Praise Regardless of the Circumstances

They sowed fields and planted vineyards that yielded a fruitful harvest; he blessed them and their numbers greatly increased, and he did not let their herds diminish.  Then their numbers decreased, and they were humbled by oppression, calamity and sorrow (Psalm 107:37-39).

There is no cause-effect relationship between worldly prosperity and obedience.  God sometimes uses the obedience of his people to further his purposes, but that is simply because he knows who can handle the gifts and who has opportunity to use the gifts God gives him.  Look at the Bible heroes – for every Abraham, there is a Jeremiah.  For every Daniel, a John the Baptist.  For every Laodicea, a Smyrna.  The “name it claim its” are way off base (are you listening Joel Osteen and Robert Schuller?).  What would happen if God blessed materially every Christian.  We would call it America of five years ago.  That is why we are the Laodicean church – neither hot nor cold and the Lord spews us out of his mouth.  I am convinced the days of largess prosperity in America are mostly over. 

God chooses the withdrawal of material blessings sometimes to bring his children closer to himself.  Psalm 107 and others indicate the righteous suffer calamity as much as the pagans.  We can’t take it with us anyway.  I am incredibly thankful for God’s blessings that come regardless of what is happening with my checkbook.  When we have a lot, I pray we can give a lot.  When we have a little, I pray we can still serve a lot.  Either way, I pray we can be content a lot (Phil 4:12)

Bizarre Fines

From Wall Street Journal this morning:

1. Man fined in the UK for blowing his nose while stopped in a traffic jam.
2. Company fined for employing illegal workers.  Then on followup fined again five years later.  Why is that so bizarre – he was building the border fence.
3. Man fined for carrying a barbeque on his motorcycle and he had the grille wrapped to his face.  Good news – he was wearing a helmet.

The Mascot Controversy

In the battle of Ohio (Ohio University vs. Ohio State University), the mascot Rufus for Ohio University decides to take out Brutus, the Ohio State mascot not once but twice.  Apparently, he tried out for the position with the sole objective of tackling Brutus in this game.  What is even more interesting is that he did not even go to Ohio U any more.

Since Ohio U. lost the game badly 43-7, the best quote came from the coach.  He said “we tackled the wrong guy – we were supposed to tackle the guy with the ball.”

Foot of Pride

Do you realize that pride is the root of most sin?  It is where wars come from.  That is why pride is at the top of most lists of sin in the Bible.  God hates pride.  It is the opposite of humility and Jesus was the ultimate example of humility.  It struck me that in Mark 9:31 Jesus tells the disciples he is going to be betrayed into the hands of men and they will kill him and after three days he will rise again.  Fast forward only three verses to 9:34 where Jesus tells us they were arguing on the road to Capernaum who was the greatest.  These guys were with Jesus day in and day out and yet there is still the pride issue.   If they wrestle with that, what chance do I have?

Let not the foot of pride come upon me, And let not the hand of the wicked drive me away. Psalm 36:11

Pride is described as a foot that comes upon me.  It is an internally bred sin, one that no one does to me.  It is contrasted with the external sin which is the hand of the wicked which drives me away.  Pride is the proverbial “kick in the teeth”.  Isn’t that what pride always is?  “Whoever thinks he stands take heed lest he falls” in 1 Cor 10:12.  Whenever I exalt myself, I am sure to fall.  I can’t talk myself out of my pride issue.  There is no natural way to fight pride. 

How do we solve this problem?  Simple answer “others”.  It means putting others ahead of ourselves – seeking their interests.  When I especially am wrestling with a pride issue, the best answer is to find someone to serve.  It takes the attention off of myself and onto others where it belongs.  But it does not come naturally.  Naturally, I don’t want to serve others, I want to be served.  It can only come supernaturally.  But boy what a feeling when we put others first.  I think that is what Paul was referring to when he said that Jesus emptied himself and took the form of a servant (Phil 2:7).  Jesus could empty himself, we could not because our hearts desire is to be filled.  There is no greater feeling than to serve others – knocks the pride right out of us.  When I served at the City Mission years ago, there was no pride issue.  When we visited Africa, there was no pride issue.  How could there be? 

