Know, Go, Show

"A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way." (John C. Maxwell)

Can unjust leaders claim that God is on their side—leaders whose decrees permit injustice? (Psalm 94:20)

The more we attempt to justify 'bad leadership' in any form, the more we will slip into all manner of injustice, impurity, and unwholesomeness. How is it possible for a leader to create such a mess in the lives of so many? Easy - people get behind the leader because of charisma or popularity, without even looking deeper into the integrity of the leader's heart. Unjust leaders might declare that God is on their side, but when the heart of a man has never really submitted to the authority and leadership of the Lord Jesus Christ, he is charismatic at best. As Maxwell points out, a leader with integrity will not only know the way to walk, but he will also consistently go that way, and is able to show others how to find that way themselves. 

To know, one must be exposed to truth. This is the first great trait of a leader of integrity. He is not walking in his own devices but has placed truth at the forefront of his mind, allowing it to affect all his actions. Leaders are called upon to learn a great many things, but I daresay the greatest 'learning' that can be done is done while his Bible is open, his heart is in tune with God's, and his ears are attentive to the leading of the Holy Spirit in his life. Perhaps the making of a great leader begins in the quietness of his own time alone with Jesus, but that 'alone time' overflows into all he does as he goes throughout his day.

To go, one must know the path he is to travel. It would be foolish to set out on a journey without any real understanding of where you were going, what you might encounter along the way, and how it is you might need to prepare yourself for what is ahead. We have leaders who 'set out' on a course, but when there are obstacles or unforeseen circumstances that stand in the way, they change direction at the first sign of difficulty. With a constantly changing course, we seldom get to any particular destination! We might be moving, but what does that movement really accomplish?

To show, one must realize there is more wisdom in walking the talk than in any form of 'directive' one might issue. The example a leader sets is perhaps his most valuable tool. It reveals what he believes and how much his beliefs influence his actions. Beliefs held are one thing, but beliefs modeled are quite another. One might say the mark of a good leader is being a 'role model' for others who are looking to align with their vision. A vision is only as good as the leader who is able to show others the way. We are all called to be leaders of one form or another. Will we be leaders who know, go, and show? Just askin!

Life Hack #19: Be Not Pulled

Life Hack #19:

It is part of our make-up to be drawn to that which pleases our senses, isn't it? As little babies, we were fascinated with all things sparkly and bright colored. The slightest hint of gleam and we'd direct our attention toward the object. Smell the wonderful aroma of freshly baked bread and your mouth begins to water for the enjoyment of savoring a warm slice lathered in rich butter. Hear the tender notes of some melody and your toes will start tapping with the beat. Our bodies respond to stimulus from without, but that response begins on the INSIDE of us in response to the thing we are "taking in" through one of our senses. Learning "temperance" is a difficult thing in this life, but if we don't exercise a little self-control over our "sensual intake", we will find ourselves in places we'd probably not like to be! Today's life hack is not about alcohol, but rather the 'appeal' of things to our senses and how we should 'govern' what we allow to spur that 'interest' within.

Who are the people who are always crying the blues? Who do you know who reeks of self-pity? Who keeps getting beat up for no reason at all? Whose eyes are bleary and bloodshot? It’s those who spend the night with a bottle, for whom drinking is serious business. Don’t judge wine by its label, or its bouquet, or its full-bodied flavor. Judge it rather by the hangover it leaves you with—the splitting headache, the queasy stomach. Do you really prefer seeing double, with your speech all slurred, reeling and seasick, drunk as a sailor? “They hit me,” you’ll say, “but it didn’t hurt; they beat on me, but I didn’t feel a thing. When I’m sober enough to manage it, bring me another drink!” (Proverbs 23:29-35)

We first need to be aware of what appeals to the eye. The "eye-gate" is the primary "entry point" which we need to monitor because sight is a tremendous gift. Intake through sight becomes the place where imagination begins to take over. We "see" and then we begin to imagine what we see as our own, how it will affect us if we could just take hold of what it is we see. In the Garden of Eden, why was the serpent so successful when he posed his questions to Eve? Maybe it was because she had already been gazing at the fruit anyway - sight had already paved the way for desire! It tickled her senses - because she "saw" and seeing created desire. Desire is not a bad thing, when tempered with self-control and the wisdom given by the Holy Spirit. Desire gets out of hand when everything we see becomes something we have to get or partake in.

