Today’s post was inspired by something I read many years ago that tested my faith in God. It still amazes me how mere words written on pieces of paper could challenge me to “grow up” during a crucial age and critical stage of my personal development.
Stage 1: “Help Me” says an infant to its parents.
As an adult, do you always need somebody else to do for you what you’re still unwilling to do for yourself?
Stage 2: “Teach Me” says a student to its teachers.
As an adult, are you always looking for somebody else to teach you what God gave you the ability to teach yourself?
Stage 3: “Show Me” says an employee to its employer.
As an adult, do you always expect somebody else to show you an easier way to do what you refuse to learn how to do one step and one day at a time?
Stage 4: “Follow Me” says a leader to its generation.
As an adult, are you always getting in the way of your own hopes, dreams, and aspirations because you’re still waiting for somebody else to lead the way?
©Copyright 2007 by Roderick O. Solomon. All Rights Reserved.
Popularity: 7% [?]
March 31st, 2007
Related Posts
After a while you learn the subtle difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul,
and you learn that love doesn’t mean leaning and company doesn’t mean security.
After a while you begin to learn that kisses aren’t contracts and presents aren’t promises, and you begin to accept your defeats with your head up and your eyes open, with the grace of an adult, not the grief of a child.
After a while you learn to build your roads on today because tomorrow’s grounds are too uncertain for plans.
After a while you learn that even sunshine burns if you get too much. So plant your own garden and decorate your own soil instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.
And you learn that you really can endure,
…that you really are strong,
…and you really do have worth.
Anonymous
Popularity: 8% [?]
March 29th, 2007
Related Posts
Keeping On
“I’ve dreamed many dreams that never came true,
I’ve seen them vanish at dawn;
But I’ve realized enough of my dreams, thank God,
To make me want to dream on.
“I’ve prayed many prayers when no answer came,
I’ve waited patient and long;
But answers have come to enough of my prayers
To make me keep praying on.
“I’ve trusted many a friend who failed
And left me to weep alone;
But I’ve found enough of my friends true-blue
To make me keep trusting on.
“I’ve sown many seeds that fell by the way
For the birds to feed upon;
But I’ve held enough golden sheaves in my hands,
To make me keep sowing on.
“I’ve drained the cup of disappointment and pain,
I’ve gone many days without a song,
But I’ve sipped enough nectar from the rose of life
To make me want to live on.”
–Charles Allen, The Secret Of Abundant Living
Popularity: 7% [?]
March 28th, 2007
Related Posts
The following is from the April 23, 1910 speech, “Citizenship In A Republic,” given by Theodore Roosevelt while in Paris.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually try to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
Theodore Roosevelt
Popularity: 7% [?]
March 26th, 2007
Related Posts
The Touch of the Master’s Hand
T’was battered and scarred and the auctioneer
Thought it scarcely worth his while
To waste much time on the old violin,
But he held it up with a smile:
“What am I bidden, good folks,” he cried,
“Who’ll start the bidding for me?”
“A dollar, a dollar; then Two! Only two?
Two dollars, and who’ll make it three?
Three dollars once; three dollars, twice;
Going for three –” but no,
From the room, far back, a gray-haired man
Came forward and picked up the bow;
Then, wiping the dust from the old violin,
And tightening up the loose strings,
He played a melody pure and sweet
As a caroling angel sings.
The music ceased, and the auctioneer,
With a voice that was quiet and low,
Said: “What am I bid for the old violin?”
And he held it up with the bow.
“A thousand dollars, and who’ll make it two?
Two thousand! And who’ll make it three?
Three thousand, once, three thousand twice,
And going, and gone,” said he.
The people cheered, but some of them cried,
“We do not quite understand
What changed its worth.” Swiftly came the reply:
“The touch of a master’s hand.”
And many a man’s life out of tune,
And battered and scarred with sin,
Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd,
Much like the old violin.
A “mess of pottage,” a glass of wine;
A game — and he travels on.
He is “going once,” and “going” twice,
he’s “going” and almost “gone.”
But the Master comes, and the foolish crowd
Never can quite understand
The worth of a soul and the change that’s wrought
By the touch of the Master’s hand.
– Myra Brooks Welch, quoted in John R. Rice, Poems That Preach
Popularity: 7% [?]
March 24th, 2007
Related Posts
As promised yesterday, we will continue our discussion from Chapter 4 of The 8th Habit by Mr. Steven Covey. What choices have you made when the people you loved and trusted did you dirty, took unfair advantage of you while trapped beneath an adverse set of unduly burdensome circumstances? How did you respond when your peers kicked you in the face when you were already lying face down on the ground?
