Archive - Growth RSS Feed

Pray through the Bible with Your Family

March 10, 2009 in A Springboard for Your Family Life, Bible Study, Family Time, Growth, parenting, Prayer, Raising Kids with 5 Comments

prayer 200x300 Pray through the Bible with Your FamilySeemingly, one of the most difficult aspects of parenting is to pass on spiritual disciplines such as daily Bible study and prayer. I’ve heard many state they don’t have time. I’ve heard many state they just keep putting it off. However, perhaps the most often used reason is, “I just don’t know how.” Today’s springboard for your family will provide you an excellent practical way to pass on both spiritual disciplines at one time.

Why Bother?

However, before I give you that tool, let’s first back up and understand that this is not homework. This is not an issue of having to study and pray enough to be good enough to go to heaven. This is not an issue of if we miss a day, we’ll go to hell. Do you remember what Peter said to Jesus in John 6:68 when Jesus had asked if the disciples wanted to leave Him? Peter said Jesus had the words of life, where else would they go? We don’t study the Bible to be good enough to go to heaven. We study the Bible because it contains Jesus’ words of life. There is no other source for life. Thus, if we don’t get in the word, we’ll have death.

In like manner, note Psalm 145:18: “The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” If the Lord is near those who call on Him, what does that mean about those who don’t? We do not pray to be good enough to go to heaven. We pray because that is what draws us close to God. If we are not close to God, the adversary will eat us for lunch.

We don’t do these things as a checklist to get the right things done. We do them because life is contained in these disciplines. If we don’t do them, we’ll die. Think of it like insulin for the diabetic. The diabetic doesn’t take insulin because he/she has to, has been assigned to, or wants to be good enough. Absolutely not. Rather, the diabetic takes insulin because without it the result is a diabetic coma and death. These disciplines are our medicine that keep us connected to the real power of God.

So, are you ready for this revolutionary tool to help you practice these disciplines and pass them on to your children? I admit, I adapted this from my good friend David Banning, who in turn, took it from the creators of the Our Spiritual Heritage Bible class curriculum. We call it “Praying through the Bible.” Here’s how it works.

Praying through the Bible

Gather your family together and let each person have a sheet of paper. On the sheet of paper write five sentence starters with space in between.

“Dear God, You are…”

“Dear God, You…”

“Dear God, forgive me for…”

“Dear God, thank you for…”

“Dear God, help…”

Then, have someone read a section of scripture. You may read a whole chapter. You may read a whole story. You may read a few verses that contain some powerful messages. As the reading is being done, have everyone work on completing those sentences based upon the reading.

For example: Read Genesis 1. You might finish the sentences in this way.

“Dear God, You are the creator of all things and the giver of life.”

“Dear God, You created the world and everything in it.”

“Dear God, forgive me for not taking better care of Your creation and not giving You the proper praise for Your great power and might.”

“Dear God, thank You for providing such a wonderful world, perfectly suited for us to live.”

“Dear God, help my faith in You as creator and sovereign Lord of the universe grow every day.”

Trust me, you’ll be amazed at the answers your children come up with.

When you are done with the reading, discuss what everyone has written down. Can you see how this part is great Bible study. Without saying, “We’re going to study Genesis 1,” you have studied and discussed it with your children. After discussing the passage, go around the room and let everyone pray. I always tell my children that they can pray about whatever they want, but we do want them to be sure to pray through what they have written down. You might even keep a journal of what everyone says so you can look back over what you’ve learned and prayed about.

By the way, if your children didn’t come up with an ending for some of the sentences, don’t worry about it. As they hear yours, they’ll get better at it.

Yes, this takes some time. Yes, this takes some work. Yes, it will take some discipline from us as parents. But it will be worth it. It will revolutionize your family prayer life.

Thanks for jumping on today’s springboard. I hope it gives you a great boost in your family life.