We need to be cautious about what we hear, as well. People will always attempt to tell us things which simply are not true. We cannot believe everything we hear - we must become "testers" of what we hear. Each believer must really get to know the Word of God for themselves. In so doing, you are ensuring you have the foundation to "test" what you hear against what you have studied, recognizing when it just doesn't seem to be quite right, and then seek the wisdom of the Holy Spirit's guidance to determine if this is just a new truth you haven't really grasped yet, or if it is truly something you need to reject.

We must be cognizant of our values. We don't judge a book by its cover. When we have a set of core values which align with the Word of God and principles taught in scripture, we stand a better chance of "interpreting" input wisely. We see individuals for their inherent worth in Christ Jesus, not what they contribute to society, or how influential they are in today's social circles. We hear the sweetness, as well as the longings of the heart of those who share their lives with us. We learn to use gentleness in urging someone to move forward who has been stuck in a rut for a long time. The values we learn at the feet of Jesus help us to put life in perspective, so we aren't drawn to the things which bring hurt or harm into either the lives of those we are in community with or our own.

We must learn about how our senses "drive" and "pull" us toward certain behaviors and life views. There is much in this life that can repel us, but probably much more that can draw us in if we are not exercising a little self-control. The "shiny" doesn't always sparkle once we take hold of it! The "luscious" doesn't always flatter once it is consumed! Just sayin!

Jumping again?

I need explanations - how about you? When something goes awry, I want to understand why, not just that everything will be all right. I think it is because I am a 'process' person - I see the steps it takes and when a step is broken, I need to understand how the break occurred and then implement the 'fix' that will keep the step from breaking down again. There have been lots and lots of times in my life when I thought I knew what 'broke down' in the process - either in my own failure of taking the right steps, or in some other process I was involved in. I actually come to a conclusion as to the 'why' or 'how' way before I understand what was even broken! I think we might all be a little guilty of jumping to conclusions at times. We just don't possess all the facts, but somehow we think we have the whole thing figured out in our minds. We form some type of "story" in our minds we latch onto. In plain language, anytime we don't have all the information (the facts), we are jumping to conclusions which may not be well-founded and will likely lead us down some fruitless paths.

Don't jump to conclusions—there may be a perfectly good explanation for what you just saw. (Proverbs 25:8)

The stories we tell ourselves are often more important than we think - they actually form the steps we will take! An inaccurate story will only lead to inaccuracies in our actions! Learning to tell ourselves the correct story is most important, isn't it? There are many sources of "input" our brains receive each day. The very nature of each source of input lends itself to "interpretation" of the data that then gets added to the mix of other stuff we take in about the story we are being told or are telling ourselves. For example, if we rely only upon what comes in through our sense of sight, forming conclusions based on how things appear in the image we behold with only our eyes, we might miss other evidence which speaks louder like the sounds we hear! If we look in a mirror at how our body appears to us, we might point out the flaws of this dimple, extra inch of tissue here, and that scar over there. To a blind person each of these "flaws" or "points of uniqueness" adds to the "image" they form of us all without the advantage of the sense of sight - oftentimes because they have developed their other senses to aid them in forming their 'image'!

