Author: admin

Chairman Mao claimed that, “power comes from the end of a gun.” He used such power ruthlessly. Most dictators and bullies rely upon force of some kind to get what they want. Weapons come in many shapes and sizes. Sometimes they are fashioned into angry, threatening words. Other times they comes from a pen, or from a position in the organizational chart. It can be tempting to grasp hold of any tool that brings us influence over others.

Over the generations, mankind has developed larger and more deadly weapons. Nevertheless, divine wisdom is still greater than any instrument of war yet devised. Wisdom has often brought powerful enemies to their knees. Our problem is that it can often seem easier, and less time consuming, to pull out a weapon than to develop wisdom. There are no shortcuts to wisdom, but there are any numerous weapons dealers readily available to provide you more guns.

Consider the way you handle problems. Is your first response to go to your leadership “gun rack?” Or do you call upon God to grant you the necessary wisdom?

There are certain mysteries that follow us throughout our lives. One of the greatest questions is this: when will I die? We generally assume we’ll be older, and it will ultimately be expected. But often this is not the case. Causes of death are legion and they can occur at any moment. You can attempt to drive safely to reduce the risk of harm, yet you cannot necessarily avoid the reckless driver who chooses to drink and drive and collide with you. You could choose to play it safe and cloister yourself at home, yet most accidents occur there! Death is as inevitable as it is unpredictable.

And so we must choose to live our lives daily with the constant awareness that death will come to us, quite likely, at a time we don’t expect. This can cause us to live in fear and morbid dread. Or it can motivate us to seize each day and to live it fully. We don’t know our “time.” But God does! When God impresses upon you something He wants you to do, don’t procrastinate. He may realize that your time is shorter than you realize.

The sage writer of Ecclesiastes conducted an extensive study of life. He wanted to understand its meaning. Do good things always happen to good people, and bad things always happen to bad people? The answer he came to was “no.” Time and chance happen to everyone.

Over the course of our life, we will inevitably experience good fortune, where it seems that life is shining brightly upon us. We will win our competition or be given an award or a promotion or recognition. We may even experience a season in our life where things seem to keep going our way. But, as time goes on, we will also inevitably experience hardship and disappointment. Such experiences are interwoven with life.

Life should not catch us by surprise! It should be clear what we will expect to encounter throughout our life: both joys and sorrows. The difference will be in how we handle time and chance, as we invariably experience them.

Lethargic people have never changed the world for good. Passive people do not turn the tide in a crisis or encourage disheartened people. Conversely, the world has been changed dramatically by passionate people.

What makes some people passionate about what they do and others ambivalent? Why do some people undertake new tasks with zeal and others with little interest? Why would anyone choose to go to work each day when they had no enthusiasm for what they were doing?

We do not have long on this earth. If we are to make a mark for good or to leave the earth better than how we found it, then we must undertake our tasks with all of our might. There ought to be no half measures for the Christian worker. Shoddy workmanship, lukewarm effort, and satisfaction with mediocrity ought to be anathema to a follower of Christ. Live your life full out. Don’t squander even one day of the precious, nonrefundable life God has granted you.

While it can be viewed as a morbid thought, the reality is that life is brief! We do not have long to enjoy it. We certainly cannot afford to wait until we reach the age of retirement, or until we are empty-nesters, or when we are promoted into the corner office, before we start “living.” We need to enjoy life, every day of our life.

The sage writer of Ecclesiastes urged his readers to “live joyfully.” That is, savor each day of life. He also encouraged those of us who are married to enjoy life with our spouse. We too often can take our spouse for granted in the hurly-burly events of our life. But it is most often in the simple pleasures of a spouse and a companion that we find the greatest joy. Likewise we cannot wait until our work is finished before we find happiness. Rather, we can find pleasure in our daily work.

In our day of economic decline, job pressures, and scant finances, it is tempting to forgo our joy as we try and “make it through” another week. Don’t do that! If God has granted you a spouse or a job or other simple pleasures, enjoy them thoroughly!