4 Ways to Take Ownership of Your Continuing Training

March 5, 2009 in A Springboard for Your Professional Life, Growth with 0 Comments

sage hr 4 Ways to Take Ownership of Your Continuing Training

Today’s is a guest post from my good friend Clay Gentry. Thanks Clay for enlightening us.

In a recent post, Edwin challenged us to not wait around for our employers to provide us continuing training but take the initiative and seek it out ourselves. With that post as our backdrop I offer you four fast and filthy ideas for investing in yourself by taking ownership of your continuing training.

1. Remember, you are what you read.

One of the quickest ways to learn new skills and insights is to read a book, or two, or three, or while you’re at it read one a month. Maybe you want to sharpen your people skills then read a book a month on that topic. After six months, six books, and six different authors you have learned something about dealing with people. Perhaps reading is slow or cumbersome for you, then listen to the audio version of your book. In addition to your regular reading (or listening), keep a journal of what you are learning. This will help you retain more of the information you coming across.

2. Turn off the music and turn on the learning.

With the average commute lasting 25 minutes your car can become a satellite campus of any major university. While you are in the car turn off the music and turn on the learning with a podcast, seminar, or university lecture that will educate you. There is a wealth of knowledge to be mined using your iPod or MP3 player.

3. Have a meeting with a mind.

If there is someone you know that is excelling in an area you wish to be in, take them out to lunch and pick their brain. They will be able to give you insight you may have otherwise missed. Recently Edwin and I had lunch with a New York Times bestselling author. For the price of a $40 lunch we had the opportunity to pick his brain on various topics for nearly two hours. The information we received is invaluable. A word to the wise on having a meeting with a mind… be prepared. Know ahead of time the questions you are going to ask. This will help move the conversation along and will minimize wasted time.

4. In case you forgot, HR stands for Human Resources.

The best way to excel in the work place is to be a resource to your company. Whether you’re the guy in the warehouse or the gal in the office, become a resource for your employer through continual training not a liability by a lack of knowledge. Your HR office regularly receives information about upcoming training seminars and events in your area. Take advantage of these opportunities to learn more sometimes the company will pay for them but sometimes you will need to pay but either way it will be money well spent. Let HR know you want to share what you have learned with others. Volunteer to lead a training session. This will push you to learn more and show your employer that you are doing and learning more. You’ll stand out from your peers.

One final note: keep track of all the books you’re reading, podcast and seminars you are listening to, people you are interviewing, workshops you are attending, and above all keep track of what you are learning and be able to tell how others how you are incorporating it into your professional life. This will be valuable information to have when you meet with your boss about that new promotion you have earned from all your hard work.

Keep learning,

Clay

Don’t Wait Around for Your Employer to Provide Continuing Training

February 5, 2009 in A Springboard for Your Professional Life, Growth, Job Market with 4 Comments

training 300x150 Dont Wait Around for Your Employer to Provide Continuing TrainingWould you like to write better, speak better, interact better, blog better, word process better, Excel better or whatever better? I’m sure you would. I know your boss wishes you would as well. Let’s face it, no matter where we are on the spectrum of growth in any skill, we can always be better. Training opportunities, workshops and seminars abound. Gratefully, some companies are even willing to foot the bill for that training. If yours has done that or is doing that, be exceedingly thankful. Your company is investing in you. That’s awesome.

However, you can’t always expect that. In fact, in today’s volatile job market you probably shouldn’t. When you get training, the skill doesn’t stay behind with your company if you decide to go to the company next door. You take that skill with you. 

We have increasingly heard how upset employees are with the changing landscape of the american workplace. There is no loyalty to the employee. It used to be that you started a career, put in 20, 30 or 40 years, got a retirement package and road off into the sunset. Not so anymore. However, it is not just employers who are changing (no need to get into a “which came first” argument). Employees are embracing a more “free agent” mentality about their work. They shop themselves and their skills as a commodity. If the company next door provides a bigger package, they’ll move (and they should).

In fact, I’m thinking about three of my closest friends. Two are in their mid-30s and one in his late 20s. Each of them have had three career changes that I know about. That is what the modern worker looks like.

