It makes every interaction easier.
Practice giving it generously.
To yourself, as well as to others.
Archive for the ‘Attitude’ Category
Kindness Is a Gift
May 19, 2025What If?
May 12, 2025At a recent software conference, the Chief Technology Officer developed a theme of what if we could solve some problem and iterated with their solutions.
I thought, what if we took the Apostle Paul at his word when he wrote to the Jesus followers in Galatia, There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
What if we ended the game of dividing people into groups deciding which we liked and which we didn’t?
What if we accepted each person for what they are perhaps also seeing what they could be?
What if we ended all this nonsense of gender politics, racial politics, culture politics?
Well, the political part can’t happen—that’s how politicians build enough of a coalition to get elected only to reward some of their followers.
But, for followers of Jesus, for those who proudly proclaim themselves to be Christian, what if we put aside those divisions in favor of treating each person as the child of God that they are?
What a wonderful world it would be.
Finding Joy In What You’re Doing
May 9, 2025For three hundred years, the movement that Jesus started spread throughout the Mediterranean world mostly because of the way his followers lived. People noticed the joy that imbued their lives and their gatherings. They simply lived differently from others around them.
I picked up these observations on living with joy from one of my favorite news sources—Axios Finish Line. You don’t have to follow NBA basketball to understand this.
Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors is this year’s NBA Teammate of the Year.
The money quote: “At the heart of Curry’s leadership style is one word, repeated again and again by teammates, coaches and staffers,” The Athletic reports. “Joy.”
Three lessons for all of us to emulate:
- Celebrate everyone else. Curry gets joy from hyping up the people around him. Current and former teammates said no one celebrates their wins more than Curry — even when they’re breaking his records. Eric Housen, an operations staffer on the Warriors told The Athletic of Curry’s first MVP speech: “This was his moment, this is what he earned, and he thinks to thank the equipment guy. That was just… I don’t even know how to describe the impact that had on my life and the feeling that came over me.”
- Find the fun. Curry has a great time on the court — and it’s infectious. Curry even has a regular “joy” segment during his workouts. He’ll make up a silly game to play while drilling 3-pointers.
- Love the little things. Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr told The Athletic: “He loves the game, he loves the work, he loves being part of the team, he loves the bus rides, he loves the banter.”
The bottom line: When asked by reporters for his reaction to winning Teammate of the Year, Curry said, “It’s a reflection of how much fun I’ve had being a part of this organization for so long.”
Maybe we could use the incentive to find a little joy in what we do—work, church, home, volunteering.
Images
May 2, 2025Two images burned into my consciousness.
A well dressed white man with a large cross made of gold dangling from a gold chain around his neck. His message promoted on social media spread hate toward people who did not look or speak like him.
A man dressed in the garments of a teacher of his first century time with no social media, or even just media, explaining that following God meant loving your neighbor. Asked who was a neighbor, he told a story where the person embodying the neighbor was a man from the most despised social group of the area.
Two images. I know not the name of the first. I know (and follow) the second. Choose which to emulate wisely.
Choose Your Focus
April 29, 2025Some people always see what’s wrong. They see mistakes others make. Sometimes they focus on their own mistakes or shortcomings. The lawn isn’t mowed correctly. The government is all screwed up. The pastor’s message put me to sleep. My co-workers don’t pull their weight. They frown.
Some people choose to see where people are helpful. They focus on what good they can do right now, where they are. They complement good work. They smile.
Who would you prefer to associate with? Who would you like to be?
Getting Started
April 24, 2025The secret of getting ahead is getting started.—Mark Twain
Procrastination.
Where are you delaying action?
Study/researching something important?
A ministry of help or healing or service?
Reaching out to someone?
Daily contemplation/prayer/meditation?
Eating less but healthy?
Getting your daily steps?
Get started—right now.
Facing The Consequences
April 23, 2025Novelist Robert Louis Stevenson: “Sooner or later we all sit down to a banquet of consequences.”
