Problem Solving

To solve a problem, one must recognize that a problem exists.  This may seem simple; however, the obvious does not always apply.

Alcoholics need to understand they have a problem with alcohol; abusive partners need to recognize their abuse and liars need to realize that they are liars and that lying is a destructive habit.

Our nation needs to recognize that debt is a problem, the ignorance of God is a nightmare and that “truth” based on belief lacks authority, strength, and logic.

Industry in the United States is on the precipice of disaster because of a generation of workers who have had the world revolve around them in such a way that reality is a new and frightening concept to them. Those who are entering the workforce want their bosses and associates to bend their schedules around their social structure just as their parents and teachers did. They want to enjoy the perks of hard work without the work, gain positions they did not earn and be honored for exceptionality for doing what is expected.

The modern worker wants to live with the perks that commitment brings without the responsibility, and the establishment is trying to accommodate things that are un-accommodatable.

A “me first” approach to life never has and will never work. The “me first” approach produces cowards rather than heroes, consumers rather than producers and critics rather than those who empower.

For a society to be successful, we need to think in terms of how individuals contribute to the whole and not how the whole adds to the individual.  A culture built on the foundation of “self” has no corporate strength.

The answer to the long-term problem is to have parents and teachers and bosses stop making the world revolve around children. This may sound simple; however, it is engrained in our lifestyle, and those who do such a thing are considered too strict, even harsh.

I am important, and my life is important in the context of how I contribute to the whole and the more I expect the whole to be about me the more distorted life becomes.

When life is about me, things seem hard, and my struggles seem insurmountable. This is because of my distorted view of reality.

Perhaps it is time for a new kind of industrial revolution led by those who are concerned about the future health of an unhealthy generation. This new revolution will not be fueled by inventions, techniques or financial incentives but by restored relationships.

People were created as relational beings and relationships, by the very nature of the word, demand proper interactions. Synonyms for relationships are connection, association, link, correlation, correspondence, parallel, alliance, bond, and interconnection.

If we try to take away our connection, association, link, correlation, correspondence, alliance, bond or interconnection with God and each other we live disconnected, unassociated, linkless, non-correlating, non-corresponding, non-parallel, no alliance, no bonds, connectionless lives.

When we live life out of context, we respond in various ways. Some live angry lives, others depressed while others kick their energy level up and live crazy, out of control lives.

There are many problems and challenges facing our nation today, and if we try to address them all, we would soon be exhausted and discouraged. In fact, there have been many who have given up any hope of change and have withdrawn as much as they can to preserve what little peace and prosperity they still enjoy.

The answers today are no different than they have always been for the problems today, although manifested uniquely, are the same. We have lost our connection with God and with each other and are now looking for that connection, or love, in all the wrong places.

Significance, security, and acceptance are byproducts of lives lived in the context of a proper relationship with God and each other. Those who seek the byproduct apart from the cause will frustrate themselves and those around them. Those who develop a proper relationship with God and each other will enjoy the byproduct of both while positively contributing to causes much more excellent than self.

Choice Matters

Our goodness does not merit God’s provision. God’s provision merits our goodness.

Thinking that God is dependent upon our action or inaction for anything can be dangerous in that we slowly develop the theology that is human dependent, rather than God dependent. 

There is nothing that is human dependent. My choices matter to the extent that they will affect my ability to be a part of the victory, but they will not affect the victory. My choices, which are sometimes a mystery to me, are not a mystery to God, and He has already adjusted to accommodate for my decisions. 

To some, this minimizes personal choice and responsibility, when, in reality, it has no effect on their importance. God is love, and choice is the single most important aspect of love, for without it, there is no love. 

Narcissistic people live as victims. They reduce their personal responsibility for decisions they have made by blaming others, and the ultimately blame is usually aimed at God.  When someone blames God for their sinful choices, personal responsibility and guilt are totally removed.

Those who think they can do nothing about a situation usually do nothing about the situation. They live in a constant state of defeat, by choice. 

God does not need man; He wants man. He does not force us to love Him. He gives us choice,and that choice is real, as are the consequences of those choices. Because God knows the future, He adjusts history to insure His plan will be accomplished. 

It is difficult for us, the created ones, to fully comprehend the creator, and that is one of the characteristics that makes us different. We are not God. We are man and can only think, understand, and make decisions as man. 

Those who are in God’s family have God Himself, living within in the form of the Holy Spirit, and are capable of making decisions based on their sensitivity to listening to Him. Those who listen to God live by faith, meaning that they live in a way that makes no sense to those who do not know or listen to God. 

The Scriptures make it clear that God is sovereign and that we have choice. The only way we do not believe this is to put our own understanding above what God has clearly demonstrated. Those who do that are placing their own understanding at the same level as God’s, which is ludicrous at best. 

We need to position ourselves to enjoy God’s provision, and be available to be used by Him in His provision. Some of the greatest moments of God’s revelation happened during some of the toughest moments throughout history. 

My behavior will demonstrate to the world who God is or show the world the foolishness of living without the counsel of God. For now, the choice is mine, and it does matter. 

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.  Be not wise in your own eyes;

fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.”  Proverbs 3:5-7 (ESV)

The Examined Life

So he made their days vanish like a breath, and their years in terror. When he killed them, they sought him; they repented and sought God earnestly. They remembered that God was their rock, the Most High God their redeemer. But they flattered him with their mouths; they lied to him with their tongues. Their heart was not steadfast toward him; they were not faithful to his covenant.  Psalm 78:33-37 (ESV)

A life that vanishes like a breath is a tragic life. It is likened to a life that has chased the wind and has actually caught it. There is a bleak nothingness that accompanies this thought.

It is easy for mankind to talk of repentance, and it is much harder to repent. So often we try to play “Let’s Make A Deal” with God, when, in reality, He has already made the deal.

I need to examine my life and allow it to tell me what I actually believe. Talk is easy, cheap, and can be manipulative. Actions can be put on display for the crowd, and my heart is deceitful and wicked. I need to always have a way to check what is true.

Holy Ground

Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” 

Exodus 3:5 (ESV)

And the commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so. Joshua 5:15 (ESV)

Moses and Joshua had moments, before they were to lead the people into the impossible, when they met with God. These meetings were similar in that both needed to remove their sandals to acknowledge the fact that they were standing on holy ground. 

God, for some reason, wanted them to understand that the instructions given to them were from God. This was different from the counsel of man. This counsel was such that it would set them on a sacred leadership journey where their ultimate strength would come from the fact that they once stood on holy ground and listened to God. 

Their strength would not come from their people, but from the words of God, alone. 

Somethings will never change. Leaders today who gain leadership from men alone will lack the strength, courage, and wisdom to lead correctly. Every successful leader, at some point, needs to hear and acknowledge God’s instructions for them.

Mission statements crafted by committees are helpful, but they often lack the power and authority of God. Mission statements can be crafted by pagans and believers alike, and if repeated enough, can become sacred in the minds of many. 

Attempting to build the “church” without leaders who have had to take their sandals off makes operating a church similar to managing a secular business. In the end, you may affect many people, have large numbers, and look like a dominant force for good, when, in reality, you have been a failure for transforming large numbers of people, and accomplishing a stated mission statement could easily honor the people and the statement more than God.

Those who meet with God stand in awe of Him. Those who listen to Him attempt and accomplish the impossible.

We need to have leaders who spend more time on the holy ground and less time in committee meetings.