Respecting Our Work - Building Value

"He also who is slack in his work is brother to him who destroys" (Prov 18:9)

As a manager, I recently had a series of staff workers in the same job over the course of the year. The first hated her job, barely performed her duties and rarely turned in a solid 6 hours day...let alone an 8 hour day. We tried to counsel her and found out that she really didn't want to work with us. However, she wanted to be fired to collect unemployment. So we let her go.

The second person was talented, but was slightly overqualified on paper. However, she needed a job so she took the staff position we offered. She started out all right, properly motivated to work, but after 4 months she lost interest and started hinting at needing a promotion (which she hadn't yet earned). After 6 months, she started coming in late and her work product suffered to the point where we had to have a series of chats on issues that we were having. There was some improvement in performance, but the economy improved and she left to a better position after 9 months.

Where this has left us is back at square one. Instead of having a trained person to take on the duties we have allocated to this staff person, we now have to train up another person from scratch. In each case, the two staff persons so resented their job, one because she didn't like the work and the other because she felt like she was better than the work (hence didn't like it), that they had begun to slip in their performance.

While the second person was better than the first person, the end result was the similar - bad attitude resulted in tardiness and shortened work days. The lack of professionalism ended up being disappointing and at the same time, for our company, very little was built that added value to our company.

Slacking off is a phenomenon that I think is more prevalent in recent times. I know it well because I have slacked off many times in my younger days. Analyzing myself, I can see that the root came from an inner weakness and a sense of self entitlement. I wanted respect in my profession without properly earning it. I wanted my work to be constantly interesting, but couldn't realize and see that unless I master the basics, the more interesting things - the artistry of a profession would never be realized. There is no substitute for experience and knowledge gained over time through experience.

There was also a moral failure in myself. I either didn't know God, or I was immature in the Lord at the time. The Bible tells us to "work as unto the Lord" (Col 3:23-24). Regardless of what role we are thrust into, do I work as unto the Lord? Do I appreciate the work granted to me enough to be earnest at it and excel at it?

I still need to ask myself these questions today. Being part of Generation X, I know that I am part of a lazy and self-entitled generation, so my propensity is towards sinfulness and slack. And slack once it goes on over time, so weakens that duties that we are assigned to steward that we end up destroying what we are supposed to keep watch over.

Lord, in the example of my two recent staff, I also see a lot of myself in them. But understanding their reasons for slack doesn't justify it. You have helped me to improve over my past sins of slack, but I know that I still need to be vigilant. Please help me to keep dedicated to my work and to respect that place that you have put me for this season. Thank you for all the opportunities that you've provided to me and the place I am honored to serve in. May I represent You most of all. In the matchless name of Jesus, AMEN.

God Proves Himself Through Trials

"we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us." (Romans 5:3-5)

It has been a pretty tough week. Not that there was any one thing or one event that has been an issue, but just a cumulative series of small things that have drained me bit by bit. I am reminded of this verse - to glory in tribulations.

Tribulations will definitely span a great range - for most people, such as myself at this time, it will be fairly mundane things that will be a trial, and for others there will be a difficult event that will take a good amount of time to overcome.

But, I really do believe in the cycle that Paul describes in Romans. We are shaped through our trials far more than through our blessings. I know that I spent a good deal of time praying and asking God for strength this week than I have for a while. It is the new things, the new trials that cause us to go to our knees.

What we find however, is that God can successfully bring us through the trials. He really is faithful. Faithful, not in the sense that we won't have difficulties or tragedies happen to us, but faithful to give us the strength to overcome them. And the result of that is we see more and more that God is good to us, and the truth that He will never leave us nor forsake us.

It is through this body of work, that is our personal journey of life through which God proves His faithfulness and His reality. And when each trial has been overcome, we have a track record on which to place our hopes for eternal life. God really is, and He is with us.

Perhaps there is something behind the curse of Adam given to us men during the Fall:

"Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return." (Genesis 3:17-19)

Adam and Eve had just disobeyed God in the midst of a life of ease in the Garden of Eden. If a life of ease did not produce obedience, loyalty and character in them, perhaps God wanted to develop that character through trials instead.

As I think about those who will share the Kingdom with the Lord in the end, they will all have been tested through a life of trial and tragedy. Each will know what evil is, and in contrast, the goodness of God.

