Do your job

Bill Belichick, the genius coach of the New EnglandPatriots, has a slogan.  He not onlybelieves it himself, but he expects everyone who plays for him to drink the same coolaid.  His mantra is simple, “Do your job.”  He expects every player to learn his job anddo it well.  When everyone knows how hispart plays into the whole, that is when success occurs.  When a 350 lb. lineman decides he wants to playquarterback, or vice versa, success does not happen.  When a wide receiver mistakes his role for amedia hound, success does not happen.  When players get caught up with anything but winning games, success does not happen.  When players do not learn their job well and mistakes are made, successdoes not happen.

Belichick’s formula is all about playing to one’s strengthsand overcoming weaknesses.  He breaks itdown into four parts: being prepared, working hard, paying attention to thedetails, and putting the team first.  Whenthese things take place, success occurs. Lots and lots of success.

It’s easy to see how this outlook can be translated topractically any business or ministry. Each of us needs to understand our God given skills and see how they fitinto the overall organization.  Once thatis establish, we would do well to pay attention to the same four parts: be prepared,work hard, pay attention to details, and put the team first.  Often, one or more of these pieces is missing.  Evaluate your own job or ministry with this filter.  How are you doing?

Going outside with no clothes on

Sometimes I do not properly prepare before making a ministrydecision.  I may do everything that isneeded to make a set a good course of action: I may strategize, talk to others,determine a course of action, etc.  But Imay miss the most essential ingredient of any good decision: prayer. 

Prayer is the clothes of a good decision.  It is how we truly determine that we areheaded in God’s direction, and not just our own.  It is the difference between a good idea, anda God-idea.  The Bible says “unless theLord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.” Also, prayer is the partthat invites God to give us spiritual protection from the enemy.  Without it we are more open to attacks,failure, and even humiliation. 

If you are on a the verge of an initiative, big or small,seek God’s will in prayer.  It may be foryour family, ministry, or just a personal endeavor.   Put it all in his large trustworthy hands.  He can handle it.  He will protect you.  He will set you on a good path.

Don’t get caught outside with no clothes on.

Ungrateful

We are ungrateful people. 

I know, that’s a pretty depressing way to start a post, butit’s true.  We have so much, and yet weare consistently unsatisfied. 

Yesterday I was listening to a Cuban pastor speak aboutbeing a Christian under Castro’s regime. He said that when he was 9 years old, officials came into his classroomand asked, “who is the Christian?”  Hestood up, alone.  The rest of the class wasthen directed to spit on him, and throw papers at him.  In shame and humiliation he stood there whilethe other kids taunted him. 

When I hear a story like this, I tend to contrast it with myown ungratefulness.  How often do I forgetthe amazing gifts God has given me?  How often do I forget how good I have it?

I was also reading in my devotions this week about thewandering Israelites.  In the book ofNumbers, we are told of their many complaints. God had given them an amazing gift of food, called manna, which wasessentially honey wafers from heaven.  Yea, I said honey wafers...   from heaven.  They had enough food to eat without any effort on their part.  But how they came to despise thisgift.  They said, “Give us meat!”  So God sent them quail.  And it’s hard not to read the Lord’s humor inhis reply: “Now the Lord will give you meat, and you will eat it…until it comesout of your nostrils and you loathe it.” (11:18-20)  This sounds like something I would say to mykids!

God loves us, and he provides for us, but he does not likeour ungratefulness.  In this season of Easter, let’s strive to cultivate hearts of thankfulness, awe and wonder, at allthat God has done for us through his Son.

Selfish

I don’t think of myself as a self-centered person.  Fact is, it’s easier to see others around meas selfish.  You know the thoughts: “Wow,I can’t believe they bought THAT” or “Must be nice to live THAT way” or “fullof yourself much?”  But not me, I’m notselfish… am I? 

I recently took a long hard look at my heart and did notlike everything that I saw.  It may notalways appear it from the outside, but inside my heart is drawn to, well,ME.  What the bible calls “the flesh” isalive and well, and it wants to make ME happy. I want to be happy, healthy, and blessed.  I want others to be as well, of course, butnot nearly as much as I want ME to be.  Canyou relate?

Now this phenomenon is subtle, but it’s present.  The covert nature of my selfishness makes itmuch harder to cure.  But when I amhonest with eyes wide open, I see myself for what I am—a sinful man who isdesperately in need of the grace of Jesus. The more I acknowledge this truth, the more I receive the grace I need,and the more humility pours over me like a wave. 

If you are like me, begin with baby steps (think Bill Murrayin What about Bob?).  Question everydecision to see if it comes back to YOU. Check your prayer life and see if your prayers are all about YOU.  Probe every intention, every action—test themand see if they are others focused or focused on YOU. 

You may not like what you see at first, but it’s the firststep toward true humility.  

Do you have a soul mate?

Two-thirds of all Americans believe in the concept of a soulmate.  Simply put, it means that there is some particular person out there who was made to completeyou.  To understand this concept morefully, all you have to do is pick a romantic comedy, at random, and hit the play button.