I wonder what stories our bodies tell. Many bear scars which are hidden from view and considered ugly by some. Some of us cleverly cover them with make-up, others with items of clothing, and still others with humor or sarcasm. Yet, in the privacy of the bathroom mirror, they are all visible, aren't they? When you and I behold the scars, there are memories associated with each and every one. The ones over my right knee bespeak the multiple surgeries I've undergone on that knew, the one on my neck the removal of my thyroid, and the one on my chin the falls I have experienced a couple of times that left a visible mark for life. These are not the most serious of my scars, though. In fact, it takes a different set of "eyes" to really see the scars which have impacted my life and yours! Those scars are so cleverly concealed by the stories we have told ourselves through the years....

Stories like....
No one wants a failure - all I do is fail, so what is the use of trying. I always let people down.
They didn't mean to hurt me - they just lost control. I drove them to the point of their rage. I need to try harder next time.
I've done too much wrong for anyone to ever want me. 

If I just try harder, I can succeed - I just need more willpower to overcome this.

Regardless of the story behind the scar, the truth is quite different from the story we often come to "interpret" as the reality in our lives. Take the first story - I know of one really big God who gave his all for more than just one "imperfect failure" - he gave his life so we could have a totally new identity in Christ Jesus. If we never try, we never have the opportunity to succeed - but it takes more than my own willpower to succeed - it takes me walking in that new identity I obtained at the foot of the cross. It often takes a whole lot of failures to succeed. In fact, the scar on my chin resulted from not knowing how to turn the big two-wheel Schwinn I learned to ride as a kid! Guess what? I ride a bike pretty well now! Sometimes I am wobbly a bit, but in general, I do pretty well on that bike. You and I don't realize our identity plays a huge part in how well we will reach the right conclusions in life.

In looking at the second story some tell, the real story centers not on us being who we are, but on what is being done TO us. We are NOT the cause of another's anger - the abuse of the other is NEVER our fault. In fact, scripture is plain - we each own our own sin! Control of our emotions is the responsibility of the one expressing the emotion, not the one on the receiving end of that emotion! Nothing covers over these scars of abuse, right? Maybe not in the natural sense, but in the spiritual and emotional sense, God's grace, his love, and his compassionate "putting the pieces back together" touch will! The 'no one will ever like me' story, although common to many, is really a lie we tell ourselves to cover over our fears of relationship. We have been rejected - so we reject ourselves, as well. I am so blessed to know God never came to the cross for perfect people. He came for me - a wholly imperfect person, riddled with all kinds of stuff I have done "wrong". He came for you - equally imperfect and carrying your own set of baggage! His goal is to teach us to relate to him first - to understand and fully walk in our new identity in him. In unloading the baggage of our past, he sets us up to reach out in relationship again. I am not sure how he manages to do all this, but I do stand here today confident of what he has done in my life and assure he can do it in yours, too! 

Yep, the conclusions we jump to in the moment may be telling us the wrong story! We might want to see ourselves through the mirror of God's Word - it is a much more reliable source of truth! Just sayin!

Oh, I knew it!

I know a great many people who have developed this skill of answering a question with another question, as though that 'answers' anything. In some circles, such as counseling, this is a common occurrence - the questions asked are designed to get the person to come to a conclusion about the answer themselves so that they begin to problem solve through the situation. There are times when the most appropriate answer is indeed another question. If your child asks you why they have to eat their vegetables, do you think answering, "Because I told you to", is the best answer? It is highly likely the child will allow those veggies to just grow cold on the plate. If the parent was heard saying, "Johnnie, what do you think is the reason you should eat your vegetables?", what do you suppose they might receive as a reply? Perhaps the parent would hear the response, "Because if I don't, I will never get to watch TV this evening." If the parent hears this, what is it Johnnie is saying? He is equating doing something very unpleasant for him to some form of pleasant pursuit in return. In asking the right question, you see the underlying focus the person may actually have. Johnnie is not concerned with the great nutritional intake for his body, but rather that he misses out on the next episode of his favorite TV series!