Lord Jesus, thank You for being strong in my life. That there are times when I need to lean upon You for strength and simply dwell in Your presence. Thank You for being faithful in my times of need and that You are always true and good. As a family, help us to navigate these waters that will be a challenge. Help us to stay near to You and always have Your character on us even through the darkest days. In Jesus' name, AMEN.

Be Content In Marriage And Money

⁴Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge. ⁵Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, "I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU," ⁶so that we confidently say,
"THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID.
WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?"

(Hebrews 13:4-6)

As I read this passage, I noticed that the Lord is asking us to live with a sense of gratefulness and appreciation for what we have. Along with that spirit of thankfulness, we need to also practice delayed gratification as well.

We live in a fast food, instant gratification world. It is such a luxury that we can jump into our cars and purchase anything under the sun whenever we like with only a piece of plastic instead of carrying around cash. If we want to be entertained, our movies are fed straight to our big screen TVs over high definition (or our everywhere internet connected smartphones). It's an awesome thing - luxuries no one could have even imagined just 20-30 years ago.

As great as these things are, that attitude of instant gratification cannot carry into our married life or our finances. Perhaps more than anywhere else in our lives, God needs to reign in us when it comes to those two things.

I am so glad for my wife. We are such different people and that can lead to great complementary aids, or great disagreements. But through everything, she is a loving support for me through tough times. Marriage has also been the toughest test for me in my entire life. The concept of "two becoming one" seems romantic when you're single, but when actually doing the process in real life, it can also be like surgery. For others, there might also be times when it can seem mundane because you see a person everyday. Either way, staying the course in marriage isn't necessarily easy.

It can seem attractive to bail out and to find someone new in order to rekindle excitement or somehow feel validated or "manly". But, we are called to be pure and loyal in our marriages. It is a sanctioned contract under and before God, where we swear to live our whole lives serving our spouses.

The reward for us is the supernatural miracle of two persons truly functioning as one unit. Each supporting the other in different ways and creating a solid foundation and shelter from which to raise the next generation for Christ. There is deep joy in being able to share one's life with another and to lean on them in times of need. We were made to live in marriage (other than those who are called to be single to serve God fully), and when we are able to live out the journey of life through the journey of marriage, we are fulfilled to the depths of our souls.

Money on the other hand is a trap for us. Money's threat is to replace our sense of security in the Lord with the security of a full bank account. In addition, it feeds our greed to obtain and collect things - focusing on material acquisition rather than the fruits of the Spirit.

Making purchases feels empowering. We are drawn to possession and it makes us feel validated. We judge a person's social status and rank by the type of things they have, where they live, the car they drive, and the clothes they wear. God doesn't judge on any of those things. Not a single one.

It is not wrong to be rich. God desires for us to be successful. But, we cannot worship things and compromise ourselves in order to obtain things. We cannot compromise our faith, or our relationship and assignment from the Lord in order to drive a nice car or live in a nice house. Instead, we know that it is God that is our ultimate provider - not our bank accounts. We need to worship the giver and not the gifts.

Be content with what you have, says the Lord. God knows our characters and when we give our lives over to Him, we are submitting to His provision and His timing. He knows us better than ourselves and knows whether we have the characters to live with more or less. Since money is not a factor in God's success, the level of money in our lives has nothing to do with whether or not God believes in us or loves us. He simply has called us to live with a certain amount of funds.

The world is littered with lives that have been destroyed by the love of money. Relationships, one of the greatest treasures that we can have, are severed by jealousy, envy or greed all rooted in the love of money. While it is necessary to live and function, it is meaningless to God's Kingdom.

Lord Jesus, thank You for reminding me about the power and gift of a pure marriage, and warning me about the dangers of the love of money. One is possibly the greatest treasure during our lives here on Earth, and the other is completely worthless in the whole scheme of things. Thank You for being the provider for our family, helping and encouraging us to grow little by little. At the same time, please protect our marriage and help us to grow more and more into the one unit that lives for You alone. In Jesus' name, AMEN.

A Nation That God Can Bless

"Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it." (Matt 21:43)

This verse refers to the nation of Israel versus the Gentiles, but as I was reading it, I couldn't help but to think about our nation. The United States has lived a generally charmed existence and it was founded on the back of Pilgrims escaping religious persecution in Europe to found a set of Protestant Christian colonies. These people risked their lives and died in massive numbers, but succeeded in finding a place where they could worship the Lord without the oversight of a powerful elitist church leadership who were more interested in worldly power than spiritual piety.

