It’s All In Perspective

During WWII General Creighton Abrams found himself and his troops surrounded on all sides. With characteristic optimism, he told his officers, "For the first time in the history of this campaign, we are now in a position to attack the enemy in any direction."

Perspective is everything. It will keep you from giving up in the midst of overwhelming obstacles. Are you in some discouraging circumstances? No light at the end of your tunnel? Here is a verse for your circumstances. Hebrews 13:15 says, “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” Praise God and be thankful continually? Does that mean in all circumstances, even the horribly bleak ones? Especially the bleak ones.
Paul and Silas faced a very terrible situation more than once in their lives. On one occasion, they were arrested for preaching the Gospel. They were beaten, thrown into a hole in the ground. Prison today is the Hilton compared to their dungeon. Most had no windows, no light, and no restrooms. There were no regular meals and the ones they got were sometimes rotten or extremely small in portion. Most prisoners were chained directly to the ground with minimal or no clothing. There were no protective laws, prisoner’s rights, or fair trials. You certainly couldn’t have any visitors and privileges were breathing and sleeping. Acts 16:24 tells us their feet were fastened in stocks, which were excruciatingly painful.

So how would you respond? When you read Acts 16:25 you will see something extremely remarkable and surprising. They were praying and singing hymns. I probably would have been praying (mostly selfishly and likely not for the Lord to use me in the situation) but probably not singing. This really shows us their perspective and resolve. This shows us the true definition of sacrificial praise. When you have absolutely nothing to be excited about and your situation looks hopeless, praise the Lord anyway. If it had been Stephen (me) in this situation and prison, you may have heard moaning and groaning, whining and complaining more than praying and praising (although I would like to think better of myself). Some may even have cursed the jailers for what they had done and God for what He had allowed.

Now listen, Jesus knows all about your pain. The crucifixion was excruciating (we get that word from crucifixion). He knows what it means to be in agony, pain, torment, and torture. He came to earth and was fully human, born to die our death for our sin (Romans 5:8). He hungered, thirst, bled, grew weary, cried, and experienced every human emotion – but never sinned (2 Cor. 5:21). “Yeah, but He was Jesus”, you say. Being fully God yet fully human at the same time showed us we have options in how we respond to our circumstances. Jesus chose not to sin as a human. He was tempted, but overcame temptation in the worst of situations. We too can choose not to sin in our circumstances and temptations. 1 John 2:1 says, “I write these things to you so that you will not sin.” 1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”

Perspective is everything. Here’s one to leave you on. “If God is for us, who can be against us” (Romans 8:31). Still need another? “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Yes Men Will Kill Your Organization

I love it when people agree with me.  After all, I’m always right?  Right?  Everyone likes their ideas being affirmed but having someone always agree with you is really counterintuitive.  I know I don’t always agree with those who lead me so what makes me think those under me are any different.  I’m not talking about insubordination or rebellion here.  Should people in the same team always agree with each other?  Do you always have to agree with your boss?  I would suggest the best team is comprised of people who have varying opinions.  Not in overall vision or mission (not that those can’t vary some) but mostly in strategy and implementation.  Actually if your team is made up of only “yes men” (you know those who say yes to your face) your team is really just a bunch of minions carrying out mindless objectives.  They are secretly dying on the inside and when a better opportunity comes along (or the hope of being on an actual team), they, well, in the words of Duck Dynasty, “They gone.” 

“Yes men” may look good at first because they do what they are told and don’t buck the system.  But over time they will buck the system because they feel unappreciated and aren’t being used to their full potential.  When you allow them to become “yes men” you are creating people who are only concerned with themselves.  They just want promotion, perks, and to please the boss.  You can stop the “yes men” at your organization by creating an environment that allows your team to lead with you.

Every good leader becomes a great leader through a team of people whose giftings, abilities, and ideas complement them.  Just because someone doesn’t agree with you doesn’t mean they aren’t loyal to your team and vision.  Maybe their ideas are better?  I’ve found this to be more often true than not.  Someone telling you no may not mean they hate your ideas but that they actually want to make them better.  Hearing no from your team actually is a good thing.  It means they are thinking and being creative.  I’m not sure I’d trust someone who always told me yes.  Allowing “no’s” is also a reality check that you don’t know it all and actually function better in team.  Key point here – this goes both ways.  Just because your ideas are on the table doesn’t mean you’ll always get to do it your way.  In the end, the boss must make the final decision to benefit the whole team and organization.  If someone always has to have it their way and get upset when challenged, its best they go their separate way before they separate your organization.

