What Matters Now

March 14, 2025

That is actually the title of a book discussing business leadership and strategy by Gary Hamel. I opened my eyes following meditation staring at that title.

It’s a wonderful thought for the day.

One of the many things that annoy me about almost all media that’s shoved at us these days (even my favorite news sites fall into this trap) is speculation. This might happen!! Or What if this??

These only lead to emotions such as worry or anxiety. Publishers wish to invoke those emotions so that you’ll come back for more…oh, and by the way, look at the ads. 

I understand the need to forge an income. My other blog has a sponsor. Most of my business life found me figuring out ways to serve customers or shave costs in order to make enough profits to pay us and enable the organization to survive.

The key for us on the receiving end lies in the daily (hourly?) reflection on What Matters Now. 

I cannot solve the leadership crisis in countries or the wars and destruction ongoing in our world. I can find ways to serve others in my communities. I can find ways to grow intellectually and emotionally. I can find what matters now that I can work on—and then do it.

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Looking for Cause of Life

March 13, 2025

When someone dies, we usually want to know the “cause of death.” Especially if we are addicted to TV detective mystery shows, cause of death is crucial to the investigation.

This may be an indelicate inquiry, but if someone were looking at your life, would they need to inquire into a “cause of life?”

How many people seem to be sleep-walking through life! No interests, no service, not much in the way of relationships. 

Intelligence is not a factor. I’ve known fascinating people with either lower IQ or biological emotional problems who pursue interests with the ability to talk through them to anyone who cares to relate.

On the other hand, some highly intelligent people just seem lost in the world.

Once again, how about you (and me)?

Perhaps we are involved in important work.

Perhaps we need to climb out of the rut we’ve built. It can start with small acts of service to others. Accompanied with walks in nature. Movement helps. Paying attention to others adds crucial herbal flavoring to life.

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More Inconsistencies

March 12, 2025

Yesterday’s post considered inconsistencies in what some of us call ourselves and what we believe.

Sometimes we need to open our eyes to see past marketing and labels media pastes on things.

Consider:

  • Social media is actually anti-social
  • Health foods are mostly unhealthy
  • Knowledge workers are often ignorant of what’s around them
  • Social sciences are not scientific
  • Christians sometimes do not look like someone following Jesus (predicted by Jesus himself)
  • Listeners often are not listening
  • Observers often fail to see
  • Protein bars are often really candy bars

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Theological Inconsistencies

March 11, 2025

There are people (churches, denominations) who claim Wesleyan, yet only acknowledge half of John Wesley’s teaching.

Again, there are people (churches, denominations) who claim Calvinism, yet only acknowledge parts of John Calvin’s teaching.

Worse than those are the people who claim the Christian Bible, yet pick and choose pieces of it as their guide.

They may say, you need to take out a black magic marker and just blot out these certain passages. They are inconvenient. I don’t agree. And so forth.

Author and professor Tony Campolo wrote Red Letter Christians as a challenge specifically to evangelicals about living out the words of Jesus. (In some Bibles, direct quotes of Jesus are printed in red letters.)

There may be thoughts in the New Testament with which I disagree. Perhaps in meditation I would prefer to argue with Paul or John or James or, even, Jesus.

I find two things helpful either reading the New Testament or John Wesley (whom I prefer over Calvin, but that’s just me). The first step is to admit to myself that I just don’t understand. That launches both debate and inquiry. 

The best next step entails reading the words of Jesus (red letter Christian!). What did he actually say? With that context, interpreting other New Testament writers and later thinkers becomes clearer.

I may still not agree. I think arguing with God is just fine. Certainly throughout the Hebrew Scriptures people argue with God all the time. And God argues back. (Hint—God wins.)

People perplex me in their inconsistencies. Looking in the metaphorical mirror, I resemble that remark. But that gives us something to work on.

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What They Say, or What They Do

March 10, 2025

When I was young, people used a phrase about some other people, “They talk big.”

Translation—these people talked about what they would do, but they actually never got around to doing anything.

Certain professions lend themselves to this behavior. Certainly politicians. Sometimes preachers. Sometimes executives. Sometimes the neighbor down the street.

When I taught kids to play defense in soccer (I think it’s about the same in basketball), I told them to watch the hips. They weren’t going anywhere without them. They may do fancy footwork. Don’t get sucked in by excess motion.

Similarly, don’t get sucked in by lots of hot air escaping from people’s lips.

Watch what people do.

Happy are those whose words and actions align—especially if they are right and moral and helpful and kind.

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Frustration

March 7, 2025

Do you ever become frustrated while reading stories about Jesus?

I certainly do. For almost my entire life.

For example, they tell us that Jesus often went off by himself to pray.

Sometimes the writers tell us about what happened. Like in the wilderness when he was tempted. Did Jesus tell that story while sitting around the campfire in the evenings?