From such humble beginnings, we grew up to be the nation that is the beacon of modern Christianity. From greater Europe to Great Britain, and now to the United States, the mantle of world superpower has passed. And along with each successive change in the title of world superpower, so has gone the strength of the Christian church in each nation.

I am not saying that the Kingdom of God is something to pass from nation to nation, but I do believe that it is God's hand that causes nations to rise and fall. And He brings about the rise and fall of nations in accordance to the faithfulness of that nation to His Word and His Ways.

Unfortunately, our nation has become a country of loopholes. People aren't looking to follow God in fullness, but are instead interested in finding loopholes that will allow them to sin without punishment.

In our nation, we don't lie, we misspeak. We cuss constantly and we have no qualms about showing adult sexual situations in the midst of family programming. We teach our kids that materialism is the most important thing in life and we no longer put a premium on honoring our mother and father. I don't know if even 5% of us are even remotely familiar with the 10 commandments (Even as a committed Christian, I am pretty familiar with them all, but can't name them for you in order - probably a good time to go study).

Are we a nation that is deserving of God's blessing? Has the recession, which was caused by personal greed by all levels of society, taught us anything that would get us to re-examine and reform our ways?

I can't say that I know if there is another nation in the world that has the spirit of God growing inside of them although the rumor is that China's underground church is already larger than ours. However, the point is not to be powerful as a nation. It is that we will all benefit from a nation that has God's hand upon it. A nation that respects the ways of God and lives them out in their daily interactions with their neighbor. A nation that prays and has personal charitable compassion for the society around them.

Lord Jesus, I know that a nation is only made up of individuals, and a nation You can bless is made up of individuals who make a personal choice to worship and follow You. So help me to be a person that lives in fear of You above all things, who has the strength to live as You guide us to live. Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control - those are the fruits that come from a nation that is worshipful and fearful of You. Please help me to become that man more and more each day. In Jesus' name, AMEN.

Being Built By Tough Times

"Blows that hurt cleanse away evil, as do stripes the inner depths of the heart." Prov 20:30

"A man's steps are of the Lord; How then can a man understand his own way?" Prov 20:24

I found Prov 20:30 to be interesting during my reading today. It reminded me of the discipline that we need in life. As a parent to a young child, I see that she has a natural curiosity to touch everything and to explore. However, exploration is not always healthy. In order to keep her away from the things that I know could hurt her, I discipline her from time to time with a light spanking. As a parent, I am wiser and until she develops wisdom of her own, I must give her discipline.

Although we as adults won't get spanked physically, it is very true that most of us will all undergo difficulties. The realities of life, the slogging through difficult circumstances, shape us the most, do they not? Are we not steeped in character because we have experienced trouble with people or events? When we are young, we have courage, the ability to learn, and intellect, but we lack experience. Consequently, we come into situations as fresh-faced and minor things create stress. However, when we have years of experience under our belt, we weather storms with a calm that is developed from having undergone trials in the past. With this, we have a deeper realization of how big God is, and how small we are - we are less prone to evil. There is a toughness about us that comes through the journey and process. In short, we become wiser.

There are times when certain reality shows can be a blessing. Why? Because we get to see a bit into how the other half lives. How do people live when they have lots of money and very little cares in the world? They have problems, but they are of such a juvenile nature that it becomes comedic for us everyday people. Ultimately, what we are able to see is that people who do not undergo stresses, trials and hurts become weenies. Narcisstic, self important jerks that go through a fog of life in a fantasy land where they have little personal responsibility and do little good in life (other than giving us a public example of what we don't want to become).

There is a quality of character that the Lord seeks to develop in us. We don't know what the finished product will look like (though His word gives us a good description) and the journey is a mystery. Does any of us really understand or have control over the path that we will take?

I know many driven people, and they have carefully crafted their careers in such a way that they have attained very good positions in society. That is to their credit. However, can they really say that they know what the next twist and turn will bring? Yesterday, our family was almost hit by a car who got into an accident at night, and started driving away from the scene on the wrong side of a divided road. His car was smashed in the front and he had no lights. At the last minute I had to swerve to miss him because I couldn't see him. It all happened with my wife and child in the backseat. What if I had not missed him? - Even if I arrange my life perfectly, do I really know what the future brings?

