tend to dominate one's waking hours. Perhaps some relief comes by going to church, seeing friends there, and engaging in Bible study and worship with these friends. Even these gratifying choices may lose their luster and be relegated to just another routine.

I agree that marriage, parenting, and work require routines, but God created us for change. He intends for us to push out the boundaries of our knowledge as well as our wisdom. When you cease to test these boundaries, you're in danger of being vulnerable to stagnation or self-absorption, which is indicative of potential isolation and loneliness.

Asking God for insight on how to modify your routines is asking for change. Contributing to the next generation's wisdom for living in an insecure world can be your motive. Proverbs 11:24 offers hope and a warning: "One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds and comes to poverty." Choosing to be a blessing to others pleases God.  

Productivity vs. Boredom: Sowing and Reaping - Part 1

Young children are capable of demonstrating personal power. I know you've observed children compete over significant issues like who's going to ride in the front seat. Personal power issues persist throughout life in one form or another. All too often, personal power is used to control others for the purpose of self-gain or self-indulgence.

Self-indulgence leads to self-absorption and greed and eventually trying to control others. A truth worthy of accepting is that human beings were not designed to be controlled. Those who try are usually met with passive or aggressive resistance. God in his mercy, kindness, and grace does not choose to control us, but permits us to chose how we live our lives.

We can use our personal power to give blessings to others. St. Paul told the Corinthians, "Remember, whoever sows sparingly will reap sparingly. Whoever sows generously will reap generously." Don't be hesitant to give what you learned to those coming up behind you, even if it requires sacrifice. God will richly bless you.  

Treasure Hunting - Part 3

The journey toward mid-life is often approached with resistance or even denial. Someone observed that as a generation grows older an important issue all must face is what to do with the wisdom and knowledge gained during the past decades of adult life. How you deal with this issue speaks loud and clear in defining the kind of person you are in particular.

All your life you may have been generous with what you possess as a result of the gifts and talents God gave you. It includes the practical, emotional, and intellectual skills you used to subdue the challenges God placed before you. As you come to this stage of life, the challenge is to pass on to the next generation what was given to you.

Productive change includes standing up for the godly influence you can be on those around you. It's giving something that money can't buy and receiving the promise of 2 Corinthians 9:8: "And God is able to make all grace abound in you, so that in all things, at all times you will abound in every good work." May God's grace always be evident in you.

Treasure Hunting - Part 2

Glen and Mary built a life around his profession. While he worked, she did  everything to be supportive. She made sure the children looked good and performed well. She managed homework and school projects to ensure good grades to keep their father happy. Glen seldom made it home before the children's bedtime. Weekends meant relaxation to refuel himself for work. 

          This seems like an exaggerated account of family life and pushing self-absorption to the extreme, but this was the self-deception that pervaded both Mary and Glen's lives. Glen justified his life style: "I work long hours to ensure Mary and the children of a good life." "Someday we will have time to be together," was Mary's rationalization.

          Change involves examination of attitudes and values. Be honest about your commitments. Jesus said, "Where your treasure is, therein resides the desires of your heart." You pass on to your children your treasures regardless of their eternal value. It may be late, but you can change. Be sure God occupies first place in your life so you can pass that on.