Your Next Blessing

Have you ever had one of those days where you come into contact with someone who seems to have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed every day of their life, and it seems that they are going to make you and the rest of the world pay for it? Whether it’s the person at your favorite restaurant or clothing store, your creditor or coworker, or simply the passerby you meet in your daily travels, there is always someone who appears to have been born sucking the lemons of life instead of eating from the bowl of cherries.

Service with a Smile (Photo credit: Michael Connell)

One of the things that my parents instilled in me early on in life was the character of being courteous and having a pleasant attitude everywhere I go and towards everyone I meet. I’ve discovered through the years how this goes a long way in blessing me as well as others. It’s not just something that makes me feel good, although that is a great reason to do it. It’s often, for me, a way to diffuse a potentially volatile situation, and an opportunity to display to others that when you have a bit of decorum you can shift a bad situation into a one that is rewarding to you and others.

I remember one time in particular in my days in the aviation service industry when a woman who had what appeared to be the worst experience of her life on a flight. There was major turbulence on the flight, the person she was expecting to be there to meet her was hours from arriving, and she had waited for assistance to help her from the gate to the baggage area longer than was necessary. We were understaffed and between supervisory shifts when the flight came in.

My responsive action to attend to her personally and with my pleasant demeanor allowed her to be worry free in the midst of her inability to contact her ride. When her ride arrived, not only did the woman with whom I had waited with give me a generous gratuity, so did the person who had come to take her to her next destination. Generally I would not accept tips because I personally feel that when a person has a poor experience and my position, they shouldn’t feel compelled to give anything when others have either dropped the ball. However, they were both insistent that I had been such a blessing in turning a bad experience into a good one.

I had been a blessing to them and they in kind were an unknowing blessing to me. You see, at that particular time my own personal financial situation was extremely tight and there were things I had wanted to be able to do that week. These two ladies were my personal blessing in disguise; angel of mercy.

Scripture tells us that soft answers turn away wrath, and that it is better to be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to react in anger. The ability to turn things around is squarely dependent upon your ability to compose yourself under even the most hostile of situations. Recognizing that very often, you are not the reason for another person’s snippet disposition, you have the potential to bless and be blessed in the process. While the goal is not to seek opportunities to be blessed, for that is a natural byproduct of your good nature. The goal is to always leave someone else better off for having met you, regardless whether the reward comes in that moment, or somewhere else down the line.

Remember, someone somewhere is always watching. The seeds you sow today, eventually do produce a harvest. Know that your next blessing could very well be found in the next person that you meet. Scripture tells us that we should be mindful in how we entreat strangers, because often we have been in the presence of angels and not known it. Jesus even said that how we treat others, it will be counted as how we would have treated him. So build up your heavenly blessings through great character. For indeed it may lead you to your next blessing.

QUESTION: What experiences have you had that opened the door to a blessing?

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Gluttony: The Indulgence of Appetites

We live in a day where so many things are readily at our fingertips. We have access to just about everything that one could possibly imagine. Because of this, we have become a society that is literally a gluttonous generation. Yet, when most people think of the word gluttony, what comes to mind most often is gluttony of food and alcohol. Webster defines gluttony as being, “greedy or excessive indulgence.” I’d like to go one step further in defining gluttony as being an indulgence in selfishness.

Pieter Bruegel the Elder – Gula (Gluttony) – WGA3541 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Very few people consider that there would be other forms of gluttony. I would say that another way of looking at gluttony would have to be in the area of hoarding. Sure some will say they are collecting or storing things up, but it is usually kept with no intention of ever being shared with anyone else.

The bible clearly speaks to this issue warning against the perils of storing up treasures that can become corrupt. It also speaks to the futility of gaining the world at the risk of one’s own soul. In this Information Age, it is obvious that many are doing just that. Many are losing the their souls because they are foolishly attempting to glean endless amounts of information and hoard a wealth of other things with no thought of sharing it or passing it on.

The sad fact of the matter is that the tangible things that people excessively amass cannot be taken with them when they die. I’ve heard stories about people who have placed in their wills that they wanted to be buried with their possessions, but that is so useless.

The truly tragic thing is to die and take the wealth of wisdom and information to your grave. There are many who would look to us to share the wisdom that dwells within us. Robbing them of our wisdom is to cheat them out of time that could have been saved in processes,  as well as prevention of errors.

I once heard someone say that, “revelation without application leads to spiritual constipation.” This is so true. Many people fill up on such weighty things that are rich and filling; yet their lack to act or even share what was received stagnated them from growing and moving. Maturity is the ability to not keep things locked up and hidden, but the ability and wisdom to be responsible in when, where, why, how and with whom to share it.

If we are meant to live a life that is both built upon leaving a legacy and create generational transfer, then selfish indulgence cannot be the call we answer to. Jesus instructed the people when he prepared them for service to only take what was needed for that day’s journey, for God was a provider who could care and supply all their needs.

God is a God that knows all and will make the necessary provisions because he cares. Whatever you have need of, take what is necessary for the journey you are on and God will both provide and multiply all that is required for your assignment. Don’t indulge your appetites to the point of gluttony. Once you reach your fill, love enough to share.