But the Lord does know. When we accept His Lordship over our lives, we come under His umbrella. Life as it occurs around us is ultimately in His hands. Those that rebel, those that have denied Him live unprotected - on the precipice of Hell at all times. One slip and they go over the cliff for all eternity. Christians die, get sick, suffer, but ultimately we are promised Heaven. But even as Christians suffer, the dates and times of their deaths are in the hands of God. We will not go a moment before it is our time. In the meantime, our lives on Earth are being used to both develop ourselves and bless others.

Lord Jesus, thank You for invading the darkness of my life and walking alongside me. Thank You for being patient and pushing me to tough places and tough situations. I know they are all designed for a reason, and ultimately You are creating the man I was made to be. Please forgive me for the times that I have reacted poorly and have not shown good character. Please forgive me for the times when I have lashed out in stress rather than simply giving it to You in prayer - knowing that You know best and everything will be fine. I am glad to be humbled by my trials because I know they will never humiliate me - because I live for Your purpose now and not my own. In Jesus' name, AMEN.

Getting Beyond the Tithing Rules

8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, In what way have we robbed You? In tithes and offerings. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation. 10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it." (Mal 3:8-10 NKJV)

Tithing is a pretty touchy subject for Christians (these days, what isn't touchy when discussing Christianity?), mainly because it is one that is so difficult for the believer to conform with.

It's easy for me to look around at what I have, or look online at my bank account and think of everything that I have as "mine". Because I have applied myself to build these things up and purchase what I have, I don't want to do anything that will lessen what's "mine".

But, is that attitude really Biblical?

In scripture, we find:

"The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine, says the Lord of hosts" (Hag 2:8)

"The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein." (Ps. 24:1)

The concept of personal ownership is really temporary and an illusion. God owns everything, and although we work, earn, and are allowed to steward personal property (hence "thou shalt not steal"), He is ultimately the one who provides for us. In addition, when we become Christians, we are laying down our whole lives before His throne to do with as He pleases. That includes all of our "possessions".

So if we don't truly own anything, what does that make the tithe? On the surface, it is essentially giving back 10% of God's money to Him. For myself, the tithe is a constant reminder of the Lordship of God, and a recognition that everything is truly His. Malachi speaks of blessings because of the tithe, and preachers always like to focus on that aspect, but I really don't think that should matter one iota. Everything we receive is from the Lord anyway, so we should focus on the condition of our souls and the level of our faith.

When our souls balk at tithing, I think it's useful to ask ourselves, "If I am willing to entrust my eternity to the Lord in faith that He will save me, why in the world would I care about giving back 10% of what He's given me?" We become so entrapped by our possessions that we have a tough time giving cheerfully to the Lord. ("The Lord loves a cheerful giver" 2 Cor 9:7)

There does seem to be a lot of confusion out there because the New Testament doesn't specifically mention the tithe, and there are those who believe that such commands are no longer scriptural because it wasn't specifically repeated by Jesus. However, the Lord did say:

"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." (Mt 5:17)

So in this case, I don't think it's useful on either side of the tithing argument to look at hard and fast rules of application. If a person's heart is unable to give cheerfully, I don't believe the Lord will honor the gift. However, if the tithe is given out of spirit of submission and obedience, then it is a gift that the Lord will accept and bless (see Cain and Abel). The importance above all is our heart's condition when we give the tithe, not the want/fear of a blessing or curse, and not for the guilt that we may feel if we don't do it.

"Have I truly laid my life down to the Lord, or am I trying to keep something for myself?" With that question reiterated, the deeper question becomes, "Am I still in bondage to the world?" The answer for the rich young ruler in Luke 18 was, "Yes, I cannot let go of my great wealth to follow Jesus." And again, that seems to be the real test of the tithe -- Knowing that we have submitted everything to God, observing that the tithe was in place throughout the Old Testament, recognizing that there is still a great work to be performed here through the church which naturally should be funded, can we not give back 10% of what God has given to us?

For myself, my desire is to say, "Yes Lord! I will give whatever You ask!" But my flesh recoils at the thought of all that I won't be able to purchase without that money. So I know that there will be struggles with this always, but it all comes down to submission to Christ and knowing that my life is His. Once I gain some perspective, then serving Him through giving becomes a joy once more.

Lord Jesus, help me to check my heart constantly and root out the selfish desires which so easily threatens to overwhelm a state of obedience and submission to You. I know that the tithe is key to bringing ourselves into alignment with You and keeps us from becoming ensnared with the lust for worldly gain. Thank You for Your wisdom in knowing our wicked hearts so well that You have given us these guidelines to follow. In Your amazing name, AMEN.