Let us consider humility. Not a word we can associate with today, living as we do influenced by Silicon Valley’s macho culture. A culture that affects women along with men along with adolescents.
When was the last time you (or I) admitted that you (or I) were wrong about something?
If it’s been longer than 30 days back, perhaps you (and I) have a problem.
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’Tis the day after Thanksgiving (in America), and how do you feel?
Did you eat do much that your sleep was disturbed?
My go-to for Christian advice on living (mixed with a dose of modern common sense) are the Desert Fathers. Yes, they were a weird group. Yet, they had such deep insights.
I consulted them about gluttony.
The desert fathers considered gluttony one of the first passions to be conquered because control over bodily appetites was seen as foundational to spiritual progress. They believed that if someone couldn’t master their appetite for food, they would struggle with more subtle temptations.
During the 4th-6th Centuries, fasting was commonplace among monks. However, many emphasized moderation. Eat only what is necessary to sustain life. Eat at set times (I write as I eye the basket of potato chips across the room where I’m writing this).
The fathers saw gluttony as slavery to bodily desires and a lack of self-control that would manifest in other areas. It is an obstacle to clear thinking and spiritual discernment.
The goal is freedom from obsession with food, not punishing the body.
Evagrius Ponticus, one of the most systematic of the desert fathers, listed gluttony first among the eight evil thoughts (which later became the seven deadly sins in Western Christianity), showing how fundamental they considered this struggle.
So, one large celebration meal with family and friends is hardly gluttony. It just makes you sick. Dwelling on the thought of food—well, that’s something to watch out for.
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My mom’s younger brother, Uncle Doyle, passed along to me his love of the comic strip Pogo. Walt Kelly was insightful and witty. In one cartoon, Pogo the possum notes, “Having lost sight of our objectives, we redoubled our efforts.”
Much software development happened because they could do it, not because it was good for society. Take for instance monitoring applications. Especially used during Covid when people had to work from home, managers could see how busy their employees were. Not necessarily how productive, but busy, for sure.
A recent The Pump Club Newsletter noted, “Busyness becomes a performance. We confuse activity for accomplishment because slowing down feels uncomfortable. Stillness can feel like failure.”
The reality? “But ask anyone who’s truly built something, whether their health, a business, a relationship, or a legacy. Progress doesn’t come from frantic motion. It comes from directed motion. Fewer things done with more intention. Effort pointed in the right direction.”
What are you working on? Health? Fitness? Prayer or meditative life? Service? Study?
One day at a time with intention doing what you need. Choose your direction, follow the path.
Movement can be a treadmill. Progress is a path. One keeps you occupied; the other gets you somewhere.
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“The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.”
Thus opens the document we call the Book of Isaiah. Isaiah proceeds to speak to the kings (and the people) words that God gave him. He takes the next several paragraphs detailing the evil ways of the people of Judah (which had split with Israel thanks to the stupidity of Solomon’s son).
I’ll not document all that right now. We can translate to today the idea of what and how do we worship and acknowledge God. Is our worship of prayers and offerings consistent with the intent of God or is it not performed with the right orientation of the heart?
Let us look at the prescription that God offers followers spoken through Isaiah. Pay attention. Look at the verbs.
I am convicted—where have I learned to do good? Do I seek justice for everyone? How am I working to correct oppression? Where can I bring justice and peace to the oppressed of society?
Think on your own situation. You and I, we cannot do it all. But we can do something. What is it we can do today?
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I face false dichotomies in most areas of my thinking and writing.
My life’s work sometimes seems focused on dashing these dichotomies.
Usually when I am faced with either/or, I suggest what if either both or neither.
The three ideas dance with an intricate rhythm. Faith, Grace, Works.
What if—faith leads to the inward infusion of the Holy Spirit which manifests itself through our service, kindness, and generosity (works)?
I think that’s why James wrote, “Faith without works is dead.”
I think that is why Paul wrote the last chapters of his letter to the Romans. The letter didn’t end with grace. It ended with examples of acts that we would (should?) do because of our new relationship to God.
The same to us. Life didn’t end on some day that we were “saved.” We must continue living. And that living should be service, graciousness, generous.
The book lies before me on the desk,
I’ve often read those chapters of the famous sermon.
In the spirit of those before me,
I open and scan the pages with an explorer’s mind.
Open, curious, I know nothing,
Exploring the story, thoughts, teaching, responses.
I experiment, trying my thoughts against the text.