Just then a religion scholar stood up with a question to test Jesus. “Teacher, what do I need to do to get eternal life?” He answered, “What’s written in God’s Law? How do you interpret it?” He said, “That you love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence—and that you love your neighbor as well as you do yourself.” “Good answer!” said Jesus. “Do it and you’ll live.” (Luke 10:25-28)

Jesus often took the tact of answering a question with another question, not because he was avoiding an answer, but because he was interested in having the one asking the question finally see the true motivation of their heart in asking it in the first place. Here we see the "motivation" of heart laid out for us - the scholar stood up with a question to TEST Jesus. His intent was not in really discovering the way to get eternal life - it was to attempt to expose something in Jesus which was contrary to the Law of Moses. What a disappointment he must have experienced when Jesus turned back to him with another question and he basically hung himself out to dry with the answer he was forced to give. Jesus was not going to say to the scholar, "Let me interpret the scripture for you, since you are only mortal." He "honored" this man's studies in the scripture and asks how "HE" interprets what the Law requires. I think the scholar must have been a little taken aback by Jesus "honoring" him with the opportunity to answer the question. "You have answered this very well, Mr. Scholar - now, get busy doing it and you will have this eternal life," really did not sit well with the scholar. The scholar felt "boxed in" a little by his own answer - so he looks for a "loophole" to give himself an "out". 

"Hey, Jesus, who is my neighbor?" Isn't it just like us to want a loophole? We clearly show we understand the requirements, but then we want a way out! We just don't want to eat our vegetables because we don't like lima beans! We know they are good for us, containing the "right stuff" to help us stay strong, but those pesky lima beans just give us cause to pause. Maybe it is a texture thing, or just maybe we cannot stand the smell. Regardless, we want a "loophole" that will not "bind" us to our "understanding" of the value of their intake. By definition, a loophole is a means of escape or evasion. Sometimes we use a question to attempt to evade the true disclosure of our heart. At others, we use it to cover up our lack of understanding. Either way we are attempting to find the way of escape. We want to evade the "rule" or create enough "ambiguity" with the rule so as to "water it down" enough to avoid the consequences of the rule. It is like when the child asks, "If I eat five lima beans, may I watch TV?" The intent is to "bargain" his way out of eating the entire serving - so he can move on with what he finds more enjoyable. We often use questions to "bargain" our way out of some understanding we have, don't we? The man's understanding of the Law goes beyond the surface of just being a good person. The scholar answers he would love God with all his passion and prayer. When passion gets behind our action, we find ourselves just a little more "vested" in the action, don't we? 

In answering this way, the scholar was pointing out he "knew" the principles of serving God - with depth of heart and honesty. When we love God with all our passion this is depth of heart - when we love him with all our prayer, we are opening up to him in honesty. When the scholar says you put a little "muscle" into your love, he is probably saying that man needs to put feet to their words. In other words, you don't just say you love God and want to serve him - you show it in your choices. The scholar also points out that the mind plays an important part in serving God - bringing what we "know" about God into practice in our own lives. The scholar really boxed himself in when he added the last statement about loving his neighbor as himself. Now he had no real way of escape because Jesus was prepared for the next question - "So, how would you define neighbor, Jesus?" His reply, "Let me tell you a story and then you decide who PERFORMED the acts of heart, mind, and service which exemplify a good neighbor." Jesus used the man's own answer to present the answer the scholar thought would trip Jesus up somehow. In telling the story of the Good Samaritan, Jesus then turns to the scholar and asks the scholar to point out who was the "neighbor" in the story. The scholar's answer? "The one who treated him kindly." Uh oh! Exposed by your own question! He came to Jesus with an attempt to TEST Jesus. In turn, Jesus uses the "testing" questions of the scholar to "test" the scholar's own heart! This is so like Jesus! He uses the "testing" questions of our own heart and mind to "test" the real intention of our hearts and the wisdom of our minds. The next time you ask Jesus a question and hear a question in reply, just know he is asking because he knows we already know the answer - we just need to recognize that we do! Just sayin!

Holding those cards close to the vest...

