Sunday, August 31, 2008

Tests Always Come

"I'm giving up Monday," said Joe as he munched into a Big Mac and fries -- staunchly committed he was to giving up junk food. His weight had ballooned to personal record levels and he knew that at age 35 he needed to rein in his deplorable health habits sooner rather than later -- he was beyond depression -- he was inspired to start afresh and reverse his spiralling health and halt the crisis.
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Monday came and it was looking good for Joe. He got off to a flying start having planned his diet and exercise programs meticulously, and having arranged an accountability partner and set goals, he looked the goods. He advocated the old mantra, 'the program works if you work the program.' Resolve was his.
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Then, at about the half-way mark, two months in, Joe's enthusiasm and passion waned slightly. He begin to 'treat himself' to a Big Mac on Friday nights and would occasionally miss the gruelling workouts that had contributed to his success in shedding 10 kilograms. After all, he felt he deserved these little concessions having done so well. Wrong -- he couldn't afford them. He should've known the following:
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- Human nature and changing circumstances dictate that the energy and enthusiasm eek away eventually.
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- The true tests come, and usually when least expected. Life is long. Our commitments come short in the fullness of time, and tests of our commitment always occur.
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- We can do well when we always plan for the trials and times when achieving the goal that seemed simple to begin with (when we had lots of enthusiasm and resolve) actually becomes difficult, at times insurmountable.
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Tests always come eventually. We might think we can coast in a new venture, role, or goal, but the fact is the good times always end at some point -- the honeymoon ends and then we have to deal with the cold hard facts of life. Things return to normal. Being prepared and having thought through and kept the tests continually in mind is one way to minimise the shock of them.
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Joe, having thought through to this point, could've been prepared to say, 'No you don't, Joey, don't compromise one little bit until the goal is achieved... and more to the point, stay off the Big Macs, bro!' A healthy and strong resolve should never be taken for granted -- there's an enormous amount of energy, imagination, and effort gone in to produce it. Once it's gone there's no telling when it will return.
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Tests are part mental, emotional, and spiritual. We have to be on our guard.

Discipline That Works... Until It Doesn’t

Andrew Symonds’ preference to fish over meeting with team mates highlights an ever present issue in professional sport, and life, today; it’s a lack of commitment to the greater team cause and good. The News press seems to perpetually feature these sorts of stories as undisciplined players ‘vote 1 for self’ and ‘2 for team’.
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It’s essentially a lack of values that foists a player’s teammates in preference to his or her own desires. Through their actions they lack understanding, heart, imagination, and courage to put the team first against their own desires and passions.
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Team discipline: a phenomenon that comes about when a player on a team turns aside to the collectively espoused code of conduct of the team. In a word, it’s rebellion. It’s a flouting of the agreed law for individual and selfish gain, and it brings with it the potential of undermining team unity. It must be swiftly and consistently dealt with.
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If team officials and leaders let it go unpunished they give permission for more of it to occur. Other members of the team watch on with interest with what will unfold.
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Most of all discipline requires leaders to keep faith with what’s established, tried and tested. They’ll be pressed to cave-in and compromise but they can’t allow this to occur. For when the worlds of truth and lies collide there is an explosion of emotion and any leader must anticipate and expect this and stand firm. The impact soon dies down however, and even if it didn’t they’d have to remain true for the greater good, no matter the collateral damage.
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We’ve all been guilty of lacking commitment. The best thing for us at the time was to receive what was coming to us. Without the courage to act, our parents, teachers, leaders, and employers would have done us a massive disservice. Discipline, in the spirit of good, works -- it always does; until we give in to compromise... then it doesn’t. Keep the faith.
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Copyright © 2008, S. J. Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

