Two Kinds of Wisdom

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by
deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor
bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny
the truth. Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly,
unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition,
there you find disorder and every evil practice.
But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.

What a great passage!

There are two types of wisdom. That's right - only two.

First - there is true wisdom. It seeks peace. It is impartial and sincere. There are no personal favorites or "politics" at play. It is full of mercy and good fruit. That fruit is love, joy, peace - you know them.

And, it is promised that whoever sows in peace reaps a harvest of righteousness.

So - what does false wisdom look like? Well - look above - it does not seek peace, it stirs up anger. It results in strife. Ever been to a meeting where someone has tried to set a trap for you? Tried to get you to trip up? Came loaded up with ammo to shoot at you? Yet they profess to be wise? Obviously they are not. They are not there to make peace, but rather to attack and beset others.

How can we detect when something is not wise? When there is disorder. Chaos. Strife. Tension. When they are out to get someone.

What is the root cause of this type of situation? Envy and self-ambition.

And what do they reap? They reap strife, unrest. They miss out on a harvest of righteousness. They - thinking to be acting in good - are actually dispensing wisdom that is evil (of the devil).

Let's be peacemakers and sow the seads of righteousness. Not in word only. In action. Anyone can say it. It is much harder to act it. That means we're kind, honorable, wise God's way, longsuffering, tenderhearted, joyful, peaceful, loving, merciful, faithful. If we aren't that way when we interact with others we are not being wise and are tools of evil - even with "good" intentions.

Randomly Selected

So, it's been quite the week.

I normally don't blog about this type of stuff but here goes.

So, Monday, I got up quite early and drove to the airport. I took my safety razor. Now, I poured over the TSA Regulations prior to getting on the plane. Sure enough, they allowed safety razors. So, in they went.

Well, not so fast. Turns out that they had a problem with it anyways, and made me take out the blade. So, I did. Not too big of a deal.

Well, then I made a connection flight to Boston on my way to Richmond. When I got off the plane and ordered a cup of coffee at Au Bon Pain, I noticed my driver's license was missing. So, I immediately returned to the plane to pick it up, figuring I'd dropped it in my seat getting something out of my pocket. Yes, I had. But - they had already picked it up and sent it to baggage claim.

So, I raced over to baggage claim where they paged me over the intercom and handed me my license.

I hustled back to my flight, but had to go back through security. Ouch! There was ONE line open!

Not to worry - I had 30 minutes at the time.

Well, it took 20 minutes.

Then, I spent 3 minutes bolting to the terminal, where, even with 7 minutes left to spare, they had closed the door and would not let me on.

So I had to sit and wait for the next flight. :(

Fast forward through a whirlwind week of work.

Last night we went to Outback. It was good, but my food was a little raw. By the time I got back to my hotel I was feeling pretty ill. A few hours later? Yep - ill. Got up this morning? Still ill.

So, I thought I'd try to go into work anyways. It didn't work out. After getting one thing done it was obviously not meant to be.

So, I left to go to the airport. On the way I stopped at a Kmart parking lot and rested for a while, still very sick.

Then I went to the airport.

Now, at this point I had almost 6 hours until my plane was scheduled to leave, so I decided to have them bump it up. Yay!

I'm still feeling ill by the way, and am getting weak as I can't keep food down.

I went through the checkpoint to chill out in my terminal for a while. On the way through the security scanner, I forgot to take off my shoes. So, I went through the scanner again. And of course, when I came through I had the pleasure of receiving a full body scan. And they wanted to look through my luggage again. Hey, the razor is empty so no big deal!

I'm amazed at the disparity in airport security. Boston didn't care about the razor. Indy and Richmond did.

Anyways, that's all. We'll see how Charlotte does.

Consulting

So, many of you know - I'm in the consulting business. Well, my friend - Jennifer - sent me this link the other day. It was so funny that I had to share it with you. It is funny, because it is TRUE :P

Excellent Book

So, I've been reading this new book - "Effective Pastoring", by Bill Lawrence, and edited by Chuck Swindoll.

Wow, is it great!

For those who aren't aware, I'm learning everything I can about the ministry as I seek to serve the people in my church as an elder. This is my 5th book so far this year on the subject.

Annyyywwaaaays - props to my friend, Dave, for recommending this book to me. Dave is studying at Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) right now, and I've been reading the books he's been reading as he's going through seminary. It has been such a great experience for me! He's been a faithful advisor to me as I navigate God's plan for my life.

Back to the book.

Let me start with the foreword, which was written by Chuck Swindoll. In it he talks about two pastors - the "hired hand" and the "true shepherd". The main difference between the two is internal motives. Both look to be "undertaking God's word in God's way", but each is doing it for entirely different reasons. The "hired hand" serves God with wrong or insincere motives. (John 12:12) The "true shepherd" "serves God's people out of a debt of gratitude for all the Father has done and is doing in his life". (Rom 1:21)

Here are two paragraphs from just the forward of this excellent book.

