Inspiration Articles
Inspirational Articles:
Well, Compared To… | What Secret? | Cutting Down the Nets
The Lifeline | Flying Above the Storms | Dreams
Well, Compared To…
You’ve heard it before – and no doubt have said it yourself – “Well, compared to others, what I do in my business isn’t that bad.” or “Well, compared to Janie, I look like a saint!” or “Well, compared to the Smiths, our marriage is perfect.” Comparisons. We’ve all done it. But based on whose standards? Others on our team, the co-worker with a questionable work ethic, the neighbors whose loud disagreements are public knowledge? Or compared to those who have found themselves on the tabloid covers or the evening news headlines? Do we sometimes gain comfort or even excuse our own sins, when we use these people as our measuing rods? I know I have fallen into the comparison trap at times – and then I realize how low the bar is set when I do that! It is easy to settle for a pretty low standard if we use others – good or bad – as our measuring rod. So what standard do we use to measure our actions and attitudes? The answer is found in Psalm 1:1-2,
“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord and on His law he mediates day and night.” Ps. 1:1-2 (NIV)
God has given us His standard to be our guide for our actions and attitude. He didn’t tell us to compare ourselves to others or to adopt their standards. God wants us to know His ways, to study His standards, to work for His pleasure, to desire His “well done!”. But we won’t find His standards in the tabloids or on the evening news and most likely not in our workplaces, on our teams nor in our neighborhoods. People don’t set our standards. God does. His standards are found in His Word, and He instructs us to study it, learn it, meditate on it and apply it to our lives daily. His standards are firm, they never change. We can depend on them.
Psalm 1:1-2 asks several important questions about the standards we follow:
- Who do you allow to be your counsel, who gets to fill your head, to advise you?
- Who do you allow to be called your closest associates, who stands beside you, holds you accountable?
- Who do you allow to share your social time, who sits beside you?
As you answer these questions, be sure you know where they get their standards. Do they meditate on God’s Word? Do they encourage you to? God’s standards are the only measuring rod worthy of a child of God. Compared to whom? Well, now you know the answer, the One who never changes. God is the same yesterday, today and forever.
What Secret?
I’m sure you’ve heard of the best-selling book THE SECRET. Many very famous celebrities have publically, loudly advocated their support for the teachings in this book. I have also heard a buzz about it in many direct sales circles. While I don’t pay much attention to the former (celebrities), I am very concerned about my direct sales friends being seduced by its false teachings.
The basis of THE SECRET is something called the law of attraction – that through the power of your mind you can attract wealth, health, power and all you could ever want in life to yourself. This reminds me a bit of “ThinkSystem” that Dr. Henry Higgins tried to pawn off on the naive townsfolk in the musical “The Music Man”. In the musical, Dr. Henry Higgins (not a real doctor, more of a snake-oil salesman) sells musical instruments to all the children in town, tellimg that if they think about music long enough, they’ll become fabulous musicians. He called it his “ThinkSystem”. Well, of course, Dr. Higgins knew it was a farse. He was just trying to sell the instruments, grab the money and run out of town before the townsfolk caught on to his bogus “ThinkSystem”.
Sounds like the Law of Attraction is a new age version of the “ThinkSystem”! Choosing to have a positive attitude is fine. I’m all for it. It beats being negative and grumpy. But THE SECRET goes way, way, way beyond a positive attitude. It seeks to replace dependence on God and put total dependence on yourself. If YOU think long enough, hard enough about the right things in the right ways – which is a “Secret” to most of us – then YOU can control and attract all good things to you. What’s more, you can be elevated to God! How arrogant! How egocentric! How new age! How sad!
People are flocking to this book like the poor misguided townsfolk to Dr. Henry Higgins. Why? People have a God-sized hole in their hearts and are desperate for hope. They are looking for hope in all the wrong places and the only people getting rich are the modern-day Dr. Henry Higgins snake-oil salesmen.
There is no “secret” for living a victorious life – it is found in Christ alone! Christ Jesus is available to all who seek Him! Jesus said in John 18:20 “I have spoken openly to the world… I said nothing in secret.” In John 14:6 Jesus said “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
So to my direct sales friends who have been curious about THE SECRET, do not be deceived nor seduced. If you need to buy a book to guide you and give you hope, go buy a Bible – the one true Word of the living God. Immerse yourself in Truth and never be fooled again.
Cutting Down the Nets
One of the most exciting athletic competitions occurs each spring � the NCAA Championship for men’s and women’s basketball. It is referred to in the media as “March Madness.” Because of the single elimination format (lose and you go home, win and you move on) anything can happen during the month-long tournament-thus lending the air of excitement to every game. Great stories of heroes and underdogs are common. One such story is told by Zig Ziglar in his book “Success for Dummies.”
In 1974, the Notre Dame men’s basketball team faced the national championship team from UCLA in a game everyone expected Notre Dame to lose. Notre Dame coach Digger Phelps decided that his team was going to win.