Guess what. Employers are figuring that out. They are struggling to find a balance. They want you to be better at every aspect of your job. However, they also know they’re taking a chance. The more training they subsidize for you, the more inviting you look to headhunters. No doubt, some employers will take the chance. Many won’t.

The upshot for you, however, is to remember you are a free agent. Your skills are your skills. You take them with you wherever you go. If you want to get better, you might ask your employer to foot the bill for training, but don’t be surprised if they say, “No.” Maybe you can make it part of an incentive package to get you to stay. Then again, maybe not.

Don’t wait around for them to foot the bill. You pay for the training. Be a better you on the job. You’ll be more marketable. Your present employer will notice it and likely reward it. But if not, then prospective employers will. Just because your employer fears to invest in you, doesn’t mean you should fear it. It will pay off in the long run.

And, who knows, maybe you’ll get to the point that you’ll be the employer because you’ve trained your way right into running your own business doing what you love with yourself as the boss.

A 10 Step Plan to Fall Back into Sin

December 22, 2008 in A Springboard for Your Spiritual Life, Christian living, Growth, Overcoming Sin, Spiritual Growth with 1 Comment

apple serpent 201x300 A 10 Step Plan to Fall Back into Sin

Giving in to sin may not be as easy as you might think. Therefore, to help you learn how to fall back into that bed of comfortability easily, I have prepared the following 10 step plan to fall back into sin. If you take these steps, I guarantee you that sinning will once again become the norm for you. 

 

 

1. Think you can run your life better than God.

Of course, I know you would never ever actually admit this verbally and out loud. However, if you really want to fall back into sin, this is the mindset you need to have. It will govern the other 9 steps you must take to fall back into sin. The greatest thing is, you don’t actually have to say it out loud. In fact, you can do this while you are still attending church and even looking good in Bible class by answering all the right questions with all the right answers. All you have to do is decide not to do what God says in His word. You can do it for any number of reasons. Maybe what God asks of you is too hard. Maybe you can’t see how it will make you happy. Maybe you are just convinced it is too old-fashioned. No matter the reason, if you just convince yourself what you want to do will produce better long term results for you than what God asks you to do, you are well on your way to falling back into sin.

2. Live in denial.

Who wants to honestly face their defects and flaws? We all know it was wrong of you to yell at your spouse last night, but why be honest about that? Just come up with some reason why in that scenario it wasn’t really all that wrong. It was probably your spouse’s fault anyway. Here is the great thing, you can do this and still keep up the saying of your prayers. Just don’t ever get specific in your confessions. Just ask God to “forgive me my many sins.” No one can prove you have to be specific. Besides being specific would mean you would actually have to look those sins in the face, own them and repudiate them. That is way too much work (remember step #1?). Another way to do this is to constantly look for everyone else’s sins and flaws. Trust me, you’ll find plenty and you can salve your conscience by realizing that at least you aren’t as bad as they are. 

3. Quit assembling with the saints.

Surely religion is just about your personal relationship with God. Who needs a congregational family? Who needs a time to get together with other people to edify and be edified? Who needs to spend time with other people praising and worshiping God? Not you. You already know you can run your life better and you’re a good person and don’t need that repeated reminder. Besides, you’re smarter than most of those people and don’t get that much out of the preaching and classes anyway.

4. Isolate yourself from your godly friends.

Those people only want to judge you anyway. Why would you want to spend any time with them? They have just as many problems as you. They’re no better than you are. If you spend too much time with them, they might get you to thinking about some of those sins you have committed. They might call you on the carpet. Not to mention, it is just uncomfortable being around people who actually want to overcome their sins. They’re always talking about God and their Bible reading. If you hang out with them too much, they may figure out what is going on inside you and you just can’t trust those Christians to still love you when they find out what is going on inside.