First, on the "hired hand":
Both pastors, the selfish hireling and the sincere shepherd, may seem to be undertaking God's word in God's way. However, over time the flock begins to sense the difference between the two. The congregation of the hireling begins to feel used and manipulated. Hurts and needs either go unattended of are met in a reluctant, superficial manner. Preaching becomes harsh and accusatory. Joy is missing from the congregation. Love and grace are nowhere to be found.

Now contrast this with the subsequent paragraph on the faithful shepherd:

What a contrast to those cared for by a loving, faithful pastor. The shepherd who tends his flock year after year, feeding them a steady diet of God's truth, finds over time he has nurtured a healthy band of maturing believers, people who are willing to step out in faith and trust God to dream great dreams. In the fulfilled flock, friendships flourish, a caring community is encouraged, laughter abounds, emotional wounds are treated, and peace prevails. The pastor's preaching is marked by positive words of exhortation as well as loving warnings of dangers in the road ahead. Compassion flows freely. Enthusiasm is contagious.

Wow, what a difference! Nobody wants to be around negativity!

What I learned from this are good indicators of when a congregation is doing well, and when they are not.

I also see the very severe consequences of what happens when a spiritual leader gets their eye off the ball and their motives go wrong. What damage it can cause!

In any regard, this book - right from the start - has been such a great book! It tells me what I need to be, and to keep my motives in check. It tells me what good motives are!

I can't wait to tell you about the next few chapters! They really level-set thinking on ministry, and what "success" means. It really goes against American culture, but it is so refreshing and eye-opening!

If you're at all thinking of getting in the ministry or becoming a church leader, or just want to learn how to look for a good church leader, I think this book is most excellent!

Tribute To Alan

In the valley.


Well, my friend, Alan, died Sunday morning. He was 34. He took his own life, and I am grieved, upset, sad, and heartbroken over the whole situation. It has been a long, long week of sorrow with little sleep.

Alan meant a lot to me. He was a friend with whom I made an instant connection. We first met a few weeks prior to he and Dara's wedding almost three years ago. He was this big, soft guy - very sensitive and loving. I remember being impressed that he had made the flowers on his wedding cake himself. It was done extremely well - like a professional had done it - but to him it was nothing - he just learned how and then did it. He was so talented and capable.

He also decorated our church's great hall into the most intimate setting I had ever seen that area become at the time for their wedding. It was no small feat turning what is normally used as a basketball gym into a wedding reception. In fact, when Jim and Lara got married last summer, I made it a point to tell Jim he needed to talk to Alan about how to get the chapel looking good.

I remember being in lifegroup with Alan. He was so transparent and honest. Where others in our group were rather guarded he was not - God had done some amazing things in his life and the way his current, shining light was set against a dark, personal background was amazing. Alan knew what grace was and how he had been granted it to experience God's love.

Our relationship grew from there. Alan was a very capable and talented person. I believe he could do anything he wanted to do. He described to me how he had started up a few small businesses, and that they had prospered. I was always very impressed with how he could just get things done - and how he did them so easily without over-complicating things. That is talent, folks.

I remember him being nervous about his new job several years ago. I asked him why he didn't just start up another business. He just wanted to take it easy - way too much effort, and he enjoyed his life with Dara too much to get all stressed out again. He didn't like the travel and being away that his new job required lately, but he stuck with it. And he was the best at it - everybody came to him. He had a very technically astute mind - something we both have in common - so I was constantly amazed at how competent he was with computers - especially given his lack of formal education there. Simply amazing.

My favorite memory of Alan is our trip to the Quest with Sovereign Grace Ministries - a men's conference a year or so back. (If you'll notice - he's wearing that t-shirt in the picture above.) During that trip, we had been assigned 4 men to a room, which meant 2 guys had to share a double bed. Now, Alan is a pretty big guy - and likes his personal space - so he pulled me aside and said "Hey, Nate - I can't do this - want to get a room with me?" Well, I decided I'd join him. The thing is - that night in our hotel room (each in our own double bed) - I got a call from my dad telling me that he had just been diagnosed with cancer. Wow that was hard. And guess who was there to listen to me? Alan. That man had a caring disposition for listening, and really provided some comfort and reassurance to me that night. That is the loving and caring man I got to know.

But the other thing I really remember about Alan is the way he worshipped at that conference. I saw a man unafraid to let their heart loose for God. Me? I was struggling with my dad's situation - but he wasn't - just so full of God's grace there. I remember him singing this song:

I remember looking at him, arms outstretched, as I was wrenching internally from my dad's condition. Alan loved God.

One time Alan said "hey, there's this Promise Keeper's meeting. Wanna go?" So, I did. I learned a lot about his heart. Alan had a heart for service to others. He wanted to help our community by helping the poor and needy fix up their houses. He wanted to help them. We thought about ways we could do that and decided if God ever presented an opportunity to do so together we would.

