Stop Whining

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. Phil 2:3-4

Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky Phil 2:14-15

Today’s Reading: Isaiah 26-27; Philippians 2

Paul delivered two heavy hitters in one short chapter. They happen to be two things that I am not so great at.

Doing the Dirty Work

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”

   And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”Isaiah 6:8

Today’s Reading: Isaiah 5-6; Ephesians 1

This passage is crazy to me when it is read in context. Here is God asking someone to volunteer to do a task for Him and Isaiah steps up. But the cold part about it is that the task is not so nice and will most likely make him an enemy of powerful people. Sure he loved God but I’m not so sure that he desired to do the task. Nevertheless he did it anyway.

One thing that I am learning is that the purpose we have for our lives is filled with all kinds of various activities.

The Myth of the Bootstraps

Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:1-2

Today’s Reading; Isaiah 3-4; Galatians 6

The saying “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” has always bugged me. Typically when I hear folks say it they are describing themselves. They say that they have reached whatever level of success that they have on their own. And since they did it on their own then so should everyone else.

Why help people when they can do for themselves right?

WRONG!

This kind of thinking is exceedingly selfish and misguided. It is selfish because it implies that it is ok to view the world solely through one’s own wants and desires. Who cares about anyone else? As long as I’ve got mine then I’m cool. Good luck getting yours.

It is misguided because in every single instance it is wrong. No one has reached any measure of success without the help of another person. How did you grow into an adult without someone feeding you? How did you get shelter without someone putting a roof over your head? How did you get the job you have, or the position you have attained without someone hiring you, mentoring you, or giving you advice.

This is one of the strange things about American culture. Many folks would claim that this is a Christian nation, but the way that some of us view helping others seems to be decidedly unchristian. We say that we believe in Jesus and his teachings. We believe in “give and it shall be given to you” but when it comes to “love your neighbor as yourself” somehow his words get lost in translation.

Some may respond to me by saying that helping others isn’t help at all. It just enables folks to stay in a position of helplessness. In the most extreme sense of charity they may have a point.

But the fact of the matter is that EVERYONE needs help. No one has ever gone it totally alone.

I believe that it is in the best interest of all of us to help each other. The better my neighbor is doing then the better equipped she’ll be to help me when I need assistance. The whole is greater than the some of the parts.

So think carefully the next time you have the opportunity to help someone. Maybe it will be a kid who is looking for extra help on their homework or someone looking for a break to turn their life around.

As Paul said in the 10th verse of this very same chapter “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people.”

That sums it up quite nicely I think. 

Don't Be Lazy

Go to the ant, you sluggard;
   consider its ways and be wise!
It has no commander,
   no overseer or ruler,
yet it stores its provisions in summer
   and gathers its food at harvest.

How long will you lie there, you sluggard?
   When will you get up from your sleep? 

A little sleep, a little slumber,
   a little folding of the hands to rest— 

and poverty will come on you like a thief
   and scarcity like an armed man. - Proverbs 6:6-11

Today’s Reading: Proverbs 6-7; 2 Corinthians 2

I had dinner with my mom the other day and the topic of my childhood came up. On previous occasions we have talked about how difficult I was as a child. I was never really THAT bad. I didn’t break stuff or really get into anything crazy. But I was strong willed to say the least.

Ok I’ll keep it real. I was stubborn as all get out.

But in this convo she said something that I haven’t heard her say before. We were talking about how I was always naturally inquisitive about many things as a child but when I wasn’t interested in a given topic it was a whole other matter.

She said I was lazy. Rough game…

Mildly insulted but simultaneously amused, I tried to put a different spin on it. I retorted that I did good in the things I was interested in. So when it came to school it wasn’t that I was lazy, I just wasn’t interested in those classes (at least that’s what I told myself for years until recently).

“No” she said, “you were lazy!” Then she laughed at me!

The audacity my mom has!

I thought about this for the next couple of days and I realized that she was right. It wasn’t until a couple years ago that I started learning the value of hard work. I was one of those kids that just did what I had to do and fought to not even do that much. Why work hard when it wasn’t necessary, especially if it didn’t really matter?