People on my team who tell me no actually do me a favor.  I don’t need “yes men” and “no men”.  I need truth men.  Truth men let me know when I’m wrong and right.  The worst judge of me is me.  I need others looking out for my best interest by telling me my great ideas may not actually be that great.  The statement, “your problem used to be someone’s great idea” applies to me also.  Also, when I allow my team to tell me no it makes their “yes” so much sweeter.  Why?  I know they are telling me the truth.  This is good for me because sometimes I’m real hard on myself – my worst critic.  I tend to think less of my ideas than anyone else.  Someone I trust who validates my ideas encourages me to plunge forward.  Key point here – someone who always tells me no is not part of the team just like someone who always tells me yes.  Even when they get their “no” in they don’t help grow the team.  They just want to be right but don’t want to help build the team or organization. 

Telling me no doesn’t initially mean outright rebellion (although someone who consistently does this could be guilty of rebellion).  I have to keep in mind that they can hear from the Lord and that He gave them talent, ability, and wisdom as well.  I need pushback on my ideas because it slows me down to ensure I’m not wasting my time, talent, and treasure.  I don’t know about you but I don’t want to waste my time on things that will not work if I can help it.  Asking me “Why?” can be a good thing.  Everything needs defined purpose not just, “Because I said so.”  Pushback keeps me from thinking I am greater than I really am and makes me validate what I do.  Bosses who only like “yes men” are typically insecure and like to hear “yes” more than the truth.

Not having “yes men” also brings unity to your team.  While that may sound ironic, it is actually healthy.  Unity is a good thing in any team.  Uniformity will kill your team.  Unity means we agree in the majors even if the minors don’t always come together.  There is a difference between arguing and discussing.  There is more than one way to get somewhere.  What is the purpose in the trip?  Is it a scenic route?  Are you in a hurry?  Back roads are as good as main highways as long as you get there and accomplish your main goals. 

Allowing your team to say no validates them.  They need to dream with you, not just fulfill your dream.  Yes, it comes down to the leader making the call but your team needs to express their ideas, even if they aren’t used.  Throw everything on the table, sort out the good and bad, and be productive.  When people on your team cannot express their ideas they get frustrated.  When they get frustrated, they actually start working against you even if they don’t realize it.  They start venting to each other and never to you.  They stop dreaming and start maintaining.  When your team begins to die, your vision is as good as dead.  “Yes men” aren’t leaders, they are followers.  If you want more leaders, let your people lead.  You want people on your team who make your organization better, not those who just make you look better. 

Sure, your team needs direction, job descriptions, and leadership.  Yes, you’ll have to be the one who ultimately makes the decisions.  Your team needs you to say, “Here is what I want and don’t want.”  I’m not talking about voting on everything (leadership by consensus).  You’ll never get anything done that way.  Allowing your team to lead with you instead of barking orders at them will grow your organization faster than you ever could alone.  When you don’t let them function you actually are doing it alone.  Maybe this is why your turnover is so high?  I’m learning this over time.  Encourage healthy debate and alternative solutions.  Allow them to constructively critique your ideas and come up with their own.  You’ll find this approach will not only grow your organization but also grow their hearts toward your organization and you as the main leader because they are now co-owners not hirelings.  Allowing them to lead with you actually confirms and builds your leadership.  They will follow you anywhere when you allow them to lead with you.

Give Thanks To The Lord

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.” - Psalm 100:4
The signs of the Christmas season seem to come earlier every year. Christmas decorations were already out at Halloween this year! While Christmas celebrates the birth of our Savior, we can very easily forget Thanksgiving if we are not careful. The Bible says that whatever you do, do it in the name of Jesus and give thanks to God. (Colossians 3:17) We should have an attitude of gratitude.  Gratitude is more than saying thank you.  It is a personal quality that molds and shapes our lives, not just something we do or say. One way to have gratitude is to remember the true meaning of the Thanksgiving holiday.

During the winter of 1610, the settlers of Jamestown were reduced from 409 to 60. The survivors prayed for help, without knowing when or how it might come. When help arrived, in the form of a ship filled with food and supplies from England, a prayer meeting was held to give thanks to God.
The Pilgrims set sail for America on September 6, 1620 and were at sea nearly two months. When they arrived at Plymouth Rock, they had a prayer service and thanked God for being with them during their journey. Nearly half of them died as they struggled to build shelters and survive the cold New England winter. When spring came, Indian friends assisted them in reaping a great harvest. Because the Pilgrims were thankful, they declared a three-day feast in December 1621 to thank God. 

 

Thanksgiving was originally established as a Christian holiday by President George Washington in 1789.  Because Thanksgiving wasn’t celebrated consistently, President Abraham Lincoln set aside the last Thursday of November 1863 for a day of gratitude. He declared: “We are prone to forget the Source from which the blessings of fruitful years and healthful skies come. . . . No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God.”