5. Refuse to be accountable to anyone.

Only cults expect you to be accountable to someone, letting them know what you are dealing with and accepting their advice for how to overcome. You need to avoid partnering with someone for purposes of accountability at all costs. Granted, it may lead you back to sin, but at least it won’t let anyone else have undue influence in your life. That just gives too much power to another person in your life. Besides, no one has the right to know what struggles you face; that’s just between you and God. You’d think if He wanted you to talk to someone else about those things, He would have told you to confess your sins to other people somewhere in the Bible.

6. Keep all your stuff on the inside.

Nobody else wants to be burdened with your emotional and spiritual stuff. Besides, if you told them, someone somewhere would just end up judging you. So, don’t ever tell anyone, no matter how much you think you might be able to trust them, about what is going on inside your head. Never share with them the sins you have committed, the things that trigger your temptations or even just the emotions you feel. Don’t ever let anyone know what makes you sad, guilty, ashamed, lonely, angry or happy. Never let them know you are feeling any of those things right now. Instead, just keep it on the inside. If possible, figure out some way to escape those emotions like playing a video game, watching a movie, smoking a joint, drinking some liquor, raging, getting vengeance on someone, eating some ice cream, looking at pornography. See, if you play you cards right at this step, you’ll be jumping back into your sin and not even having to finish all 10 steps.

7. Revel in your entitlements.

Your life stinks right now because no one else is giving you what you expect from them and what you rightfully deserve from them. At all costs, you must avoid anything that looks like selflessness or personal sacrifice. Instead of serving others, simply complain about how no one is serving you. Instead of giving to others or taking the actions of love toward others, focus on all the ways others should be giving to you and aren’t. Focusing on these issues is the perfect way to start building up the justifications and excuses for why you went ahead and sinned even when you “knew better.” If you focus on this stuff enough, you will even be able to convince yourself that God not only understands why you went back into your sins, but He doesn’t mind and would probably have done the same Himself if He had ever lived in the world.

8. Quit reading God’s book.

You definitely don’t want to spend too much time reading your Bible. If you keep doing that, you might find things that help you keep from sinning. You might find the encouragement, comfort, strength, hope and faith to keep relying on God in the troubled times you face. You might learn about people who have faced exactly what you are facing and overcame by the grace and power of God working in their lives. This will, no doubt, be extremely detrimental to your plan to fall back into sin. So, whatever you do, don’t read that book. Just set it on your coffee table. Carry it with you to church (if you decide to go). But don’t read it.

9. Quit talking to God.

This is an absolute must. If you spend too much time praying, you might remember that the only way you can stay out of sin is to surrender your life to Him and let Him run it. That would be a real mistake on your path to fall back into sin. Additionally, if you keep praying you might realize you can get from Him all the things you are trying to get out of your sins–the peace, comfort, emotional support, help through pain, etc. Of course, if you feel the need to keep up with your Christian homework by saying your daily prayers, that can be okay. Just make sure you don’t actually share with God what you are feeling. Keep that tucked away on the inside. Just offer some trite phrases. Don’t think about what you’re saying, just come up with some forms and phrases you can repeat as necessary. “Dear God, thank You for Your many blessings. Forgive me of my sins. Be with the sick the world over. Bless the church. In Jesus name, Amen.” Something like that will accomplish both things. You can say your daily prayers without actually praying. This will work great to salve your conscience but let you go right back into your sinning.

10. Never talk to anyone about your faith.

If you spend too much time talking to folks about your faith in God, you might actually increase that faith. If you increase that faith, you might actually begin to think your sins won’t help you out as much as you initially hoped. If you recognize that, you may hop on the completely wrong path and just keep surrendering yourself to God. Above all, you don’t want to share what God has done for you in the past with other people because you might remember God’s way really does work when all the other ways have always failed you in the end.

As you can see, falling back into your sins really does take some work. I hope my list helps you as you strive to stay on the right path.