I cringed while watching video-taped footage exposing the barbaric behavior of teen-aged students beating down other defenseless students unmercifully just to make a video. Supposedly, widely publicized “beat downs” of weaker, out numbered students will earn these “school yard bullies” the attention, approval, acceptance, and affection of their peers. Where did our little angels learn that this type of pugilistic behavior and when did our children begin to believe that random acts of violence targeted at another human being was socially acceptable?
According to The 8th Habit, children who are misbehaving and behaving badly can learn to make better choices by lengthening the space between their responses to outside stimuli. Just because another child hits you doesn’t mean you have to hit back unless self-defense is the only way you can save your own life. Matters not where you’ve come from or what you’ve done in the past. Your courageous response to the bad behavior of others who are choosing to misbehave and behave badly can change by understanding how to widen the gap between outside stimuli and your response to it.
But what about grown folk who appear to be set in their ways? Can they also learn how to make better choices by widening their gaps? Can a person be too young, or too old, to increase their response times between what happened to them and how they choose to respond when Adversity strikes?
According to Mr. Covey,
“With many who have grown up with unconditional love in supportive circumstances, the space may be very large. With others, due to various genetic and environmental influences, it may be very small. But the key point is, there is still a space there and it is in the use of that space that the opportunity to enlarge it exists.”
So what’s the bottom line? How can great people with great weaknesses widen their gaps so we can choose the battles we fight and the paths we walk wisely? The answer is a simple one. Our most gracious and merciful Father gave each of His children free will. God gifted each of us with the freedom to choose how we respond to whatever happens during the course of our daily lives. But how can I exercise my free will during such a violent season as this? Here are a few examples of what you can do to exercise your free will once you leave here today.
Be proactive. Ask God to gift you with the wisdom and understanding you need to make wise choices “before” you need it. Know thyself. How wide is your gap? Are you easily manipulated by carefully crafted messages deliberately designed to anger you and cause you to lose control of your own thoughts and emotions? You will always remain a slave to the person who can control, or master, your thoughts and emotions. Think about it.
Only those of us who have failed to master our thoughts and emotions will remain a slave to our impulses and natural cravings as discussed in the previous post, “Scarcity, Abundance, and Slave Mentalities.” Ever wonder why one person has a tendency to make bad, fear-based decisions while another, given the same, or similar, set of adverse circumstances tends to make good, faith-based decisions? Whose gap do you think is wider? How wide do you think your gap is based upon what happened to you yesterday, last week, last month?
Don’t wait until Sunday, or the next time Adversity strikes, before you decide to have a quiet talk with our Father in your secret place. It may sound old fashioned, but “counting to 10″ forces you to “think” before you speak, before you retaliate, before your emotions compel you to do something “stupid.” Prayer works. Grandma always said, “Sleep on it,” before making important decisions. Seek wise counsel. Don’t ask a “hot head” how to remain cool, calm, and collected under pressure if wise counsel is what you’re seeking.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Mahatma Gandhi, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. are three legendary, classic examples of iconic people who made wise choices when it wasn’t popular, safe, or profitable to do so. What gave them the inner strength of character, the confidence, and the courage they needed to do what was best for the greater good of all? Given the same, or similar, set of adverse circumstances they faced, how would you respond during such a troubled time as this?
How do you choose to respond when verbally vilified or violently assaulted by our antagonistic enemies? Unhappy people don’t like to see other people happy. Misery will compel good people to harm us with words from their mouths when bad things happen to them. Jesus Christ gave us all hope that we can learn how to widen our gaps if we choose to do so. As evidenced by my initial reaction to mere words written on pieces of paper, my gap is still not wide enough. Now that you’ve talked to God about it, slept on it, sought the advice of wise counsel, and given it some thought, how wide is your gap?
Based upon the example of the leadership Jesus Christ displayed before, during, and after His crucifixion and resurrection, His gap is wider than any human being I’ve ever known. I know I still need to master my thoughts and emotions. Do you? I still need to exercise my free will until my gap grows wide enough to empower me with the “emotional intelligence” to choose my battles wisely. Do you? (God willing, we’ll discuss emotional intelligence next week.)
All is not well with the heart of humanity’s soul as evidenced by the growing number of violent crimes against humanity. No longer can we afford to ignore the warning signs that something is terribly wrong with the state of the human condition. Misery still loves company. No longer can any of us remain afraid to ask our children the tough questions that are relevant for tough times and tough people who simply may not know any better. Can we lead by example by helping each other to widen our gaps? Can we agree to work together in peace while we learn how to change the way we choose to respond whenever Adversity strikes? I hope so.
© Copyright 2007 by Roderick O. Solomon. All Rights Reserved.
Popularity: 9% [?]