That was my logic as a child and even for several years as an adult. But being in the “real world” taught me the truth. It doesn’t matter how smart or talented you are, you MUST work hard.

The difference between potential and true success is the amount of hustle one is willing to put into their craft. There are plenty of brilliant minds walking the streets homeless or stuck in day jobs because, for whatever reason, they couldn’t figure out the best way to cultivate their discipline.

Discipline is a constant journey of spiritual growth. The more we mature in discipline, the better our lives become.

The journey along the path of our purpose requires extreme discipline at every step. Often times the dreams that we carry in our hearts have never been done the way that we envision them. If we are going to blaze a new trail in this world we gotta take out our machetes and get to work cutting a clear path to travel upon.

It’s all good though. It may seem hard or even impossible but as long as you remember that all things are possible then you can have the faith to keep taking those steps forward.

Every day is an opportunity to take another step toward who you want to become.

Seize the day. Don’t be lazy. 

Prepare for a New Day

Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. "For the last fourteen days," he said, "you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food—you haven't eaten anything. Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head." After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves. – Acts 27:33-36

Today’s Reading: Psalms 43-45; Acts 27:27-44

So, in this part of our story Paul and friends are on a boat that is being tossed about the sea by some crazy winds and waves. Everyone thinks they are going to die; except for Paul, who received word from an angel that they’d be alright.

When everyone on the ship had given up hope, Paul came through with the words above. Instead of focusing on the current danger he wanted to help the crew prepare for the next day.

This made me think about how I am when I go through trials. I tend to be a worrier. I focus, at times, way too much on the bad of a situation rather than on the solutions that will help me grow in to the person I am supposed to be on the other side of the struggle. This is important to remember because a current hardship may set us on the wrong path if we let it.

Often times the mountains that we have to climb in the present are revealed as speed bumps when they have become part of our past. A trial always seems worse when we cannot see a way out of it. But we tend to find our way, sooner or later; often times after spending way more energy worrying about the trial than overcoming it.

No matter how rough things get, we must never stop preparing for the new day.

The new day will come no matter what. If we can learn to stop worrying, and spend that energy on endeavors that will prepare us for the next steps that we need to take, we will be much better off.

If you are down and out because you lost your job, don’t just look for a new one. Put together a budget so that you can prepare to get yourself back on track when that job comes. If you are sad because you are lonely and have been single for a long time don’t just go out into the world looking for a mate. While you are waiting on that special someone try to figure out why the last situation didn’t work. Do some soul searching. Read a book. Seek good counsel from folks that you trust.

It all goes back to staying ready so that you don’t have to get ready.

This is hard to do because the pressures of today tend to blind us to what is coming tomorrow. But if we can become the masters of our worry and use that energy to relax and plan for better times, those better times will be much better indeed. 

Twitter Rant: Tyler Perry, M Knight, and Hatin' Folks

This twitter rant was inspired by my borderline hatred of the job that M Night did on my beloved cartoon Avatar: The Last Airbender, the Boondocks episode about Tyler Perry and my reading of Esther. Enjoy

12:25 AM  07-06-10

So I'm reading Esther and I came across this interesting passage…

Have you ever seen someone succeed at something that you do when they aren't as talented as you?

Have you ever had an idea that you slept on only to see someone else do it, but not nearly as dope as you would have?

What if you were God's plan A for that task... but you bullshitted to the point that God had to holler at plan B..?

This makes me think of Tyler Perry... so many folks hate on him but he didn't start off with a silver spoon.

I wonder how many other people had the same idea that he had but didn't have the heart to follow through?

Now they're looking at him and hating real strong... they only have themselves to blame.

For every Tyler Perry and M. Night I bet there was a super talented person who wasn't on their game...

No longer will I hate on the prominent folks that I think are wack... I'm gonna hate on the folks who slipped and gave up their shot.by not stepping up and following their own dreams.

Rant done.