Delivering Well-Crafted Targeted Feedback (from Ken Blanchard Companies)

November 6, 2008 in A Springboard for Your Professional Life, Giving Feedback, Growth, Uncategorized with 0 Comments

Delivering Well Crafted Targeted Feedback (from Ken Blanchard Companies)

Last week we talked about how to grow from the negative feedback we sometimes receive. Coincidentally, I received the Ken Blanchard Companies’ Ignite newsletter in my e-mail this week. One article looked at the other side of this. How to give great feedback. Check out the article below.

Blanchard is the author or co-author of several books such as Leading at a Higher Level: Blanchard on Leadership and Creating High Performing Organizations Delivering Well Crafted Targeted Feedback (from Ken Blanchard Companies), Raving Fans: A Revolutionary Approach To Customer Service Delivering Well Crafted Targeted Feedback (from Ken Blanchard Companies) and The One Minute Manager Delivering Well Crafted Targeted Feedback (from Ken Blanchard Companies).

For more info, you can find the article in its original format here. Make sure to check out the information about a free webinar on giving and receiving feedback.

 

Delivering Well-Crafted, Targeted Feedback

Employees need specific and descriptive feedback if they are going to master a skill or achieve a goal. But this type of one-to-one feedback is in short supply in most organizations. The reason is two-fold. First, managers avoid giving feedback because they do not have a clear process to follow, and second, they are concerned that without such a process the conversation might be perceived as evaluative and judgmental. The result is hesitation on the part of the manager that results in the feedback session never occurring.

“The opportunity loss is tremendous,” explains Susan Fowler, a senior consulting partner with The Ken Blanchard Companies. “We know from the research that if someone does not get feedback, they are not going to grow. If they get feedback that is ill-delivered or ill-defined, then their performance can even decline. The only way we see a dependable increase in performance is when a person gets well-crafted, targeted feedback in a timely fashion.”

Providing good feedback does not occur naturally or by default. To provide effective feedback, leaders must learn, develop, and cultivate very specific conversational skills.

For Fowler, that means that managers—or anyone trying to help develop another person’s skills—

appreciate the importance of effective feedback; understand their personal motives, agenda, and responsibility for giving feedback; and know when and how to give the various types of feedback.

Start with Some Self-Examination

For managers looking to improve their feedback skills, Fowler recommends starting with a couple of self-directed questions. In her experience, many managers get off on the wrong foot because they focus more on their own needs than the needs of the person receiving the feedback.

As she explains, “I think that oftentimes, sadly, the feedback that we do give to people is based on our own need to be seen as an expert or to control the environment.”

To address this, Fowler recommends that managers ask themselves, “Is this my need to give this feedback or am I giving this feedback because the other person’s performance will actually benefit as a result of it?”

“You really have to understand whose need it is,” Fowler explains. “Start with understanding your role with the individual. Whether it is your spouse, your child, someone you manage, a coworker, or a peer, ask yourself, ‘What is my role here? What context am I in? Is it appropriate for me to give feedback? If it is appropriate, what is my purpose?’”

Match the Feedback to the Desired Outcomes

Once a manager is clear on the purpose of the feedback, the next step is to provide the type of feedback that will best meet the needs of the recipient. There are two main types of feedback—

personalized and pure. Both can work well, as long as they are matched correctly to the needs of the employee.

Personalized feedback is the type that most managers are familiar with. This is judgmental information (either positive or negative) about past performance designed to encourage or extinguish future behavior. It takes the form of either praise, when used to recognize positive behavior, or re-direction, when used to discourage negative behavior.

Pure feedback is a new concept for most managers. It is feedback that is descriptive, objective, factual, and nonjudgmental. This kind of feedback allows the receiver to decide what to do with it. It is most appropriate when the goal of a manager is to develop an independent person who can judge for themselves how they are doing—

to give themselves feedback.

Feedback Builds Relationships

The research says that people appreciate and respond positively to well-crafted feedback. It improves performance and helps people sustain higher levels of performance. From an organization’s point of view, that’s why you want managers who are skillful at giving feedback.

But feedback also builds mutual trust and individual respect that results in greater interpersonal relationships.

