Change That Lasts

"I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. The world is moved along not by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker." --Helen Keller

I found this quote on my pastor and friend George Grant's blog here..

Who Are you?

"A rich man is nothing but a poor man with money." W C Fields

Something to think about. Yesterday I spoke with a builder friend who has been devastated by the downturn in the economy. In the midst of the pain and loss of great wealth we agreed that 'It's not will we get through this economic downturn...the question is HOW will we get through it.'

The Weight of Wealth II

Wealth is a term often used in reference to those who have a lot of money or property. Though people with a lot of money and property are wealthy, poverty, or wealth for that matter, is relative. All throughout scripture and ancient writings there is warning concerning the pursuit of wealth, yet most of us spend our days and nights working toward greater riches. Perhaps this duplicity, if not understood in wisdom, is one reason for the amount of confusion and anxiety we feel. Frankly, for those who have felt The Weight of Wealth, or the WOW factor as a friend called it, no real explanation is needed. This is not a new conundrum or source of anxiety. Thousand of years ago, a very wise king Solomon, who had all the wealth he could ever spend, proclaimed the following (I can only imagine in great frustration) and came to this conclusion:

“Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless.”
–Ecclesiastes 5:10

Recently, I was discussing with a client and friend this WOW factor at great length, and he described the questions he had concerning his children and grandchildren. How much should I leave them? When should I leave it for them? Would they be better or worse stewards if they received an inheritance early rather than late? Even greater was the Weight he felt in light of the significant wealth he had been entrusted and the needs of our world and God's Kingdom. The BIG question for him, and us I would add, is 'how much do we keep in light of our mandate to care for the poor, comfort the widow and orphan...and the list goes on. All of these are good questions that need to be thought through and discussed if we are going to fully live out our rich calling as followers of Jesus - the one who provides us with the power to get wealth in the first place. Scripture is replete with examples of good and bad stewardship, and our culture today is no less representative, yet where do men and women and families go to discuss the spiritual 'calling' of what to do with our stuff? I would say we need community and wise counsel that considers your spiritual and emotional needs as well as financial. Community and the search for wisdom can have a positive effect on the soul's longing for significance.

For an illuminating picture of the pursuit of wealth I suggest taking a few minute and reading Leo Tolstoy's short story, How Much Land Does a Man Need. It will change your life perspective. Cheers!

World View Matters

The following is an interesting article written by an avowed atheist about the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to change culture for the good. It can change homes and individuals too!

"As an atheist, I truly believe Africa needs God

Missionaries, not aid money, are the solution to Africa's biggest problem - the crushing passivity of the people's mindset

Matthew Parris

Before Christmas I returned, after 45 years, to the country that as a boy I knew as Nyasaland. Today it's Malawi, and The Times Christmas Appeal includes a small British charity working there. Pump Aid helps rural communities to install a simple pump, letting people keep their village wells sealed and clean. I went to see this work.

It inspired me, renewing my flagging faith in" to continue reading

George Herbert: Submission

Once again our friend Fred Smith has pointed us toward the timelessness of what it means to be a True Steward of Life from The Temple (1633), by George Herbert: (It does take a few reads to get even for the poets among us!)

¶ Submission.

BUt that thou art my wisdome, Lord, And both mine eyes are thine, My minde would be extreamly stirr’d For missing my designe. Were it not better to bestow Some place and power on me? Then should thy praises with me grow, And share in my degree. But when I thus dispute and grieve, I do resume my sight, And pilfring what I once did give, Disseize1 thee of thy right. How know I, if thou shouldst me raise, That I should then raise thee? Perhaps great places and thy praise Do not so well agree. Wherefore unto my gift I stand; I will no more advise: Onely do thou lend me a hand, Since thou hast both mine eyes.

Advent Conspiracy

Recovering the Stewardship of Christmas

Greed is Not Good

As Stewards of all that God has entrusted us it is important that we base our life and decisions on the Rock solid foundations given to us by God Himself. This sounds like an obvious statement but given our 'state' of mind, body and culture greed can creep in to even the most well intentioned of us.

In the 1980s movie Wall Street the villain, Gordon Ghekko's famous line is, "Greed, for the lack of a better word, is good". But greed is not good. Yet all of us are impacted by our own fallen nature and the culture in which we live and the prevailing mindset of our culture would say that "greed is good". Is there an antidote to a life of being blown by the winds of culture and the pursuit of fools gold? Yes. The antidote is found in the life of devotion to truth and love found in community. Something rarely found today. It may sound simplistic but Christ calls us to imitate His love and the Paul admonishes us to imitate him in I Corinthians 11:1, "Imitate me as I imitate Christ". A good question to start the day with is, "Whose thinking am I imitating?"

When thinking about 'how we live' and the decisions we must make I am convinced it's not so much "what would Jesus do" that should direct us, but 'what would Jesus think' and how can I imitate His thinking? That's what Sheldon wanted when he wrote those famous words. He wanted the church to "think Christianly", and his book was a reminder of how the church was to think about the sojourner and the poor.

How do we 'think' about money, education, family, the latest scandal on Wall Street and our 'calling' in light of the economic crisis we find our world? There are many unemployed and frightened people around us who need love and truth and today's global crisis may be an opportunity like few others to point friends and family to 'the' Truthgiver who brings comfort and right thinking in plenty and little.

Grace and peace.