Guard that thought space

Like it or not, we will not always see eye-to-eye. There will be disagreements, some quite peaceful, others not so much. We will spend precious time debating the merits of someone else's decisions, lack of 'good judgment', or unwise actions, all while they are debating ours. What good does that do anyway? We could spend endless hours criticizing the ones who get into political office, head up our churches, or even lead us in the work arena, but what good comes of all that criticism and debate? It would benefit us much more to heed the advice to think upon the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; and things to be praised, not the things we could curse!

Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies. (Philippians 4:8)

God isn't too excited about our 'tearing down' of each other, much less the comparison that goes on when we go about criticizing one another. In fact, he wants to work US into his most excellent harmonies, not see us 'worked up' over things that don't benefit us. God asks us to change our focus through changing the way we think. Whatever we choose to think upon will begin to manifest itself in some form within our lives. Think about the cost of living long enough and you will likely begin to develop some financial worries, contemplating what you will do if this price or that one begins to skyrocket. The choice we make with what we allow to dwell within our minds is one we must make with forethought. The forethought comes as we take in his Word and begin to contemplate upon it, how it should affect our lives, and what it will produce through us when we embrace it fully.

We do our best by filling our minds with wholesome thought - God does his best by creating within us those 'excellent harmonies' between his grace and our need; his peace and our worries; his joy and our anxieties. What are you filling your mind with today? Are you giving over that precious 'conscious' thought space to the worries, fears, doubts, and 'the worst' that you can imagine? If so, it is time to replace those thoughts within that thought space! Just sayin!

A little fore-thought and intentional progress here....

It is always good to have a "recipe" or "instructions" to follow - especially when you are trying to create something you are not familiar with - new experiences demand solid instructions in order to not get things messed up along the way. The same is true in our spiritual walk - we have not walked this way before, so we need the "recipe" or "instructions" for how it is that we are to live. Today we will explore a couple of important principles - contrasting the way we should live against the way we often choose to live. Probably above all, we need to understand what it is that we are choosing to have "made of our lives" - it should be to be counted wise and to build a reputation that is rock-solid. Reputation is how we are known - it reflects either the wisdom or foolishness of our choices. Some people refer to a reputation as the "character" of a man or woman. Today's 'recipe' or 'instructions' is really focusing on what develops a "solid" character.

Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here's what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It's the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn't wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn't wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn't wisdom. It's the furthest thing from wisdom—it's animal cunning, devilish conniving. Whenever you're trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others' throats. (James 3:13-16)

There is a simple contrast presented here: Live well, wisely and humbly - OR - be mean-spirited, twisting the truth, focusing on what makes you look good, but destroys relationships. It doesn't take a rocket-scientist to evaluate the "best" course of action when faced with these two sets of 'instruction' side by side. We want to be known as having made wise decisions with our life. Individuals who bring tragedy into lives of others are certainly known for their actions, but we would not say they have a "good" or "solid" reputation. The problem arises when we are faced with two 'recipes' or sets of 'instruction' on how it is we are to live. One will produce something 'close to' what we may want, but it won't be the same as the real deal! If you have ever tasted sugar-free anything, you know exactly what I mean! The most important portion of this instruction is that our actions and words should match. We lose credibility when we say one thing and then act completely opposite of what we just said. We cannot call ourselves disciples of Christ and then never spend any time or effort at being involved in learning what it is to be a disciple. We cannot say that we are ambassadors of Christ if we never make any effort to bring the message of reconciliation to others. We cannot say that we care for people, then engage in all kinds of destructive behavior that tears down others.

The "carelessness" we engage in pursuit of some of our activities in life can be quite frustrating when we see the outcome. We end up having to "go back" to "undo" our mistakes and to "redo" our efforts all over again. "Redoing" life is costly - we cannot make up for lost time, missed opportunities that would have existed the first time around a lot easier than they do now, and we often find relationships are just not the same once we have "damaged" them. The simple truth is that it takes more work to "redo" life than it would have resulted in if we'd just have taken the time to consider the result of our actions before we ever pursued them the first time around! Thank God that we have the opportunities for "do-overs"! I am grateful for each one, but it is apparent to me that the "do-over" cost more than I often wanted invest in the first place! I have had my share of "doing again" what I did not do right the first time. We've heard it said, "If the job is worth doing, it is worth doing right." If a relationship is worth having, it is worth "doing it right" the first time - and that includes our relationship with Christ. That means that we don't allow things in the relationship that damage either of those involved.

Much discord in our homes, work relationships, and even in society in general, could have been avoided if we were more concerned with maintaining solid character (both for ourselves and the others in the relationships). Relationships are much more complicated than some of the other 'recipes' or 'instructions' we set out to follow - but the principle of "connecting" correctly, with fore-thought and intention, applies within each and every relationship we engage in - including our relationship with Christ! Just sayin!