For Those Who Seek Sagacity

It’s one of the greatest paradoxes. Those who strive hard to be happy often end up unhappy because they seek happiness for the wrong reasons or try too hard, and therefore make the wrong choices at least often enough for happiness to at last be elusive. Similarly, those who seek to become wise can so easily fall for the following trap:
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“Do you see persons wise in their own eyes?
There is more hope for fools than for them.” -Proverbs 26:12 NRSV.
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The direct opposite of wisdom is foolishness. As wisdom is heavenly, so foolishness is earthly -- i.e. ‘worldly’. The moment a person thinks themselves as wise they give themselves over to be worse than a fool. It’s almost a ‘Go straight to jail, and don’t collect your $200 card,’ as is said in the game of Monopoly. Self-proclaiming the quality and traits and understanding of wisdom is quintessentially a worldly disposition.
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Paul has much to say about the folly of human wisdom:
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“Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” -1 Corinthians 1:20b NIV.
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“[N]o one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God... This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.” -1 Corinthians 2:11, 13 NIV.
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Spiritual words have power because they are truth. Words without spiritual power are only words -- with no meaning and only transient truth. Real wisdom is godly. Human wisdom is foolishness and baseless. Wisdom has power about it, but when it’s twisted to conform to human standards it often brings the user completely undone as the power of the Spirit rapidly evaporates and leaks away from it. Wisdom or spiritual power can’t be contained like that… it’s like grasping oil with the hand; impossible. Having wisdom is entirely contingent on subjection to God. Wisdom otherwise is uncontainable, indescribable, inscrutable, and unfathomable.
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Qoheleth, the Old Testament teacher and writer of Ecclesiastes -- as wise as he dedicated his life to be and so became -- attested to this mysterious and inextricable power of wisdom:
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“All this I tested by wisdom and I said... I am determined to be wise -- but this was beyond me. Whatever wisdom may be it is far off and most profound -- who can discover it?” -Ecclesiastes 7:23-24 NIV.
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The eighth Century prophet of God, Isaiah prophesied and wrote, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” -Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV. Wisdom is from God and we can only ever represent it; we never totally epitomise it. So far above us is wisdom.
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The final word from Proverbs:
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“Let another praise you, and not your own mouth;
someone else, and not your own lips.” -Proverbs 27:2 NIV.
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It is very clear that one can never claim wisdom as one’s own. Only others can do that i.e. call us wise. We must be very cautious about labelling people who behave foolishly as “fools,” for we implicitly call ourselves wise by default. Those truly interested in growing toward wisdom will shun judgment of others based on perceptions of wisdom or foolishness.
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The totality of wisdom is far above humankind. We can only ever partially represent it in our relations with ourselves, others, and God. Those who think themselves wise give themselves over, in the same moment, to folly and the worldly disposition of inherently flawed human wisdom.
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Copyright © 2008, S. J. Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
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General Reference: Roland E. Murphy, Proverbs – Word Biblical Commentary, Vol. 22 (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1998), p. 200-01.

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Caution About Taking Advice

“Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.”
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-Everybody’s Free to Wear Sunscreen.
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There are some really relevant things to remember when considering advice.
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“All counselors praise the counsel they give, but some give counsel in their own interest. Be wary of a counselor, and learn first what is his interest, for he will take thought for himself.” –Sirach 37:7-8 NRSV.
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Consulting with people who have the opposite attributes to that we wish to be advised upon is a folly. It would make no sense to listen to a coward before going to war, or to discuss the approach required concerning a large task with a person adept at laziness. Why also would we ask a miser about how to give generously? -- Or an aggressive person about kindness?
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The person best placed to offer us advice is someone who is like-interested with us. This means they have our best interests at heart and will ‘go with us’ whether we fail or succeed.
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This is also sound advice regarding who to listen to:
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“And heed the counsel of your own heart, for no one is more faithful to you than it is. For our own mind sometimes keeps us better informed than seven sentinels sitting high on a watchtower. But above all pray to the Most High that he may direct your way in truth.” –Sirach 37:13-15 NRSV.
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Can we get much better than make the final decision to act based on the counsel of our own hearts? This is what is required in life -- for us all to make the decision for ourselves, based on whatever is before us. The heart informs the mind and vice versa. Thought and feeling consult each other and affirm to each other, truth, hopefully. That’s God’s resilient design for autonomous action toward survival and growth. Advice is good for decisions only. We need to decide, finally.
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Prudence is the last charge. ‘Be careful whose advice you buy (or consider), but, be patient with those who supply it.’
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Copyright © 2008, S.J. Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