Can I get you to stop what you are doing for just a moment to consider something? Do you have 100% confidence God hears you when you speak with him? I really would like you to consider very carefully your answer to that question. We don't always live in this bold confidence, do we? We sometimes just 'float things out there' past God's hearing ears in an attempt to see if we might be "on track" with what he might be 'inclined' to do in our lives. It is like we ask, but we don't really know for sure that God will honor our 'ask'. Scripture assures us that we can and should live in this bold confidence - God hears our voices. Sometimes he hears our collective voices - like when we are all gathered together and praying for a matter that we are all intent on seeing him take action in. Most often he hears our singular voice - when we cry out to him for those deeply held secrets and pains of our heart. I don't think the 'collective' voice carries anymore 'weight' with God than the singular voice of one of his kids. He hears them ALL.

We live in the bold confidence that God hears our voices when we ask for things that fit His plan. And if we have no doubt that He hears our voices, we can be assured that He moves in response to our call. (1 John 5:14-15)

We call - he hears - and he moves. If we are not seeing or sensing God's movement in our lives, then maybe we haven't really expressed our inner longings or desperate needs to him all that openly. I have said this before - God may know the inner thoughts of our minds, but there is something powerful that happens when we give voice to them in shared communion with him. Not the communion that involves bread and juice, but the "let's just hang together for a while" kind of communion in which thoughts begin to be spoken and hearts begin to be mended. Communion begins with our coming to him - it most often ends with us knowing he has come to us. He never left us, but we just weren't all that aware of his presence with us until we stopped long enough to commune with him.

Let me be truthful here with each of you - a little vulnerable, if I may. I can hold things pretty close the vest, so to speak. It isn't that I want to live a secretive life, but I am like the card player who is holding those cards so close to my chest in order to keep others from knowing what I am going through. I have a few close to me who can 'see all my cards' without fear or worry that they will 'share my hand' with others. In turn, they do the same with me. We need to be willing to lay down our cards, to have them seen and known, if God is to help us 'play the hand we are dealt'. Just as in a card game, you don't have much control over the hand you will receive, but you do have the ability to play it with his oversight and knowledge of how to play them! 

Ask - he isn't put off by our need. Know - be certain he isn't unaware of our need, nor uncertain as to when or how to meet it. Receive - we don't know until we ask; we don't ask if we don't expect to receive. Just sayin!

Don't blame God

Ever hear someone say, "Why did God let this happen to me?" It is a natural question to ask whenever something bad happens in life - especially when someone doesn't realize or understand fully the love of God and the nature of his character. We react this way because we feel that we did not "deserve" this moment of disappointment, season of loss, or depth of difficulty that we are experiencing. Yet, "bad things" sometimes come into our life, not because God did anything to orchestrate them - they are a result of us living in a fallen world. It can be related to our own ignorant zeal - hasty decisions, careless answers, silly compromises - those things that get us into the "soup" we are in each and every time. People can sometimes ruin their own lives and God gets the blame for their silliness. Rather than asking why God allowed something to happen, we might do well to examine what was in our own heart that might have allowed or fostered this result! We may just find God isn't to blame - in fact, he was right there alongside us as we were dealing with it and he still is!

Ignorant zeal is worthless; haste makes waste. People ruin their lives by their own stupidity, so why does God always get blamed? Grow a wise heart—you'll do yourself a favor; keep a clear head—you'll find a good life. (Proverbs 19:2-3, 8)

A wise heart is both the result of taking advantage of learning from what God provides as direction for our lives and then determining what is beneficial in the pursuit we are about to undertake. We have a good many pursuits that are best left 'un-taken', but that we choose to take anyway. People with good sense restrain themselves. Restraint is one of the most difficult things for us to learn, though. Restraint is nothing more than having a system of "checks and balances" by which we "run through" a decision before taking any action. In the end, the results are usually better because they have been thought through with some level of 'sane' consciousness. Our thinking is often clouded by whatever is the most demanding thing in our life that day - it could be the needs around the house, the chaos at the office, or the inner turmoil of emotions that are constantly on edge. We need a "clear head" in order to process life correctly (with wisdom) and then to make the right decisions with what it is we know about the circumstances at hand.

