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 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.  

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.  

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.