Faith Venture

Many years ago, maybe more than 20, a company produced software to program industrial controllers. They called it Think and Do.

The idea was that you programmed it not in text but in graphics–graphics that looked like a flow chart that engineers would use to think through a process.

The company failed. The story is too long.

I was pondering people, often with some sort of doctorate degree but not always, who get the “think” part. But they never get to the “do” part.

On the other hand there are people who plunge ahead and “do” without thinking. They typically stir things up. But as Shakespeare once said, “Much ado about nothing.”

There is a key word that is often overlooked in sentences–and.

Think…and…Do.

That is a good way to build your life.

I recently listened to a podcast where the guest was a former government interrogator who knows the telltale signs of whether her subject is lying. It was on the Dr. Oz podcast where he interviews people and his wife is also on the show.

As they are discussing, she asked, “Have you cheated on your wife?”

“No,” he answered.

She says if you just answer simply, you are probably telling the truth. Telltale signs of lying include using the word “never” (Bill Clinton, I never had sex with…) or not directly answering the question (where have you been, followed by why do you ask) or by responding ad hominem (you always grill me, why do you attack me, etc.).

[Disclaimer: I did not watch the “Senate hearings of the century”, nor have I seen news. Doesn’t matter, does it?]

I love to see ethics professionals try to mangle words justifying lying in certain circumstances, or advising never to lie, or splitting hairs on types of lying.

The early church in its first year or so witnessed the consequences of lying. There was a couple. They sold their property and donated to the church. That is a good thing. Except, they told God and the church that they donated all of their money to the church. Except that they didn’t. It would have been OK not to give it all. But they lied to God. They were struck dead. On the spot.

That should make you stop and think.

We can get all wrapped up in a multitude of analysis about whether people in Washington DC lie. Or whether other people lie.

God is not so concerned about your opinion of others. God is concerned with the status of our hearts. Do we feel the need to lie? Why are we duplicitous? What are we going to do about it?

This blog started about 10 years ago. A pastor suggested it. I teamed with another person at the beginning. She went to seminary as a late career change, graduated, was ordained, served a couple of churches and retired.

Me? I quit my day job but still do essentially the same thing only I don’t write much for print magazines any longer. And probably have more readers now. But less money some years.

Eight years ago I decided to make this a discipline. Since I was focused on spiritual disciplines. Tried leading some small group sessions on the disciplines.

So, it became my discipline.

We need those. Disciplines, that is.

Over the 10 years, I have seen several trends come and go. A few guys started “fat blogging” where they blogged about health, nutrition, fitness, and losing weight. Their writing discipline mirrored their fitness discipline, I think. It didn’t last long.

I used to intentionally write about leadership every Friday. There were many leadership blogs I read. They are gone. I write about leadership when I see something. I don’t think leadership is any better, now, but the fad seemed to pass.

Several people wrote about productivity and self-development. A couple of them turned the blogs into businesses. Now, you have to pay to see what they write. They make incomes in 6, 7, even 8 figures. I’m still free.

I don’t even get speaking gigs.

But that is discipline. I recommend it. Seek out and read stories and studies of disciplined people. They are stories of success, health, attitude.

Oh, and the guys who went off to make a lot of money? All of a sudden I’m hearing from them again. Business must be declining. Or egos need stroking.

Jesus just said follow. And keep going. And I hate 10-year retrospectives.

“When you inhale, you are taking the strength from God. When you exhale, it represents the service you are giving to the world.”

Ancient people knew the relationship of breath and spirit. In New Testament Greek, the same word is translated either breath or spirit depending upon context.

Inhaling deeply fills you with life.

But the exhale is the important part.

Try it. Breathe in deeply. Exhale slowly and completely.

Feel your body relax. A sense of well being ensues.

When the kids or coworkers or boss or politics or your favorite sports team exasperate you, try the breath.

Spend 10 minutes every morning breathing with intention.

This very act changes the structure of the neurons in your brain–for the better.

This act is the basis of meditation where we seek the presence of God.

Breathe…and invite the spirit in.

The parable of the Good Samaritan is well known. A neighbor is someone in need that we help–as in the “second commandment” to love your neighbor as yourself.

But Martin Luther King Jr. looked at the story and commented that some day we need to fix that road so that people can walk in safety.

That is a changemaker. Someone looks at a story and turns it upside down.

