The Death of the Human Trust Factor

Have you heard the old saying, "he spits whichever way the wind is blowing?" Well, maybe you didn't hear those exact words but got the meaning anyway. A person can't be trusted because he/she changes their opinions or beliefs whenever it benefits them personally. There is no trust factor with such a double-minded person.

Webster says trust is a "firm belief or confidence in the honesty, integrity, reliability, justice, etc., of another person or thing." So, who can we trust? A political administration such as the one we have today? Big business and Wall Street? The media? Movie stars? Sports heroes? I'm sad to say, I can't name one person from these arenas I could trust.

Situational ethics and relativism has brought our nation into gross darkness. Good is being called evil and evil good! Leadership is devious and crafty, out for its own. Most of society follows. Speak the truth to the contrary and be ostracized. In the death of the human trust factor, can there be hope?

Isaiah 60:2 has the answer: "For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you." Human trust factors will die but the Lord Jesus Christ is the same forever! He will never violate our trust. Christ in us is the hope of glory, even in the midst of the darkness of this age. We can have His kind of life; all we have to do is ask!

What You Believe Will Come to Pass!

I remember a story about a woman that didn't go to a dentist for most of her life because she feared she'd die in the chair. When most of her teeth had decayed and fallen out she couldn't stand the pain, she went for help. She died in the chair!

Another woman grew up with an abusive, alcoholic father. She vowed she would never marry a man like her father. After three marriages to non-alcoholic men, each became alcoholic and treated her like her father did. Counseling later revealed that, in her heart, she believed all men were like her father.

Good or bad, what we believe in our hearts drive our thoughts and actions. Believe a lie and it becomes our truth! Believe the truth and it becomes reality.

Even most physicists recognize this phenomenon. Quantum physics principles hold that we all are a part of a whole. What we believe and do affects ourselves and the universe. A basic principle of the Bible is faith. What you believe is what you get!

If this is true, then we have a choice. If I can believe what God says about me rather than what my bad experiences have taught me, I can succeed in any thing I do. I can succeed in life! What do you believe?

Why Can't I Do What I Want To Do?

Don't you want to be better person? I don't mean that we're bad people, but that we desire to grow and develop our character. Do you like who you are? I like me a lot more now than I did 40 years ago! Do you have a list of things you'd like changed? Here are a few of mine:

• I can still get angry when offended. Clear thinking doesn't result from anger! I'd like to rise above anger.
• I don't like traditional approaches to anything. Maybe because I'm an auditor, or because of my rigid upbringing, I challenge everything. I'd like to be able to accept some things.
• My love and respect for others is conditional. Behave badly and I'll judge you. I have no right to do that. Hurt me and I want to hurt you back.
• Justify yourself like I used to, or like how I still want to, and I can tell you what's wrong with your life! That's called pride.
• I can't identify very well with the needs of others. I have a mental understanding but I don't often feel much empathy. I'd like to put the needs of others first.
  
  

And that's not the bad stuff! Sometimes, the harder we work to change the way we are the harder it gets! The reason is that while we can modify some of our behavior, changing our hearts by our own strength is impossible! Why? The Apostle Paul laments about this in the Bible, Romans 7:15: "For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do." In vs. 17, he makes a statement many find hard to believe, "...it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me."

Sin dwelling in us! Not me! How about you? This is the reason we need a Savior! We can't accomplish lasting changes in our character by our own strength. Change begins on the inside, not the outside. Only Jesus Christ can change our hearts!

Are You Grace-Full?

What does the word mean? From the 1828 Edition of Webster's Dictionary, grace is defined as a blessing, gratuity, unmerited love and favor, privilege and virtue. The Latin word is Gratia, as in gratis or gratuity. Some say Grace before meals to thank their provider for their blessings. It's pretty clear; grace is something we give to someone, a gift. Interestingly, the Greek word for grace is "Charis" which means "gift."

So, if we are "grace-full" it must mean we are filled up with the ability to give grace to others. Sometimes, I'm not very graceful. If you've read some of my previous blogs, you already know that! When things are going my way I can be graceful. When I'm around people I like I'm graceful. There are other times I'm not. Here are a few examples of those circumstances:

• A corporate entity that values it profits more than its customers. A recent visit to a corporate dental group assigned to me under my insurance plan is an example. Their "corporate policy" required me to undergo a series of expensive unnecessary services. I was told that if I didn't subject myself to these procedures they wouldn't serve me in the future! I don't have grace for people and organizations that try to increase their profits at my expense.
• Religious leaders that build their fortunes by deception. A friend told me a story of attending a retirement party for an elderly preacher. My friend asked the preacher if he would do anything different given the chance to redo his career. The preacher said, "Yes, I'd get me a white linen suit, arrange a series of religious meetings and tell the participants that God told me to tell them to give me all their money!" Enough said.
• People with a victim mentality that blame others for their problems. Refusing to take responsibility for their mistakes, bad decisions or inappropriate behavior and, instead, blaming family, friends, employers and others for their misfortunes are the character traits of victims. I was one for many years of my life. I blamed my mother, father, bosses and anyone else I could find for my failures and anger. I minimized my inappropriate behavior and magnified the bad behavior of others. I judged others by their actions but wanted people to judge me by my intentions. I hate seeing me in others!