As Fowler explains, “At the end of the day, when you have given someone feedback that is in context, informative, and not judgmental, and that helps them improve, you’ve demonstrated that you care about them. It is a wonderful way to demonstrate caring.”

Managers obviously have to be role models. They have to be giving the kind of feedback that they themselves want to get—

not only from their managers but also from their direct reports.

“Giving effective feedback takes work,” says Fowler. “You have to do homework. You have to gather the data. You have to plan it. You have to deliver it authentically. But when you do, it is servant leadership in action.”

Two Ways to Grow from Negative Feedback

October 30, 2008 in A Springboard for Your Professional Life, Growth with 0 Comments

j0400320 Two Ways to Grow from Negative FeedbackOh no! The dreaded review. Your boss has just given you some feedback. Sure, most of it was positive but some was negative. Or maybe a co-worker just passed something on to you showing you where you are falling short. Our natural response? “Who does he think he is?” Or “What business does she have telling me that, she does _____________________.” 

Few of us do naturally well with complaints and criticism. Sadly, when we react this way and filter out what people are saying to us, we miss some golden opportunities to help others and reach our potential.

 

Key #1: Don’t filter out the feedback, ask growth questions.

Follow the advice of Roger Connors and Tom Smith in their great book, Journey to the Emerald City Two Ways to Grow from Negative Feedback, the follow up to their awesome book The Oz Principle: Getting Results through Individual and Organizational Accountability Two Ways to Grow from Negative Feedback. Instead of filtering the feedback, ask three simple questions.

  1. Is this a belief I want people to have?
  2. Will this belief get in the way of my desired results?073520358X Two Ways to Grow from Negative Feedback
  3. What can I do to change this belief?

Think about it. Does it really matter if your boss does the same thing for which she has just criticized you? Does it really matter if the guy pointing out your flaw is the youngest and newest guy in the company? Does it matter if the person who has accurately described your shortcoming is the oldest and most out of date and backward person you’ve ever met? NO! NO! and NO!

What matters is are you engendering in people the confidence they need to trust you and rely on you and turn to you. So, don’t filter out the feedback to salve your conscience. Ask the right questions to promote growth.

 

Key #2: Reinterpret the complaint as expressions of need.

Instead of letting the complaint be about you, reinterpret it in a way that says something about the person making the complaint, listening to the complaint as an expression of the person’s needs.

For instance, your boss complains in your review because your reports aren’t clear and concise enough. Don’t walk away saying, “I’ll show you clear and concise, pal.” Instead recognize the request in this. See the need your boss has. What the boss is saying is the demands on his time are great and what he really needs from you are reports that he can work through quickly because they are lucid, logical and brief. He isn’t rejecting you. He isn’t saying you are a bad worker. He’s saying he needs some help from you. Wow. How great that is that you can really help your boss.

Perhaps a subordinate complains to your superior about how you are never available for consultation and help. Instead of blowing up about all your time constraints and how you don’t have time, recognize the need being expressed behind this. What does this complaint say about the needs your subordinates have. They are not rejecting you. They are not saying they don’t want to work under you. They are not saying other managers are better than you. They are instead saying that they need guidance from you. They need more than just a figurehead manager or boss who lays out guidelines and offers goals but then leaves them alone. They need someone who is actually invested in their success and will help them when they are struggling.

Yes, yes, I know there are situations where you have to say some reports are just going to be complex and you don’t want to enable lack of initiative for your subordinates. But if you want to grow and reach your potential, reinterpret complaints as expressions of needs and ways to help the people who are offering them.

Three Questions for a Real Disciple Learned from Someone Who Was Only Almost a Disciple

October 27, 2008 in A Springboard for Your Spiritual Life, Christian living, Discipleship, Growth, Spiritual Growth with 0 Comments

christ and the rich young ruler Three Questions for a Real Disciple Learned from Someone Who Was Only Almost a DiscipleThe Rich Young Ruler

We’ve all heard of him. The man presented himself as a great disciple who had kept God’s law from his youth. But in the end, we find out that really he was only almost a disciple. I don’t want to be in that boat. I want to be a really, truly, totally and all the way a disciple. How about you? 