Is Your Conscience Your Guide?

I have been studying through the book of Acts.  I have twice noticed that Paul stated that his conscience is clear in 23:1 and 24:16 as he stands before the Sanhedrin and Governor Felix.  What is the purpose of our conscience?  Paul knew his conscience was clear because he was following completely the calling of the Lord Jesus Christ and he was completely free of guilt before man.  This is important because he was being accused of things that violated his status as a law keeping Jew.  Conscience was a matter of obedience.  I find my conscience is tied very tightly to my obedience.  My obedience likewise is tied to my commitment to live Christ through me.  I could never have a clear conscience through my own efforts.  It is only when I live from the overflow of Christ in my life that I have a clear conscience.  Romans 3:15 says our conscience alternately either “accuses us or defends us”.  What is the difference – on what we stand.  Do we stand on the rock of the gospel or do we stand on our own merits? 

Jones, the Quran, and the Gospel

Pastor Terry Jones has made significant press and generated significant controversy over his threat to burn the Quran.  His purpose is to highlight the danger of extreme radical Islam.  Many have contacted Pastor Jones and urged him not to do it as it puts lives in jeopardy in the mission in Afghanistan. 

I am going to take a different tact here.  It is not about the Quran, it is about the gospel.  I have listened to a number of interviews with Pastor Jones and I have not heard one mention of the gospel.  Pastor Jones only reference I heard was to do “something radical” like Abraham.  Does he really think that this will lead people to the kingdom of God?  If that is not the motive, what is?  

When the apostle Paul would go into a city marked by paganism, he would never lead in with what was wrong with the religion or the apostasy he was facing, but he would be diligent to preach the gospel.  You can’t eradicate a disease without prescribing the cure.  Now those who accepted the gospel were very quick to burn their own materials (e.g. Acts 19:19), but Paul never took it upon himself to attack the religion.  The gospel itself is transformational – it can do the job by itself to eradicate false religion.  On the contrary, Paul would use the false prophets, the magicians, and the poets of his day to point them to Jesus (Acts 17:16-17).  Jesus likewise even though he attacked the false religion of the Pharisees only did so in the context of their rejection of him and the gospel. 

Islam is a false religion.  The gospel is truth.   The gospel will offend – we know that, but it will also transform.  That is why it is not only called a stumbling stone but also cornerstone.  We need to preach the gospel first (I am speaking to myself).   Jesus is “way, the truth, and the life and no one comes to the father except through him”.  Let the gospel do the transforming.

Death of the Vacation Attraction

Heard a Wall Street Journal this morning discussion of museums that are on the block and closing.

Prehistoric Museum in Marblehead, OH

Prairie Dog Town in Oakley, KS which includes the six legged cow.

Deer Forest in Coloma, MI.

However specialty museums seem to be hanging in there.

National Mustard Museum in Middleton, WI.

Pencil Sharpener Museum in Carbon Hill, OH.

Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum in Gatlinburg, TN.

Jim Brown – An Angry Young Man

The big new controversy in Cleveland (we’ve now moved beyond Lebron James) is Jim Brown not participating in the Ring of Honor ceremony in a few weeks honoring the 16 members of the Hall of Fame that are Cleveland Browns.  It seems Mr. Brown was “disrespected” by new Browns President Mike Holmgren.  Mr. Brown wrote an open letter to Mr. Holmgren that was published in the Plain Dealer. 

I would hope that you would take the time to read my agreement with the Clevelend Browns. I had no contract, but I was asked to write a job description so that my duties would be clear.

That job description included two things that I think are important. As Executive Advisor to the owner, my job was to use my intelligence, and my logic to advise Mr. Lerner. The second most important thing to me was a clause in that agreement that stated that I answered to no one except Randy Lerner. These two thing were highly important to me because I truly believed, with my educational background, having been a Cleveland Brown for 9 yrs, and having a pretty good knowledge of football, that I could contribute in a valuable way to the organization.