The game was scheduled for Saturday afternoon. At the end of Monday’s practice, he told his players to cut down the nets from each basket. In basketball, cutting down the nets is a celebration of victory. After Tuesday’s practice, he again told the players to cut down the nets, and every day after that. By Friday they were cutting the nets down with confidence and enthusiasm. And on Saturday, Phelps’ team was able to cut down the nets for real, after beating UCLA in the game Notre Dame was certain to lose. While cutting down the nets alone didn’t ensure the victory, it did get the players into a positive mindset. By the end of the week, they expected to win. And they did.
What plans do you have which you want to accomplish in the next few months? Why not start practicing “cutting down the nets” of what you want to accomplish. Visualize the success you want, plan for it to happen, and take the appropriate steps. Celebration is waiting-time to cut down the nets!
The Lifeline
A father, his son, and a friend of his son were sailing off the coast, when a fast approaching storm blocked any attempt to get back to shore. The waves were so high, that even though the father was an experienced sailor, he could not keep the boat upright, and the three were swept into the ocean as the boat capsized. Grabbing a rescue line, the father had to make the most excruciating decision of his lifeto which boy would he throw the other end of the lifeline. He only had seconds to make the decision. The father knew that his son was a Christian and he also knew that his son’s friend was not.
The agony of his decision could not be matched by the torrent of waves. As the father yelled out, “I love you, son!” he threw out the lifeline to his son’s friend. By the time the father had pulled the friend back to the capsized boat, his son had disappeared beneath the raging swells into the black of night. His body was never recovered.
The father knew his son would step into eternity with Jesus, and he could not bear the thought of his son’s friend stepping into an eternity without Jesus. Therefore, he sacrificed his son to save the son’s friend.
How great is the love of God that He should do the same for us. Our heavenly Father sacrificed His only begotten Son that we could be saved. I urge you to accept His offer to rescue you and take hold of the lifeline He is throwing out to you. Author unknown.
Flying Above the Storms
One of the “interesting aspects” of living in Florida is the annual hurricane season. In the past ten years since we’ve been in the Sunshine State, we’ve had our share of tropical storms, floods and close calls with hurricanes. We’ve learned how to keep a close eye and ear tuned to the weather reports as soon as a storm develops (though still hundreds of miles away). We’ve learned what hurricane preparations are – from filling the tub, to emptying the pool, buying water and batteries – all in an effort to prepare for a pending, predicted storm.
But not all storms are as easily predicted. Not all storms can we so efficiently prepare for. Those are the storms of life which can take us seemingly by surprise and throw our lives into a whirlwind – death of a loved one, loss of a job, divorce, caring for a child’s illness, or aging parents, cancer, financial struggles family crisis – storms not predicted, not planned. And yet storms we must navigate and survive. How? Perhaps the following will provide you with the proper preparation – truly the only preparation for life’s storms:
Did you know
That an eagle knows when the storm is approaching long before it breaks?
This eagle will fly to some high spot and wait for the winds to come.
When the storm hits, it sets its wings so that the wind will pick it up and lift it above the storm.
While the storm rages below, the eagle is soaring above it.
The eagle does not escape the storm; it simply uses the storm to lift it higher.
It rises on the winds that bring the storm.
When the storms of life come upon us – and all of us experience them – we can rise above them by setting our minds and our belief toward God
God’s power can lift us above them.
God enables us to ride the winds of the storm that bring sickness, tragedy, failure and disappointment in our lives.
We can soar above the storm.
Remember, It is not the burdens of life that weigh us down, it is how we handle them.
Anonymous
“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary and they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31
Dreams
Recently, I was working with a trainer coach (yes, even we trainers need coaches!) who asked me the following question:
What are the two great unfulfilled dreams of your life?
Wow! Now that’s a powerful question. Thankfully, my coach gave me a few days to ponder the question before I was to share my answer.
What would you say? Think about it for a minute. What legacy would you like to leave that you haven’t fulfilled yet? Education, family, job, relationships, parenting, spiritual growth, health, recreation, hobby, finances – what do you dream of doing? You know, it’s really never too late to do something positive about accomplishing your dreams. Walt Disney said, “If you can dream it, you can do it.” He accomplished his biggest dreams when he was in his later years of life. So since we can’t use the excuse of being too old to dream, let’s try it. Write down on a 3″ x 5″card what your two great unfulfilled dreams are. Then, commit your dreams to the litmus test – give them to God in prayer. The Bible tells us in Psalms, He knows the desires (dreams) of our heart, and Proverbs tells us that what the righteous desire (dream) will be granted. Take your dreams and plans to God and let Him guide you in fulfilling them. He has promised that if we follow His commands and are certain to line up our lives with His will, He will give us the desires of our hearts.
Keep your dreams on that 3″ x 5″ card tucked into your Bible and every morning commit them to God in prayer. Keep your life squarely in the center of God’s commands and watch for how He will lead you. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11). He wants to fulfill your dreams, so why not let Him!