Presidents continued to annually declare a national Thanksgiving Day until 1941 when Congress permanently established the fourth Thursday of each November as a national holiday.   Of course, Thanksgiving is also about gathering with friends and family and having a feast. Some will watch football and parades while others enjoy time off from work and school. But sometimes at this particular time of year, we can forget about how thankful we ought to be. We need to never forget that God has blessed us. After all, God sent His son Jesus to be our Savior! (1 Corinthians 15:57) The Bible urges us to give thanks to the Lord. We are told in Psalm 106:1, "Praise the Lord! Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever."

 

Thanksgiving may be tough for you this year.  Maybe you didn’t agree with the presidential election or lost investments in our economic troubles. Perhaps you are struggling with fear, rejection, anger, or bitterness?  Some may have lost their jobs and even their homes. Maybe you lost a loved one and this is the first Thanksgiving without them.  In the midst of trouble there is still room for thanksgiving. 

Thanksgiving should be about God, not our circumstances. It’s easy to give thanks in good times, but what about the bad?  Instead of giving thanks for our circumstances, maybe we should give thanks to God for being with us in the middle of our circumstances?  Sometimes worship and thanksgiving can be a sacrifice because we have to push past our despair and disappointment. Maybe hardship or tragedy has hit your life in some way and giving thanks may seem tough. The Bible doesn't say, "Give thanks to the Lord, because you feel good." It says, "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!"

What are you thankful for?  Do you have an attitude of gratitude? A better question is to whom are you giving thanks? In the busyness of your Thanksgiving holiday, don’t forget the source of your blessings. Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!

Stop Giving Your Money To The Church

Recently I was blessed in a huge way. Someone mysteriously bought me new tires for my vehicle, another person gave me a really nice gift for my home, and another gave me some metal to finish a shed in my back yard. I was humbled and grateful for them all. I had been saving for new tires for about a year and each time I got close to the amount I needed, God told me to give it away. Once I gave it to the church as a special offering and two other times I gave it away in portions to people or organizations that had need. Now I didn’t give because I hoped I would get anything in return but because I saw the need to invest into the church and the lives of others.

I have tithed, given the first 10% of my income, to the church since I started working at age sixteen. I also consistently give an offering to the church and to other Christian ministries. When I receive a gift of any kind I always tithe on it (I tithed on the value of the tires, home gift, and the metal for the shed). Why? Because I believe God is my provider. He does it through my job and people but He is the owner who funnels it through them. I’m very thankful to the people but even more thankful to God. Tithing reflects a grateful heart that wants to give back to God a portion of what He has given us; in reality, what is already His. Tithing is our opportunity to show God that He is first in our lives. James 1:17 says that “every good and perfect gift is from above ...,” so we have an opportunity to tangibly show God He is the “owner” of our finances by giving back to Him the first of what He gives us.

There are three reasons why we should tithe. First, tithing reflects our heart. What is the most important thing to you? Jesus said in Matthew 6:21 that “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” We can see the reality of that in the world today and the exaltation of the financially successful, and more personally you can see that by looking at your own checkbook. Secondly, tithing is biblical. Long before tithing was a practice of the Israelite people, Cain and Abel, the second generation of the human race, brought an offering to the Lord. The Lord blessed Abel’s offering, but rejected Cain’s. Abel brought the “firstborn of his flock,” while Cain brought “some of the fruits of the soil” as an offering. God wants to be first. The following scriptures show how tithing is biblical. See also Malachi 3:10, Genesis 14:18-20; Genesis 28:22, Deuteronomy 26:1-2, and Leviticus 27:30. Thirdly, tithing is a benefit. God’s kingdom is built on multiplication, not division. God uses the tithe as an investment where everyone involved gets a return on the investment. Obviously, the church and the kingdom are blessed, and yet God’s nature is to also bless the giver. For more on how tithing benefits you and those you give to through the church, see 2 Chronicles 31:4-10.

Some don’t tithe because they’ve seen churches and pastors abuse it. But tithing has nothing to do with that…it is between you and God.  We show God we trust Him, not our church or pastor. Stop giving your money to a pastor or a church - give it to God to a trusted church and pastor and let Him deal with how they deal with it.  2 Corinthians 9:6-7 says God loves a cheerful giver. This means a hilarious giver. We should give out of our hearts for Christ and His Kingdom work, not reluctantly or because of duty. When we sow bountifully, we reap bountifully. Don’t give to get, give to worship. God will reward but it may come in different form than how you gave.