Last fall I had 4 tickets to the first motoGP race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. We had the best tickets in the house. Turn 1, top row, top deck, right by the concession stands, covered. What was really awesome was that we were going with Tim Danz and a friend of his after church. Right before that trip, Tim told us that he had just received word that ALL of their support had been raised for Bangladesh. We were so elated! As Alan was a supporter of theirs as well we were just thrilled! Praise God! We went to the race - it was cold and rainy - one of the hurricanes had just made its way up to us and the icy rain was blowing in sideways. We had a great time together enjoying each other and the good news brought by Tim about their ministry.

I'm going to miss Alan. I can't wait to see him again in heaven, where we can enjoy each other again and glorify God together. I got a little taste of what it will be like to do that with him and I only rejoice that I'll be able to do it forever again in the future.

I hear Karl is being named CEO of Citibank?!

1. Our government - under the Clinton Administration - began strong-arming Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and banks to lend money to people with bad credit and low income, or face being painted as heartless bigots. I.E. Make bad loans.
   
2. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac tanks from all the bad loans, and the government moves in to seize them.
3. Citigroup, who is hurt by the credit crunch (created and instigated by policies forced on the lending community) - gets $20 billion of your tax dollars invested in it.
4. Citi's stock falls to about $1 / share, making it worth about $5.6 billion. That is a NEGATIVE (-) $14.4 billion loss on an "investment" of YOUR $$$. It isn't even worth the cold, hard cash given to it now.
5. And now the FDIC that "insures" your money at your bank who has behaved well, is at risk of going belly-up, so our government is looking to lend it half a trillion dollars.
   

And they took it from YOU. That's right - the government has spent about $25,000 per taxpayer, about $11,000 per person in the US to throw away in a black hole just in the last 2 months.

Only in government thinking does it make sense to throw good money after bad. What happened to allowing bad companies to fail so that good companies can rise to the top and succeed? Back in the early 1900s, before the "Big 3" auto makers, there were hundreds of local auto makers. The best survived (well until now anyways!). Not any more - we're going to reward incompetence!

Not only that, but we're going to take money from you to pay for bad investments! If there IS any upside, the government owns the shares and gets the reward. They didn't even risk their own money! They risked YOURS.

And, if you refuse to give them your money via taxes to continue financing their seizure of failed private property and corporations, they'll confiscate your house or garnish your wages.

Excellent!

Allow me to share 3 of the 10 steps necessary to implement the communist manifesto as written by Marx:
1. Abolition of private property and the application of all rents of land to public purposes.
5. Centralization of credit in the hands of the state, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly.
7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the state, the bringing into cultivation of waste lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan.

We're getting closer!

Now, I'm not saying people are overtly and explicitly trying to implement this (although certainly some are), but who can deny what is taking place?

Indentured Servitude and Corporate America

Well, interesting night - I got home pretty late tonight from work - about 7:15 or so. Got in late this morning so had to work late anyways. Then I spent time with the kids for a few hours, watched them so Amber could get out of the house, put them to bed, and spent some quality time with Amber when she returned.

As long as days like today are for me, I realized today how very sad the lives of a lot of people I work with are.

One guy - for instance - who I like personally - is a workaholic to say the least. He flies out on Monday morning, and back on Friday. He works late every night. He works on the weekend when he's home. He's got a wife, a toddler, and another on the way - he's older than me, but still.

What's really sad? There are at least two more I can think of just like him at my company. Fathers who leave their families all week at home to chase the corporate dream that maybe someday they'll get promoted or make more money. Maybe if they really show their boss how much they work, and close the next deal, or deliver this project, they'll get more money if their boss sees them killing themselves more than the other guy.

There is quite literally a team of 8 men on this project from my company. Week after week, month after month. Men in their upper twenties to their mid fifties. All married. All with varying sizes of families back home. One guy lives locally - the other are on a plane twice a week.

Meanwhile, they miss their chance to influence their wives and children every morning. Every evening. And they miss on their chance to impact their community. No life whatsoever. Their lives are sleep, eat, work, eat, work, eat, work, repeat - Monday through Friday. On the weekend it is sleep, eat, work/family, eat, work/family, eat, work, repeat.

Now, I'm the hardest working person you'll find and have been accused many times of working too much by those close to me, and I encourage everyone to go above and beyond in all they do - but where do you draw the line? Yes, if there was an incredible opportunity it may make sense to make this sort of commitment to the Corporate Man for a period of time, but month after month, year after year, while your children continue to grow up around you and your wife barely sees you?

We're not saving our civilization from destruction by an enemy - we're implementing computer systems. Huh?!?!?!?!

What price are we willing to pay?

In a job market that - even in this economy - still has about a 1% unemployment rate - especially for American citizens that don't need a green card - WHY?!

I'm very glad I saw the light not too long ago and started drawing the line (albeit it is still 50+ hrs/wk). Makes me upset the more I think about it how long I listened to what corporate America was pushing. "Just work more, you'll make more money and you'll be happy - the next promotion will be worth it!"

It looks more and more like indentured servitude the more I observe this type of behavior. You just get a more important-sounding title the more you enslave yourself.

Give me liberty, or give me death!