When you called me for a meeting in your office, there was no conversation about that agreement, no conversation about my duties, no conversation about what I felt, no conversation about my relationship with the players, no conversation about my relationship with the coaches, no conversation about my relationship with the head coach, and no conversation about my community work. Ultimately there was no conversation about anything that I felt was related to my job.

Your ultimatum to me was that you would offer me the opportunity of being that of the greeter, that of a mascot, that of a person that would represent special events by his physical presence, and for those things, I would receive a salary of $100,000. All of those things that you offered me would be controlled by you.

All of us have probably experienced job controversy.  We get a new boss, we have job duties changed.  Mr. Brown obviously had no job description and nebulous duties.  Holmgren as the new President is trying to build order and organization.  Rarely do we go public with it.  But Mr. Brown goes well beyond that and plays the race card yet again.

I was able to study your press conference and found your statements to be consistent in the way that you value me, and I observed the comments of the key players that sat by your side, and here was the impression I got: Your most powerful statement about me was that, and I must laugh, one monkey don’t stop the show. The two players that were with you, one of them made the statement that he was overwhelmed to be honored, and the other started talking about a subject that was highly important, and that was the pension plan, and the improvement that he would hope would happen, but stated that he was there to discuss the Ring of Honor.

Holmgren of course never said “one monkey don’t stop the show”.  This is Brown injecting race into yet another argument.  Aren’t you tired of this act – of people interjecting race where it doesn’t belong?  If Mr. Brown doesn’t want to attend the Ring of Honor ceremony because of some beef with the Browns, that is his right.  Never mind that he would let down the fans or his fellow teammates.  But pllllllease don’t make it a race issue.  Mr. Brown concludes with two more racial related slams.

But in my conclusion, I’ve never danced in the end zone, I always gave the ball to the referee, so you should know I don’t dance. Also Mike, I don’t hang out on the Westside of town. I’m an Eastside guy. I play my golf at Highland Golf Course.

The implication here is that all the whites live on the west side of town and all the blacks live on the east side of town.  Highland Golf Course (a nice course) is owned by a minority and is heavily frequented by minorities.

I don’t have any trophies in my home on display. I don’t claim to be the best at anything, and I emphatically do not need validation from any man, so I will not participate in your Ring of Honor.
Mike, there’s only one thing that I control in life, and that’s being a man. So let me end with a little humor, because as you say, one monkey don’t stop the show, and as I say “Willie Lynch missed a few of us”, and there will be no Buck Dancing.

Enough said – the angry young black men of the 60’s and 70’s need to redirect some of that anger.  Mr. Brown (and Mr. Jesse Jackson, etc.) this is not a race issue.  If you want to be angry and feel disrespected and turn down your 100k job, then fine, but don’t bring race into it.

PacBiz Strategy #3 - Avoid Getting Hemmed In

PacBiz Strategy #3 – There is a spot on the board that unless you strategically attack it, you can easily get hemmed in and the enemies can block you in and kill you.  It is wise to attack and clear the Pac Dots when your enemies are retreating. 

Translation – Beware of areas you know nothing about.  Do your research and beware of things that appear to good to be true.  Attack new areas from a position of strength and know what you are doing.  Make sure you have a hedge position around your strategy.

No Labor Day

Today is Labor Day.  I understand the meaning of most holidays, but I really don’t understand Labor Day.  I had to look up in Wikipedia what really Labor Day is.

Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September (September 6 in 2010).

The first Labor Day in the United States was celebrated on September 5, 1882 in New York City.[1] It became a federal holiday in 1894, when, following the deaths of a number of workers at the hands of the U.S. military and U.S. Marshals during the Pullman Strike, President Grover Cleveland put reconciliation with the labor movement as a top political priority. Fearing further conflict, legislation making Labor Day a national holiday was rushed through Congress unanimously and signed into law a mere six days after the end of the strike.[2] The September date was chosen as Cleveland was concerned that aligning an American labor holiday with existing international May Day celebrations would stir up negative emotions linked to the Haymarket Affair.[3] All 50 U.S. states have made Labor Day a state holiday.