Many of our life experiences have filled our hearts with wounds and hurts. We can offer human grace to a certain depth of our hearts but then we hit the rocks at the bottom! We can't be grace-full on our own strength. If we could, this planet would be filled with peace, harmony and love.

The Bible says Jesus came filled with grace and truth. His grace-full death on the cross was his "Charis" (gift) to all mankind. Only when we accept Him as our Lord and Savior, can we access His grace and become supernaturally grace-full!

Why Is There Such Death and Destruction in Haiti?

I can barely stand watching the news reports of the devastation in Haiti. My heart, like yours I'm sure, breaks with the images of the injured and the dying. Children without their parents or a home may be the worst part. Like other natural disasters, life as usual is changed in an instant. Business doesn't matter. Ethical behavior doesn't matter. Our 401K doesn't matter. Plans for the future don't matter. Only survival does!

Like many of us, you may be asking why. Why did this happen to one of the poorest nations on earth? Why did people that had almost nothing lose even that? Why the death and devastation? Some would answer and say those faults have been under that city for centuries. True, but the destruction came now. Some would say that it is the judgment of God on the sin, on the devil worship and on the lawlessness that has reigned in that nation. This also may be true but these evils are embedded in the history of the nation. Still others would say it is chance. Volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, earthquakes, floods, droughts and other natural disasters are occurring more frequently around the world, and it's probably not chance!

Whether or not one believes in God, we must understand that the earth has a timetable. Nostradamus thought so. The Mayans thought so. Even science thinks so! As we are busy living life, however, we don't want to think so! If we don't think about it, we don't have to deal with some difficult issues. Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going when I leave the earth? It's pretty easy to think that we just stop, or that we go into the light, or that we become angels or that this life is all there is. I hope you know that none of this kind of reasoning is truth.

Natural laws have been established on this earth. We're familiar with gravity, thermodynamics, physics, planting and harvesting and so on. The natural law we like to ignore, however, is that sin has consequences! Collective sin has even greater consequences! If you don't believe me, you need to read a publication that has been proven accurate by historians, archeologists, lawyers and many others...the Holy Bible.

The consequences of sin will be reaped on earth or in the "after life." To die is to leave this earth for an eternal destiny, either heaven or hell. We don't get a chance to choose after the earthquake hits! But, we can choose now! Jesus' recorded words in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." Jesus is the only savior that died to pay the price for our sin. When we ask him in prayer to be our Lord and Savior, and believe in our hearts that God raised Him form the dead, we will be saved! He will forgive our sin and make the way for us to be filled with His righteousness and love! Are you ready for what might happen on earth tomorrow, or even in the next few minutes? Make your choice now!

What Is Your Resolution?

It's that time again. It's January and New Year's resolutions are the substance of the media one more time. It is reported that some are resolving to lose weight, to quit smoking, to change their lifestyles, to get a better job and so on. For most of us, our resolutions almost always center on ourselves. I can't remember a news reporter interviewing someone that said, "I want to make the world a better place" or "I'm resolving to help others more" or "I'm going to demonstrate love for my neighbor this year."

I'm reading a book by Joyce Meyers called "The Love Revolution." She says that selfishness is behind almost every problem the world faces today. I'd go one step further and say self-centeredness is the primary cause. And why shouldn't it be? It began in the Garden of Eden!

I lived the first 45 years of my life as a "self-made" man. The only thing my lifestyle made was a mess! When my world began to collapse my defense was to blame others for my problems. And why not? Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the serpent! The devil made me do it!

One of my favorite lines from the movie Gladiator was when General Maximus said to his men before a battle, "What you do here today will echo throughout eternity!" We will be accountable to God for the things we do here on earth, whether or not we believe in Him! Self-centeredness in the Garden of Eden brought spiritual death to all mankind throughout eternity. We are mankind!

But there is good news! "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16) God first loved us so we could love him...and others! He made the Way in Jesus Christ for us to escape our self-centeredness and to become "others-centered." In the end, the only resolution that will matter is whether we have resolved to love God and one another. This is true ethical behavior! We can become resolute this year and point the Way!

Have You Received the Fruit of Your Labor?

This blog is for those of us that have tried our best to behave ethically and do right throughout our lifetimes and haven't been rewarded. We've served others in business, church and relationships but seem to end up on the short end of the stick. We've tried and tried to do right but what we wanted and expected didn't happen. We've cried out in our alone times, "Were is mine?" Some of us have become disillusioned and discouraged and even quit trying. If this is you, this blog is for you.