QUESTION: Have you ever seen the affects of gluttony around you or within you? How do you handle it when you see it?

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Never Give Up Your Just Cause

 

 

It is so amazing to take a moment to just pause and observe the things that are taking place in the world in which we live. There are so many things that influence us; our thoughts and actions are impacted daily, as I am learning from day to day. There are so many forms of injustices that are in the world that if you let it, you could become very discouraged; enough so that you might wonder if it were ever worth the bother to get involved.

Medical donations delivered to a free clinic in Africa (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

The bible tells us that we ought not grow weary in our desire to do well, because in a season that is due to come, we shall reap the harvest if we do not faint. When we see the world in which we live in, it can become quite depressing to witness the enormity of the level of poverty, sickness, homelessness, and utter depravity that exist. The thought and feelings of our responsibility to meet the needs of those in need can seem overwhelming and almost disconcerting. You begin to have doubts and feelings that make you wonder, “what’s the use?”

 

The crazy part of it all is that if you read your bible, you might become discouraged when you see Jesus say, “The poor you will have with you always.” That statement was not an indictment against them to say that their efforts were of no effect or need. Quite the contrary. He was making an indictment against one of his disciples who came against the decisions of a woman to use expensive oils to anoint Jesus, under the guise of saying that it could have been put to better use. Jesus pointed out that her lavish act was appropriate, given that he was in preparation to go to the cross. The poor, they would always have among them. He, however, was soon to die.

 

God is a God of love. Because of that love, we are also to show love. Jesus told the people that all the Law hung on two principles; love God with all your heart, and love your neighbors as much as you love yourself. Love can be expressed in a variety of ways, but two major ways are through serving and giving.

 

The call to serve the needs of others is a noble one and a call that love requires. If we are truly to be a representation of Christ in the earth, than it behooves us to show forth that love through whatever means that we are able. Your just cause is the means by which lives are not only changed, but saved. Your just cause is the means by which chains are broken, burdens are lifted, eyes are opened, hearts are mended, and even the dead come alive. Your just cause is a labor in living and leaving a legacy.

 

Even if you don’t see the rewards of your just cause in the process of your well doing, know that there is a reward. It may not and often does not come in the way we think or from whom we think it will come, but trust and believe that it will come. The seeds you sow can and will produce a harvest.

 

QUESTION: Have you ever felt the call to a just cause? How did you respond?

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In Him There Is No Condemnation

I have a fascination with people who work in the area of real estate and construction. From the inspectors and surveyors to the architect; the contractor and foreman to the workers, from the capital investors and bankers to the developers, they all have a place and serve a grand purpose in the process. But when the building is complete, the interior designers have worked their magic, and the occupant has moved in, few people give any thought to the amount of work it takes to keep up in that building’s ongoing maintenance.

 

Buildings get rundown for many reasons; the owners or occupants may have fallen on hard times, there may have been a natural disaster that took place, or the neighborhood or community may not be quite as vibrant and prosperous as it once was. Whatever the case may be, we’ve seen the effects of all these things take place and have their part in what happens next during these recession influenced times. Many of these buildings become abandoned and often condemned.

Condemned sign on entrance to Salisbury Mall, Salisbury, Maryland. October 2006 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

The bible says that our bodies are in essence, temples of the Holy Spirit. God‘s own Spirit takes residence within us so that we might have a comforter, a guide and someone that will lead us in to all truth along our pilgrim journey. We are constantly being worked on, changed and being transformed into the Original Architect’s design. What is so amazing is that not only is God the Architect, He is also the Developer and the Building Inspector; yet, the one thing that God never does in His role as Building Inspector is to issue an order of condemnation.

 

Scripture tells us that there is no condemnation in Him, or rather, He never condemns. The dictionary defines the word condemn as follows:

 

Condemn:

 

1. To express strong disapproval of
2. To pronounce guilty
3. To pronounce unfit for use

 

Building Inspectors go through an intensive checklist to determine if a building is suitable for use or is unfit for use. They check off each item that does not meet the governing body’s standard for fitness. As they look the building over inch by inch, they may verbally express their disapproval in its current state. If it was a building that happens to be under contract to be redesigned, they may point out faults of the company that did the work.

 

While we may have in our lives felt feeling of condemnation, God says that if He is abiding in us, He will not express strong disapproval of us; He will not pronounce our guilt, nor will He pronounce us as unfit for use. How awesome is that? Such an awesome work that was done in us through the blood that Jesus shed. There is nothing so horrible that we might have done, whereby God will issue an order of condemnation.

 

What is even more amazing is that He says the same thing of those that have yet to accept Christ. He says, “I will never leave nor forsake you.” No matter how rundown your life has been, regardless of what deeds have been done in and to the body/temple, He will not condemn you, because He says He can use anyone or anything to His glory.

 

If you have ben led.to believe that you are under condemnation, it was not issued by a true officer or one who has the ultimate authority over you. Tell that person, even if it is yourself that this condemnation that is being invoked is invalid and that the one who truly has the say so in your life has revoked it. Be free. Live Free from condemnation.

 

 

QUESTION: Have you had feelings of condemnation in your life? How have you dealt with them?