It takes time to "clear your head" - haste does not give us the "time" we need for the decisions of the day. When we compromise the investment of time, we compromise the outcome of the decision. No wonder we find ourselves questioning how "God could let things happen" in our life - we somehow equate our foolishness with is lack of care. Indeed, we are just compounding our own foolishness when we choose this manner of thought! Just sayin!

Look, don't touch

As a member of the human race, I speak as one fully aware of how we are so consumed with what "looks good" - many times judging a book by what we see on the cover without inspecting the pages to see what is contained within. The perception of eyes often becomes the only method we utilize to determine the "goodness" or "evil" of a certain thing or person. We set ourselves up for accepting things that are clearly outside of God's best for our lives when we are only "cover readers". While the surface may be soft or hard, bold or muted, or even seemingly impenetrable, it remains just that - the surface! There is ALWAYS something beneath the surface - sometimes begging for discovery, other times hoping no one will ever know!

Humans are satisfied with whatever looks good; God probes for what is good.  (Proverbs 16:2)

Surface or real? David and Bathsheba - David was King of Israel, his troops are out fighting the battle to take more territory in the name of Israel, and he is at home, enjoying the view from his rooftop. He gazes upon Bathsheba, a beautiful woman, bathing on her rooftop (a custom of the day). What he saw "looked good" - what he saw, he wanted and so, he took her as his own. What he failed to do was to consider the reality that under the surface, she was another man's wife - she had already given her heart to another. He looked only at the surface, became enamored in what he beheld with his eyes, and engaged in his plan without further thought.

Surface or real? The Rich Young Ruler - a man of wealth, holding a prominent place in society, approaches Jesus and his disciples one day while they were ministering to the crowds. He proclaims to Jesus that he wanted to be a follower of Christ - one of his disciples. To this he adds a long litany of "credentials" he hopes will show Jesus just how "qualified" he was for the role. His "credentials" are all "good" - kept the letter of the law, observed the feasts and holy days, studied the scriptures, and the list goes on. Jesus asks him to sell all he has (a substantial amount), give it to the poor, and then come to follow him as his disciple. Beneath the surface of all these 'shiny works and accomplishments' this is too much for this man, as we see him leave and never return again.

We often see what we are looking to see - not what is actually there to behold. David saw the "woman of his dreams" - or more accurately, the woman of his fantasies! He never stopped to listen to the niggling of his conscience that she was another man's wife! She looked good! He wanted her and he never looked back until it was too late. The rich young ruler saw a life of tremendous fame in front of him if he could get on this 'inside track' with Jesus' band. He had attained all he could attain in the society in which he lived. Now Jesus and his disciples, thronged by crowds, filled the streets with miracles, signs, and wonders. He wanted what they had, but wasn't aware there would be a cost to obtain it. I am not sure that he actually saw what they had as "fame" or "renown", but he is called upon to go deeper than he has ever gone in his obedience before - and he is unable to do so. What he saw "looked good" to him - but he had failed to count the cost of such a life of service.

How do we begin to "look beyond the cover" of what we see? We are to "probe" deeper. When we probe, we look into a matter with the intention of seeing all there is to see (just like when we read the pages of a book rather than skimming it or only looking at the pictures). This type of "examination" allows us to see beyond the surface appearance of "good" to what actually is at the root of a person, a circumstance, or a pleasant appearing opportunity. God's invitation to us today is to look deeper than we ever have before - to learn to see the heart behind the action of another; the temporary satisfaction of an immediate gratification of our longings or lusts; or the indicators of integrity that give us insight into the heart of another. We need to learn what it is to "examine carefully before we buy"! We "buy into" much that God would rather we never consider in the first place! Sin has an enticing cover - we need to learn to look beyond the cover to see the trap contained within. Just lookin!