Faith Venture

“You live like a Republican,” my friend said. That’s what I get for bringing logic to an emotional discussion. What did she mean by that? Wealth? Sort of. Responsibility? I probably know as many irresponsible republicans as democrats. Christian values? I hope so, but again I know as many Christians of one party as the other.

I just live. Do what I do. I seldom, if ever, think about what people think about me. It’s always a surprise to remember that people are always watching, judging, learning.

When I am in town, I attend a men’s study group at 6:30 am on Tuesdays. They are studying James. Puzzling over faith versus works. Paul always starts with grace and faith. Then he talks about how to live your life. A common thread. How do you live?

The first churches grew because of the way the people lived. I have no idea how a Republican or a Democrat lives. But like I wrote yesterday, I have a picture of how a Christian should live. I hope I’m on my way there. I pray you are, too.

I have known people who believe that they should be respected because of the position they hold. I still know people who believe that.

A man was elected to a local governing board. He finished third out of four people running–with three to be elected. He took office and claimed a “landslide victory with a mandate from the people.” Sorry, I called “bull” on that one.

Another man believed that myth of being respected because of being newly appointed to a leadership position. Then he became very good at what he did, and then gained respect.

Bill Hybels touched on this topic while discussing Proverbs. He said that you gain respect and influence only by adding value.

It’s not what position you have, it’s how much value you add. You can have influence far beyond your position simply by working hard and adding value to your organization, your community, people around you.

Proverbs 21:5–the plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to want.

Work hard at what you do. Add value wherever you go. Be diligent.

[As a side note: Web search engines are far too good. I don’t think I’ll use the “s-word” again. Over the course of a few days since I wrote on love and “s..” there have been at least 30 “comments” to the blog from sites that I would never link to–don’t want to use the “p” word, either. I find this simply amazing–and I don’t live under a rock. Fortunately I moderate comments so that the spam is diverted before it can be published.]

Did you ever learn to play chess? It can be viewed as a complicated  game with different pieces able to make only specified moves. A rook moves only on ranks and files, while a bishop moves only on diagonals (so one is always on white squares and the other only on black squares). The queen combines the two, making her the most powerful piece. Meanwhile the knight sort of hops–like on a horse that hops, I guess–always going up two over one.

I once played the game a lot. In college, I’d go to the commons area and pick up games. Sadly, I haven’t played a game since somewhere around 1975. It is a great battle of wits.

The most important trait I developed playing chess was the ability to look ahead. I think about this every time I’m in traffic and see people who don’t anticipate or look ahead at the traffic. It seems so simple to me–built into my nature.

I’m studying Proverbs right now, but I’m also contemplating on the fruit of the Spirit. The writer of Proverbs begs us to learn from Wisdom. As Bill Hybels, senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church, puts it, it’s one thing to say, “next time, I’ll know better,” but another thing to learn from Wisdom, other writings in the Bible and from other wise people so that “I’ll know better before I do the act.”

It’s that kind of looking ahead, realizing that each move you make has consequences in the future, that will save you much grief.

Speaking of looking ahead, I surely didn’t anticipate the spam comments and also search terms that led to this blog as a result of using the “s” word recently. The Internet can be a great place, but evidently porn is everywhere and on many minds. Maybe I was able to influence at least one of those searchers in a positive way ;-}

What do you do when you are faced with a big decision?

Do you sit and worry for a period of time? Do you make a hurried decision? Ever bite on one of those “here’s an opportunity to make a million, but you have to act now” scams? Facing a career change? Moving?

God must be saying something to me, because I’ve heard advice on this three times already this week. Didn’t know I was making a big decision, but you never know.

Proverbs offers some clues. 11:14, “but in an abundance of counselors, there is safety,” 15:22, “Without Counsel, plans go wrong, but with many advisers they succeed.”

If you are facing a decision, do you have a small group of people whom you can count on to help you through the decision? Maybe you should start cultivating some friends and acquaintances to help you when you need it.

Do you seek God’s advice? If you listen for God’s advice and listen, you will get some sort of whisper or feeling. You can seek God’s advice through Scripture, too.

Best is to not hurry. Important decisions take time. I once had a partner in an attempt to buy a company where I was an “executive.” Due to circumstances, we had very little time to put the deal together. I worked with potential banks and employees, he worked with potential angel investors. You can’t put a million dollar deal together in just a few weeks. People want time to study.

Pause, seek advice, seek God’s counsel. Then make the decision.

This has been one of those trips. Trying to juggle way too much, and the airlines are not cooperating. It’s 5 am where I am. Supposed to be on a plane headed to Houston. It’s not leaving until 9 am. Missed connection. Rebook. Lose first class seat. Now in middle seat in coach.

Same thing happened Sunday. Delay. Missed connection. Delay.

As the airlines cut back flights and pack airplanes, choices shrink. Delays cause other problems. In my case, had it worked out for my wife to pick me up at an airport to drive home from vacation together (her’s). Now I’ll be 2.5 hours late. Means getting home after midnight. Or one more night in a hotel.

A woman I know always says, “Don’t pray for patience. The Lord will provide you with many opportunities to practice it.” Well, this trip has been one.

I wrote the other day about how I only saw one couple vent on the gate agent. It’s remarkable. I’ve been places where they had to call in deputy sheriffs to contain irate passengers.

But I can be  grateful for the people who helped me rebook. They were calm, professional, helpful. I can learn to get over the disappointment quickly, figure out what my new alternatives are, pick the best and go with it. When I’m not in control, then I just have to do the best I can.

I guess that’s just the way life is. Go forward with gratitude and patience. Things work out.

I’m traveling again. Driving last Thursday night, brief stop to sleep, and on to Myrtle Beach for a couple of days. Flew out of Charleston, SC through Charlotte, NC to Orlando yesterday–and today. Sort of officially “flights from hell.” Yes, not one but two flights delayed by mechanical problems.

They kept pushing back the estimated time of my 4 pm flight until it finally took off at 7:30. Missed my 8 pm to Orlando. By the time that I knew that was going to happen, I called the United premier access hot line. But, I was flying on a partner Star Alliance company (US Airways) so United couldn’t help me. <sigh> So now I’m standing in line for 30-45 minutes. Poor gate agents have to rebook all of us. Something like 80 people on the commuter flight.

One woman in line with me was going to miss part of a meeting plus spend the night in a hotel with all her toiletries in her checked bag (which would stay checked). Another woman was getting to Denver a day late. One guy had a 7am training session in Seattle, so he had purchased Monday Night Football tickets. He just cancelled out. They couldn’t get him to Seattle early enough (he gave his tickets to his brother–hint).

The entire time I was in line (or queue for my European readers) there was just one difficult woman and one couple who needed to vent. Otherwise, we were all disappointed, but just worked the best we could. Goes to show that despite ideas you might form from reading newspapers, by and large people are basically nice.

I was close to the end. The gate agent was frazzled from the pressure. She helped me tremendously (I’m in Orlando, after all). I just smiled and thanked her and said, “Just take a deep Yoga breath and then help the next person (the Seattle guy).” And she relaxed a little and smiled.

Hey, that’s all you can do. Help people who are helping you.