Apparently, the first sighting of “soul mate” is by Plato,in his dialogue The Symposium (385 BC).  Basicallythe concept is that humans originally had four arms, four legs and a singlehead with two faces (see picture).  Zeus believed thatthis made the human far too powerful, so he split them in half, condemningthe two to spend the rest of their lives looking for the other.  From this idea comes the expression: “She’smy better half.”  (It is true, at leastin my case.)  The idea of the soul mate,is not a biblical one, but is one drawn from mythology. 

There are a number of obvious problems with thisconcept.  If you do not happen to findyour soul mate, and he or she marries another, you create a relational dominoeffect of devastating proportions.  Ifjust one person marries wrong, that affects scores of other relationships. And the odds of marrying wrong are horrific!  If you only have one soul mate, the greatestodds say that your other half lives in India or China.  And since you don’t know Mandarin, and havenever been to Asia, you are romantically challenged, to say the least.

I think a better way to look at relationships is either compatibleor incompatible.  That, coupled withsearching for God’s leading in your life, will lead to a healthier outcome.  Too many people have gotten married, realizedhow hard marriage is, and quit, thinking that they did not marry their soulmate.  There is one time-tested andbiblical way to know who your soul mate is: It’s the person you marry.  Onceyou say “I do,” then you have found your soul mate—for better or for worse.  

A hug from the Father

When Matthew first moved in with us from Ethiopia about 5months ago, he was affectionate.  But asis sometimes the case with adopted children, his insecurities and fears beganto keep him from hugging me.  He wouldallow hugs from other family members, but despite our positive relationship,he began to show resistance to me, his new father.

Even though I did not take this personally, and evenunderstood why he was doing it, I did not give up trying.  I would go into his room when he was about togo to sleep, and give him the chance to get a hug.  Or when I left the house in the morning forwork, I would often ask, “hug?”  He wouldshake his head, no, and pull a blanket over himself.

But just as I thought would happen, over the past few weeks,he began allowing hugs from me.  Itstarted slowly, and grew from there. Recently, he began to not only allow for my hugs, but ask for them.  At first, I would hug him with sometenuousness.  I did not want to push himaway.  The other night, I only hugged himwith one arm.  He was going to bed and Iput one arm around him and gave him a squeeze. He surprised me.  He looked up atme quizzically and said in his broken English, “Only one arm?”  I hugged him with two arms, and he reciprocated.

When God the Father adopts us into his family, we sometimesstruggle to let him “hug” us—to allow him to show us his deep love andaffection.  I know in my life, I cansometimes push him away and not allow myself to experience his overwhelming andunconditional favor.  Sometimes it’sbecause we feel unworthy.  It’s becauseof our insecurities and fears, or maybe because of our lack of faith.  But as we grow in him, we begin to let him “hug”us—a little at a time.  We may even workup to a “one-armed hug.”  And in time that is not enough.  We become aware ofhis loving embrace and presence in our lives—all the time.

Realize that just because you may be holding God at bay,doesn’t mean that he is not in your room every night looking for a “hug.”  The Bible says that he is faithful, even whenwe are not.  He may be standing in yourroom right now, looking at you, longing to express his love to you in sometangible way.  

Will you accept it?

What does God sound like?

My favorite super bowl commercial this year surprisedme.  Like most people, I am usually asucker for the one with the baby, and his smartphone, with an E-trade app.   Or maybe it’s little kid dressed up likeDarth Vader trying to make a car start by using the force.  The Doritos commercials were pretty good thisyear, apparently a product of a fan-submitted video contest.  Who doesn't want to see a baby flung throughthe air by his grandmother?

                                                                                                                                                

But my favorite was none of these.  It was actually a very seriouscommercial.  It was the one for Chryslerthat aired at half time.  It starredClint Eastwood’s compelling, hard-edged voice saying, “It’s half time inAmerica too…and we’re all scared because we know this isn’t a game…”   Now, for just a moment, put aside whetherthis commercial had any political implications, and put aside the factthat it was a product endorsement. And just listen to the final words of the script:

“This country can’t be knocked out with one punch, we getright back up again and when we do the world’s gonna hear the roar of ourengines.  Yea, it’s half time America andour second half’s about to begin.” 

(You can see the full commercial here.)

It’s not so much what he is saying, but how he says it thatmakes the ad so powerful.  It’s the samevoice that took cheesy, bad-scripted “spaghetti westerns” and made them hugesuccesses in Clint Eastwood’s career.  Itis a voice that communicates severity, an iron will, a definiteness ofintention.  It’s a voice that says that evil will be punishedand that justice will prevail.  It’s avoice that says I’m not going down without a fight.  It's the kind of voice, you might imagine, that God would have.

In the Scriptures, God has many voices.  We don’t get to hear them with our ears, butwe can imagine them in our spirits.  Hehas a tender, compassionate voice, but he also has the roar of a lion.  And he wants his voice to be heard throughus, his followers.  There are times whenours is that voice of compassion.  Butsometimes we need to have this other voice. The best way I can hear it is in this Chrysler commercial.  It is the sound of tenacious, unflinching,unapologetic faith that is rooted in a big God, the love of what is good, andthe hatred of what is evil.  It growlswhen it sees the weak being oppressed. It resounds when it encounters temptation. It erupts against that which would oppose the things of God.

In light of this world we are living in today, have you found this voice?