When I examine his story in Luke 18:18-23, I find three questions that will force us out of the shallow end of discipleship and push us into the deep end of true discipleship.

Three Questions

Question #1: Do I live as though Jesus is merely good or truly God?

The Rich Young Ruler called Jesus “good teacher” and Jesus called him on it. Jesus wasn’t questioning His own deity. Rather, He was highlighting a problem the man had. He called Jesus good, but did he really believe Jesus was the ultimate good? Did he recognize that Jesus was actually more than a good teacher and that He was God in the flesh?

We listen to a good teacher when we want to. We listen to a good teacher when we like what he says. We listen to a good teacher as long as we still think he is good. We take a good teacher’s words as advice, something to do when we get around to it. That is not how we take God’s words. Jesus’ words are not just good advice, nice suggestions or possibilities. Jesus was more than a good teacher. He was and is God. Therefore His word is law. 

When we live as though Jesus is truly God, then we surrender to His word. When He says, “He that believes and is baptized will be saved,” we believe and get baptized. When He says “Don’t let the sun go down on your anger,” we don’t let the sun go down on our anger. When He says “Treat others as more important than yourself,” we treat others as more important than ourselves.

Why do we do this? Because we know Jesus is not just a good teacher. He is the Great God.

Question #2: Who is my God?

The Rich Young Ruler said he had followed all the 10 commandments since his youth. He had not committed theft, murder, false witness or adultery. He had honored his father and mother. What a great man he was. How could he not possibly be a great disciple and inherit eternal life?

As we study this text, we realize this poor man actually was lying to himself. One of those commandments said, “Do not have other gods before Me.” Yet the Rich Young Ruler clearly had a god before Jehovah. His God was his material goods. He couldn’t possibly sacrifice them to have the eternal life God offered. Through that, he demonstrated who his real god was.

So, who is your God? Learn the lesson of the Rich Young Ruler. We can easily lie to ourselves and tell ourselves that Jesus is our God and runs our lives. Instead of just trusting what we’ll say when put to the test, let’s examine our lives. Where do we spend our time? Where do we spend our money? Who are best friends? What would we not give up if God asked? These questions can help us cut to the chase.

Or ask a friend. Ask your spouse. If you have kids, ask them. “What do you see is most important in my life?” They’ll be able to tell you and that can help you determine who your God really is. Don’t be like the almost disciple and simply trust your intellectual answer to the question. Dig deep and examine with rigorous honesty.

Question #3: What do I value?

At first glance, the Rich Young Ruler appeared to value eternal life. He came asking about it. Further, he claimed to have scrupulously kept the law since his youth. Even more, he was willing to go beyond that asking what more he needed to do. 

However, as we see the story unfold, we find out that he did not truly value eternal life. Eternal life was not a driving core value. It was merely an aspiration. He would like eternal life if he could get it but not at the expense of his material goods. Through we find out what was his driving core value–Money. He valued money and material goods. That drove his decisions. He would be happy to keep God’s law until God’s law told him to give up his goods. 

What do you value? Again, don’t just accept whatever you say when asked this intellectual question. We all know the right answer and can give it whenever asked. Instead of looking at this intellectual answer, we need to examine our lives. What drives our choices? Is it the pursuit of God’s kingdom and righteousness or is it the pursuit of wealth, fame and influence? 

 

Be careful. As we can see in the Rich Young Ruler, these are tough questions because we can so easily deceive ourselves. Don’t just ask them once. Ask them repeatedly. Question yourself like this regularly. Question your choices with these questions, especially those big life decisions like where will you work, who will you marry, where will you live, with what church will you work. 

Don’t be only almost a disciple like the Rich Young Ruler. Be all the way a disciple.

ELC

Page 5 of 5«12345
Subscribe today! Get God's Way in your inbox!