Jesus often presented a saying, “You have heard it said…, but I say…”

What’s your story?

What do you see that, if turned on its head, would change your story?

I write these posts on an iPad with the latest Apple keyboard. It’s much like a small computer.

The WordPress app offers a string of words suggested by past usage to help get a writer started.

There was a spot on the bottom of the screen. I tried to clean it. I wrote a sentence (noun, verb, modifier). Weird.

Why do we teach people to write?

I’m not sure about that answer these days. There have been some strange philosophies such as just let the child write whatever comes to mind. It’s more important to fill a page with words than to think.

Sounds like someone who had to write too many 600-word essays in school.

What amazes me is reading prose from 3,000 years ago–or maybe even further back in time.

It is so logical and well-thought-out. Scholars can decipher several rhetorical devices (consult Dr. Google if you don’t know what those are) that help bring forward the argument.

I was just re-reading the Gospel of Matthew for the first time. Yes, I have read it many times, but I approach each time as if it were the first time and try to decipher new insights.

Matthew takes what today we call four chapters to painstakingly lay out a story and an argument that places Jesus firmly in the tradition of a Wisdom King. We don’t recognize kings, let alone think them wise. But back in the day, this would be immediately understood by all the readers/listeners. Especially the non-Greek ones.

This is 2,0000-year-old prose that is beautiful in logic, consistency, story telling.

Matthew wasn’t filling a page with writing. He had actually thought it out. And we can see it, even today.

This is a good example for us to follow whether we write essays, letters, or emails.

The Scottish poet Robert Burns wrote about the gift of God to ourselves as others see us.

The other side of that is to see others as they see themselves.

My favorite news, Axios, contained this item is last night’s newsletter:

What Men Don’t See

Three high-profile murders in recent months shared two common factors: 1) The victims were women engaged in physical activity outdoors; 2) They were killed by men, seemingly at random.

Why it matters: The past few years, most recently the #MeToo movement, have exposed a major gap in what men know about what women face — and the common knowledge women are taught about how to deal with these dangers.

Between the lines: It’s not a new phenomenon for women to feel unsafe being outdoors by themselves. But recent instances are reminders of how often women feel targeted or singled-out in a variety of settings, even those that are most familiar.

I’ve talked with a few women at the park in the morning when I’m out for a run. While I think I’m watchful, they point out an entirely different level. There are several who never make eye contact when we meet.

I think I understand. I have empathy for others. But can I fully.

A further gift is to see others as they see themselves.

Is it an obligation?

To see friends?

For a lively worship experience?

To contemplate?

Maybe curiosity?

Hear a good message (whatever that means to you)?

From my daily email from Plough came this thought:

Madeleine L’Engle

Sometimes the very walls of our churches separate us from God and each other. In our various naves and sanctuaries we are safely separated from those outside, from other denominations, other religions, separated from the poor, the ugly, the dying.…The house of God is not a safe place. It is a cross where time and eternity meet, and where we are – or should be – challenged to live more vulnerably, more interdependently.

“I took a course on that topic as an undergraduate in college. I am an expert.”

Some people learn a little on a topic and think they know everything. (The quote was actually by a young man I hired once upon a time.)

Other people fail because they are overwhelmed by the comparison with experts or the seeming great amount of things to learn.

Still others learn something intentionally every day.

Eliud Kipchoge is the world’s best marathon runner. He just set a new world record in the Berlin, Germany marathon–2 hours and a minute.

How did he achieve that? “Only the disciplined ones in life are free. If you are undisciplined, you are a slave to your moods and your passions.”

Someone posted a picture of the daily schedule of a famous (I guess) body builder. He has a disciplined approach to his day. Rise early, eat, workout, eat big breakfast, and so forth until bed. He rises each day at 2:30 am and is in bed by 7:30 pm.

My schedule includes rising at 5:30 and in bed by 10. Reading, writing, workout, work, reading, sleep.

Successful CEOs, creative people, athletes all have a disciplined schedule of rising early, working out (whatever that might be), reading, practicing or doing, family time, sleep.

This is ancient wisdom. Try reading the Proverbs in your disciplined early morning reading time.

When you don’t have to make so many decisions about the routine matters of life because of your discipline, then you are free to create, achieve, serve, or whatever you do.

Only the disciplined ones in life are free.