He dropped only a couple of recorded tidbits on us.

He observed two people praying at the Temple. One loud and ostentatious. The other quiet and withdrawn. He told us to be like the second one. Pray in private, humbly.

When his closest followers didn’t know what words to use, he gave them an outline that my tradition calls the Lord’s Prayer and other call the Our Father. I like that one, because it reminds me of things I need to remember.

Other traditions teach sitting and breath and focus. The Christian practice of meditation stretches all the way back to the beginning. 

But we only have about Jesus was that he withdrew to be alone. Even Paul, who had a deep spiritual experience and meditated on it for years, gave us no real instruction on the practice.

Sometimes I wish for something beyond metaphor and glimpses. Just come right out and tell us.

I guess there is a reason. Someday I will know it.

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Becoming Wiser

March 6, 2025

Just as eating cow meat doesn’t turn you into a cow, studying philosophy doesn’t make you wiser.—Nassim Nicholas Taleb

We could say the same about those people who call themselves Christian, yet for all the Scripture they can quote they could not be identified by an outsider as a follower of Jesus.

Notice those who exhibit that delicate balance of knowing and doing. And others see them and think, “I’d like some of that.”

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What We Can Do

March 5, 2025

Poet and novelist Hermann Hesse on what we all can do: “To hold our tongues when everyone is gossiping, to smile without hostility at people and institutions, to compensate for the shortage of love in the world with more love in small, private matters; to be more faithful in our work, to show greater patience, to forgo the cheap revenge obtainable from mockery and criticism: all these are things we can do.”

Hermann Hesse’s writings have influenced some of my thinking. The early 20th Century German writer published several important books including Steppenwolf, Siddhartha, and The Glass Bead Game.

Here he summarizes several things we can all do:

  • To hold our tongues when everyone is gossiping,
  • To smile without hostility at people and institutions,
  • To compensate for the shortage of love in the world with more love in small, private matters,
  • To be more faithful in our work,
  • To show greater patience,
  • To forgo the cheap revenge obtainable from mockery and criticism.

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Grace

March 4, 2025

Some believe that God’s grace hits you from “out of the blue” one and done. Certainly there are examples of people who have been unexpectedly overwhelmed by God’s grace. I just shared the song “Amazing Grace” at a gathering—a story of one such encounter.

Those of us in the tradition of John Wesley recognize that grace is actually an integral part of our spiritual journey. 

I lifted this thought from a fitness newsletter by Arnold Schwarzenegger. “Fitness is not a 30-day challenge or even 90 days. Fitness is a lifelong commitment.” 

This applies not only to our physical life, but also it applies to our spiritual journey. I think this fits with John Wesley’s ideas—we can call it Prevenient grace where God is already at work on us before we become aware, Justifying grace hits us (sometimes hard) when we cross from unbelief to belief, and Sanctifying grace nurtures our spiritual growth throughout our lives.

Spiritual life is not one-and-done. Spiritual life becomes a journey of both personal growth and service. Paul’s letter of spiritual development (Romans) does not end with belief. You must not stop reading at chapter 11. Paul continues in what we call chapters 12-15 to describe life after belief. It is how we live our life in grace.

The old gospel song “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus” includes the line “No turning back, no turning back.”

Following Jesus is a lifelong commitment.

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If Only

March 3, 2025

If only everyone agreed with me, the world would be a happier place.

If only the world conformed to the picture I have, it would be perfect.

I think of the many people I know and about whom I read who have a picture of how the world should work in their minds. They persist in trying to make the world conform to their picture. They are perennially frustrated when things don’t work out that way.

Then there was Jesus.

He actually knew what the world should be. He called it the Kingdom of Heaven. He taught people about it. About how to live in it. He actually lived in it.

Yet, when he met people who did not exhibit much of that Kingdom, or had their own (wrong) view of what the Kingdom was, he understood.

Most of the time his confrontations with these people was gentle—his followers, the rich young man, the 10 lepers who were cleaned when only one returned to thank him. 

Sometimes his words were gentle, yet pointed. No compromise. Like when he was invited to dinner with an important Pharisee. These dinners were like a mini theatrical production. It was meant for show for the “common” people who would walk by to see who the honored guests were. And the woman invaded the dinner washing his feet with her tears and anointing him with perfume. His words to the host were a firm rebuke. But evidently not spoken harshly.

Jesus could react with anger. He had a picture of the proper respect for the Temple. When he encountered merchants ripping off pilgrims coming from afar to offer sacrifice, he acted with emotion turning over tables and scattering merchandise.

When people are exploiting other people, Jesus’s example shows us anger is justified. Otherwise, replying with gentleness makes a better point.

Especially since you and I are not Jesus. We might be wrong.

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