Traditionally, Labor Day is celebrated by most Americans as the symbolic end of the summer. The holiday is often regarded as a day of rest and parties. Speeches or political demonstrations are more low-key than May 1 Labor Day celebrations in most countries, although events held by labor organizations often feature political themes and appearances by candidates for office, especially in election years. Forms of celebration include picnics, barbecues, fireworks displays, water sports, and public art events. Families with school-age children take it as the last chance to travel before the end of summer recess. Similarly, some teenagers and young adults view it as the last weekend for parties before returning to school, although school starting times now vary.

I appreciate having Labor Day to celebrate.  Our tradition has been to go to the Geauga County fair and look at the animals and indulge on onion rings, gyros and 4-H milkshakes.  It is the one time of the year that we purposely gorge ourselves on stuff that is hopelessly bad for us. 

In this country having a place to work is viewed as part of the fabric of the society.  We are a country that is used to going to work.  The industriousness of our labor is what built us into the economy we have.  That is why it is depressing to see an unemployment rate of 16%.  You saw that correct – if you actually counted people who are out of work and have given up, you would see that number, not 9.6%.  This recession has taken a toll on the psyche of the American worker.  At the rate we are going, it will be many years before we even get close to a historical unemployment rate of under 5%. 

Have you seen these signs?

I have ridden my bike past this one on the corner of  Mennonite and Page Roads many times and I have yet to see a single worker.  The Obama administration chose to devote billions of our taxpayer dollars to “generate or save jobs”.  The most recent rhetoric is no longer that the stimulus actually generated jobs, but saved jobs and the unemployment rate would have been far worse if they hadn’t.  This is because virtually every statistic shows that this taxpayer money was one of the grossest misuses of money ever.  Who are they kidding? If that money had been put to use in the private sector, it would have made a difference.  Now we are looking truly at a jobless recovery and our deficit is all the worse because of fiscally irresponsible and shortsighted decisions like this one. 

Our economy will recover I believe and our unemployment rate will get back to under 8%.  However the days of 5% unemployment are a thing of the past.  This country is in a hole financially, one that will be very hard to dig out of, particularly with entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare looming large. 

This is still the greatest nation on earth.  It is our work ethic that got us here.  I pray we can return here.

Have another onion ring!

PacBiz Strategy – Watch the Greediness

In our new installment of the joint strategy of Pac-Man and business.  Remember there are many overlaps of life/business and Pac-Man.  Accordingly, we are calling these strategic rules PacBiz Strategy.  I am up to over 20 of these strategies and I will be posting blogs on this forever. By way of review:

Lesson #1 – On the first board, eat as many Pac-dots as possible before going after the power pellets.  The power pellets turn the bad enemies into edible creatures that you can devour for points.  Reason is that you have lots of time in this first board before the enemies get real close to you to pile up the points.

Translation – build infrastructure first.  Be careful that you don’t get over-anxious.  I find that my tendency is to do too much too fast.  Consequently we outgrow our infrastructure too fast and it puts the business at risk.  Generally we have more time than we think.  Usually there is not an immediate “enemy” and we have time to do things right.  As I have gotten older and the over-anxious mistakes pile up, I am becoming more cautious.

Lesson #2 – When devouring your Pac-enemies, it is so easy to be enticed as the points double with every enemy you eat.  200, then 400, then 800, then 1600.  You really pile up the points when you get those 1600.  Further if you get 1600 points, the enemies tend to bunch up and give you a good chance at getting another run of 1600 points.  However, if you really chase the enemy, he can turn back and get you in which case you have wasted your life chasing the stupid Pac-enemy.

Translation – don’t go overboard chasing the dream.  Take the points off of the board.  That is a decision we made in selling three businesses.  That is what gets people in gambling – they just can’t stop.  It is the excitement of the game.  On the rare times that I have played the slot machines, I always have a cap on winnings and a stop on losing.  Draw a mental image of your stop point.  Even if it means you are leaving a lot on the table.