The world values position, titles, and prestige. But they are hollow. It may be true that the lion is the king of the jungle. But once it is dead, its preeminence is worthless. The fact is that it is better to be alive than dead, even if you are only a dog. For a breathing canine is infinitely superior to an expired lion.

At times we can become consumed with achieving a title or position. We may work overtime and make enormous personal sacrifices to achieve our goal. The reality may be that, though we might achieve our ambition, we are no longer “living.” No title is worth surrendering the joy of daily life.

Be careful lest you fail to appreciate the wonder of being able to get up I the morning and go to work. Don’t minimize the joy of spending time with family and friends around your dinner table or being able to enjoy your grandchildren. Enjoy the life you have, rather than longing for one you don’t.

Life happens to everyone. It occurs at different times and various ways, but it eventually happens.

Scripture indicates that God sends the rain to Christian farmers as well as unbelieving farmers. Both experience storms as well as sunshine. God’s people ought not to expect they will be exempt. However, the difference is in Who goes through our experiences with us.

God did not promise our life would be pain free. He did declare that He would never leave us or forsake us. In fact, it is often in our trials that we experience our deepest levels of communion with God. Don’t be surprised when difficulties come your way. Don’t be bewildered when God allows you to suffer a crisis. We must all endure them. But know also that though you are experiencing what is common to all, you have an uncommon God who intends to give you victory in everything you face.

Certain realities about life are particularly puzzling. One such conundrum is why God allows wicked people to prosper. Why does a holy God permit evil people to harm others and to flaunt God’s standards? Why does God allow dictators to cling to power and to inflict misery on others? Some bullies hold on to power for lengthy periods of time. At the same time it seems that righteous people can suffer under the oppression of the ungodly. Why is this so?

The writer of Ecclesiastes, though wise, may have realized there was no definitive answer to that question. God, in His sovereignty and long-suffering grace, allows some ungodly leaders to hold on to power long after they have discredited themselves.

Yet it is also true, that those who fear God will ultimately experience good in their life. They may not enjoy the spectacular wealth of the wicked nor the power or prestige coveted by the ungodly, but at the end of the day, those who belong to the Lord will be supremely satisfied with God’s goodness toward them. Good things do not always come immediately, but they come inevitably. Don’t focus your attention on how God is treating sinful people. Rather, trust that God, in His timing, will pour out His goodness upon you.

Even the greatest warrior, the strongest athlete, the most robust individual is powerless before death. Our strength flees from us. Our energy evaporates. Our zeal dissipates. When death comes for us, it is futile to resist.

For some people, this truth produces great terror. They spend most of their life dreading the inevitable. Others live in denial, behaving as if the day of their demise will never come. But it will.

On the other hand, acceptance of our inevitable end can be freeing. We know what is coming. Despite advances in science and medicine, humanity has failed to achieve immortality. But knowing what awaits us in the future ought to stimulate us to live today well. Knowing we can’t live forever ought to stimulate us to complete our tasks expeditiously. Do you have a healthy view of death?

Timing is everything! To exert the maximum effect, we must take the appropriate action at the best time. Occasionally we are in too great of a hurry. We rush our work. We make a decision too quickly. We advance before we have reconnoitered the terrain. We try to lead our people forward before they have “bought in” to the mission. Even the best of intentions can end in failure if we attempt to do the right thing, too soon.

For others, the problem is delay. They know what they should do, but they attempt it too late. The time comes to act, but they are indecisive. The moment to advance arrives, but they are caught unprepared. By the time such people have everything in order, the opportunity is past. Good intentions, attempted too late, have little value.

The key is to always be aware of the time in which you lead. Are you prepared for what is coming? Have you thought through the ramifications of your actions so you are prepared to advance? Great leadership often hinges on astute timing. How has your timing been, lately?