Here are a few things I've learned through some of these times. I've worked hard at everything I've undertaken in my life but failed a lot. My failures usually occurred not because I didn't do a good job but because I was doing the wrong job! A dog barking up the wrong tree as the old saying goes. Trying to be like other successful people doing something I thought I was to do often led me to the wrong place, or in some cases no place! Trying to perform and compete to be better than others caused me to be exhausted most of the time and not do my best. I worked hard to please and be accepted by others, which made my sense of failure worse when they didn't appreciate my performance. Driven by my heart motives, I was trying hard to get to the wrong place! I never received the fruit (rewards) of my labors. I failed to accomplished my goals in other words.

Because I was working hard and exhausted most of the time, I had little time to be quiet to hear the still, small voice inside me. Whether or not one believes in God or His creation, we are equipped with an inner sense, some people call it a voice, that is constantly trying to tell us the right thing to do. For those that have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, that voice is recognized as the Holy Spirit of God. In any event, our inner sense, intuition or urging will direct us for good if we listen and follow it.

When my last major project failed, I actually gave up trying to do anything. I remember saying to God, "If there is anything left in my life for me to do, you have to open a door and bring it to me." It was only a few months until doors of opportunity that I had tried to push through in years past began to open...wide. I still had to do the work but it was work that was given to me, not something I had to perform to get. Since then there have been some difficult situations develop but as I trust Him to take me to my destiny I keep making progress.

Here is the bottom line. Jeremiah 29:ll says, "For I (God) know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you; plans to give you hope and a future." Hard for some of us to accept, but the Infinite (God) is greater than the finite (us). When I try to make my own way on my own strength, it's hard. When I cooperate with what God has given me, its easy because He is God and I'm not! Post a comment and share your story.

Are You Working Too Hard?

The purpose of this question is to cause us to focus on why and how we do things. Most of my life I've performed to get others to accept and like me, as well as to achieve my goals. I said I didn't care if they liked me but deep down I did. So, I endeavored to be the best at my work, tried to make others feel comfortable, tried to please my wife and friends and on and on.

I've always been goal-oriented. When I have a purpose before me, I usually spend 110% of my energy and time working towards an accomplishment. In fact, I usually work until I wear out!

This behavior fits with my upbringing, which could be defined as performance orientation. This has always been my subconscious reasoning: the harder I work, the greater the rewards or maybe the more others will like and respect me. It is true that hard work has its rewards but, for some of us, our thinking is rooted in "good boy, bad boy" (or girl) heart motives. When the reasons for performance moves from accomplishing an objective to satisfying dysfunctional needs, we push ourselves to the end of our strengths.

I've been blessed with some new and different work lately. Because I always want to do a good job, I've been working extra hard and long to do the new projects correctly. Planning to work this weekend, I awoke exhausted this morning. A different kind of wake-up call, this usually tells me I'm relying too much on my own strength to meet real or self-imposed deadlines and that I NEED REST!

I forget that when I have adequate rest, I am stronger both physically and mentally. God rested on the seventh day; we need to rest! We can usually accomplish more in less time than when we keep continually pushing ourselves towards a goal. When we slow down or stop for a day or so, we can recharge. Taking our focus off our work enables us to see more clearly how to get where we're going and what we need to change to get there.

Remember the old song? It was by Carly Simon I think:

"I can see clearly now, the rain is gone.
I can see all the obstacles in my way.
All the darkened clouds of gloom are gone.
It's gonna be a bright, bright sunshiny day!"

Try, Try and Try Again

I started a new direction in my training activities today with the launch of 15 weeks of webcasts. Having performed 5 0r 6 webcasts in the past, and having taught live seminars for over 30 years, I thought this would be a simple transition. While my debut was not bad, I failed to allocate time effectively and ended up very rushed to finish on time. This caused my listeners to feel they didn't receive complete coverage of my subject.

Perhaps you've been there. Thinking you could meet the requirements of a task, you finish to find out your performance was less than perfect. How we respond in these circumstances tells a lot about our progress to maturity. I'm still working on getting there!

I have known some who don't take criticism well. Being presented with information that indicates they are less than perfect, their reaction is often blame shifting, denial of facts and even anger. On the other hand, I've worked with many people who welcome constructive criticism and use it to improve.

In my younger years, I used to tell critics to keep their mouths shut. "I'm my own worst critic," I would say. That was probably true since my performance orientation always drove me to seek perfection. The truth is I did need the constructive criticism, and still do! My substandard performances still make me feel bad but, in my later years, I've learned to use the information to be better next time. Using the input of others as we try, try and try again not only helps us do a thing better, it is a mark of maturity.

Are you still trying? Post a comment and share your self-assessment!