I think the attitude that I can do what I want, say what I want, because I am free and unfettered exists not only in America. We find this often in America, though.
And then these people are criticized, lose friends, perhaps even jobs, and wonder why. Can’t I be obnoxious, hateful, hurtful and call it merely being my freedom of expression?
No.
We call it being juvenile. Immature.
A mature human realizes the wisdom of millennia of thinkers that “the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness, a restless evil, full of deadly poison.”
When we say things and do things, sooner or later we will sit down to a banquet of consequences. This may be a banquet without end.
Empathy
April 16, 2025Dialectic reasoning in philosophical reasoning contrasts two views that lead to a new level of thought.
Try these:
The fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy.—Elon Musk
The death of human empathy is one of the earliest and most telling signs of a culture about to fall into barbarism.—Hannah Arendt
I tutored a fellow student in German in the university so that he could graduate and accept a good job back home. He did. His wife gave me a big, grateful hug. I was happy for him.
During a session we discussed the two professors of German at the university (it was one of the many small, quality Liberal Arts universities that Ohio is known for—Ohio Northern), I remarked about how one came from Vienna and wound up in small Ada, Ohio. “I don’t care,” he replied. And he didn’t. He lacked empathy.
I’ve met many since then who have an emotional gap where empathy should have been living.
Have you? Or are you missing that emotion?
Empathy doesn’t mean agreeing with. It’s sort of feeling with. When you meet someone, you can feel what they feel in the sense of understanding where they are coming from.
Looking at my guide, Jesus seemed always to find that empathy toward everyone he met. Then he knew how to interact with each individual person. He could be kind and understanding; he could point out flaws in thinking or living without any obnoxious arguing; he could guide people into a better and deeper understanding.
We would be wise to emulate him.
Fear Not!
April 8, 2025I carefully curate my news sources attempting to discard the most biased. Yet, whether I’m reading about technology, business, or politics, the message is Fear This!
Contemplating this “feature” of news, God spoke. OK, not like George Burns in the eponymous move or in the young Bill Cosby’s Noah skits. But the message was clear—consider the most used command in the Bible—Fear Not!
God, angels, even Jesus himself command people, “FEAR NOT!”
Let this sink in.
If God tells us not to fear, perhaps I should listen. Perhaps I should pause after reading or hearing, breathe, become aware of God’s presence around and through me, releasing my fears. What happens, happens. “It rains on the rich and poor alike.”
Relaxing into the presence of God takes us to a new level that we can figure it out and get through.
Handling Anger
April 2, 2025Be angry, but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil. —Ephesians
This thought is psychology genius. The writer grasps the depths of human emotion bringing it to light within the spiritual tradition.
Be Angry
Anger is going to visit us. We cannot avoid it. Even recognizing what triggers our anger response does not prevent the emotion.
Do Not Sin
This may be the hard part. When anger visits, what is our response? Can we find a way to avoid the explosion where words and actions create inevitable separation and hurt?
Therapists and gurus advise pausing. Good luck trying that at times. But it’s true. A pause, a breath helps. Cultivating a habit of self awareness also helps. My current meditation teacher, Henry Shukman, says, “We all have emotions. Through meditation we can become less identified with it and simply observers of it.”
Do Not Let The Sun Go Down On Your Anger
One of the most revered of the Desert Fathers, Abba Poeman, when asked about dwelling on these emotions, said, “The axe cannot cut down a tree by itself.”
Do not grab that axe handle of anger and use it. Let it lie. Get over it however works for you. Make any necessary apologies. (Hint: just say “I apologize” or “I am so sorry” and do not add any explanation.)
Do Not Make Room For The Devil
The longer we sit in anger, the more likely that our personality will change. We can become one of those bitter, offensive people whom we avoid. We draw apart from God. Prayer becomes impossible. Other people annoy us.
Close that door before it’s too late.
Gary Mintchell
Faith Venture 