Explore, experiment. Finding nuggets of gold
In the stream of words from The Teacher.
This, then, forms the foundation of study.
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When you go skiing, the goal isn’t making it to the bottom once. What you really want is to make it a great day of many runs until the sun sets.
Similarly with life. It’s not just making it to the end. Or to make it to the end with the most toys. It’s making many runs until the sun sets.
And no matter who you are reading this, you have a few more runs before the sun sets. Get back on the lift and head back up.
I’ve written about these tips for a few years. Axios Finish Line recently published these in a succinct format. Check them out. Where are you on top of it? Where can you improve?
These four steps — all available for free — will help you thrive, personally and professionally:
🤖 AI yourself. Starting today, learn how to use ChatGPT, Grok or any free or premium LLM to optimize your personal obligations and professional work. AI will make you exponentially more efficient and more capable. Soon, AI inequality — the gap between proficient AI users and the rest — will be the defining characteristic of success vs. struggle at work, especially for those newly entering the workforce. Replace social media or gaming time with AI practice. It’s more fun and useful.
🧠 Bionicize your brain. Social media algorithms are controlling more and more of our brains, often pumping nonsense or anxiety into them. Few of us are powerful enough to resist the algorithmic addictiveness. But, if you unplug your brain from social media and fill it instead with high-quality information — available via podcasts, books, YouTube, Axios, Substack and more — you’ll flourish.
🥦 Optimize you. Almost every expert who studies any dimension of mental and physical health comes to the exact same conclusions. So listen to them. Eat real, healthy, protein-packed foods. Purge fake and ultra-processed garbage. Exercise daily, even if it’s just a walk. Lift some weights. Sleep 7+ hours. Make and keep real, human friendships. Minimize booze and screen time. Do all of this, all free, and you’ll be in the top 5% for setting yourself up to lengthen your healthspan.
😇 Be moral. Another free, easy, life-changing hack: Take the time to read, listen to, and think about values you want to live by. What are your personal red lines about how you treat yourself and others? That is your compass, your morality. Set it, or you’ll get lost. Read, pray, meditate, study those you admire. Form your own personal moral structure — then reinforce it, and lean on it when tough times hit.
Far too many publicists have my email addresses. Some for my technology blog and some for this blog.
One publication publicist sent notice of a book on disciplines. Something like, Be Disciplined…Whose Disciplines?
It’s as if someone is forcing you to be disciplined. Or to follow disciplines.
The foundation of this writing builds from Spiritual Disciplines, or sometimes I say Spiritual Practices, because the word discipline can have a negative connotation. Like that book title.
We don’t talk about being forced to practice the Spiritual Disciplines. Now, if you decide to enter a monastic order, you have decided to follow the disciplines of that order.
But for you and me, it’s a choice. We get up in the morning and decide to sit in meditation and read from spiritual writing—or we decide to roll over and go back to sleep—or have a coffee and donut at the local donut shop and waste the morning.
The monastic example aside, you decide on your daily disciplines. Good night’s sleep, rise and meditate and read, exercise, eat a healthy breakfast, and so on. If someone tries to force you, it won’t work. If it’s your work or organization or church, leave. But listen to mentors and coaches who have your best interests in mind.
I encourage you to find your inner discipline. Don’t feel like a slave. Feel like someone who chooses to be healthy in spirit and mind and body.
We want to lose 50 lbs. We want to be fit. We want the spiritual formation of a saint.
We want a lot, and we want it now.
I only lost a pound this week. How am I going to lose 50? Well, a pound a week for a year will net that 50 lbs. And that will signal a lifestyle change that will keep it off. Celebrate that pound a week.
I want to be fit, yet I can barely get out of my chair and walk across the room. Go outside and walk to the end of the drive and back. Every day. Then to the end of the block and back. Then pick up some beginning resistance training exercises. Not a lot, but a little a week. Maybe today you lift 5 lbs. By adding a little at a time, in a year, you could be lifting 20 lbs. or more. Celebrate each small victory.
I want to be one of those knowledgeable and spiritual people. Begin with 5 minutes a day. Open a Bible and read a paragraph. Meditate on that paragraph. Perhaps over the course of a month or two you can do 30 minutes a day. And everyday you find one little act of service for someone. Soon you’ll realize that you are a kinder and deeper person. Celebrate each small victory along the way.
Small victories that accumulate lead to changes of life. We become what we practice.
Faith Venture 