Friday, August 29, 2008

Jesus On The Holy Spirit – From John

“It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor [the Holy Spirit] will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.”
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-John 16:7-11 NIV.
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One raw evangelistic truth is this: We can preach the Word of God all we like and it will have little or no effect unless it’s both anointed by the Presence of the Holy Spirit in the transmission -- and it meets with the Presence ‘on the other side,’ i.e. it’s received spiritually by the other person. Only the Holy Spirit can ‘convict the world’ as Jesus puts it. It convicts or convinces “either to repentance and salvation or hardening of heart and condemnation.”[1]
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John is outstandingly regal Scripture of the utmost veneration proclaiming Jesus as the Son of God. So fitting it is that raw teaching on the Holy Spirit should be set here. John quotes Jesus plainly instructing his disciples regarding how the Spirit is to charge the world with guilt to repent -- essentially, now is ‘decision time.’ Its role is to convince the world:
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1. Concerning Sin
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Jesus says earlier in John 3:19 that, “this is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” Only the work of the Holy Spirit will convict a person of the abject horror of their own sin. Once converted, there is no going back (if the conversion is true and clean); the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit will continually reconcile that believing sinner to God, making him or her intrinsically accountable to God.
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For every true Christian, having been awakened, continually repents of sin. A Christian is a ‘saved sinner.’ I’m no less a sinner now than before -- but having been saved I’ve been made right through him who loves me and stooped to help me. Praise God I’m more aware of my sin now, and can do something about it. Glory is accorded God for convicting hearts to return to him.
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2. Concerning Righteousness
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Jesus, as opposed to the ruling-class Jews of the first Century, was proved right when he ascended to be with the Father; he was right, they were wrong. They convicted him wrongly, treating him like an evil-doer and hung him on a tree; yet “the exact opposite was the truth.”[2] Jesus is “‘vindicated’ by his resurrection and return to the Father.” Jesus’ followers are also vindicated through him.[3] God the Father saw to it that the ultimate irony -- his perfect plan of redemption -- would prove Jesus perfectly right in every way, situation, and event, past, present, and future. This righteousness points to the venerable holiness of the Godhead.
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3. Concerning Judgment
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Without taking the offer of Jesus’ salvation with both hands, returning us to the Father, we implicitly accept the Devil’s -- we would stand condemned with Satan. The Holy Spirit attests to the truth: “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.” (John 3:18)
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Copyright © 2008, S. J. Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
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ENDNOTES:
[1] Colin G. Kruse, The Gospel According to John – Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Leicester, England: InterVarsity Press, 2003), p. 331.
[2] William Hendriksen, The Gospel of John – New Testament Commentary (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1959), p. 326.
[3] Eugene H. Merrill (ed.), The Gospels – The Bible Knowledge Word Study (Colorado Springs, Colorado: Victor / Cook Communications Ministries, 2002), p. 359.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

I’m Going To Miss Not Living By The Sea – Psalm 93

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It is concise; five solid verses of prose, consisting of sixteen lines of power. It attests to Yahweh’s absolute dominion over the earth, its foundations, land, seas, heavens -- it cannot be moved. He’s ‘robed in majesty’ and ‘armed with strength’ such that no one and nothing can compare. Such is the sea a metaphor for strength of grace; it’s him! Like the mightiest typhoon; that’s also him!
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The depth and breadth and width and height of God cannot be plumbed. As Paul said to the Ephesians, we can but hope to grasp and fathom this. ‘The seas have lifted up’ indeed. The seas are but one manifestation of his marvellous creation; he is infinitely mightier than these. The tamest waters swallow humankind, yet they evaporate in sight of the Lord. How small we are.
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I will miss not living by the sea. The pounding waves so vividly remind me of God’s tantalising grace. In all its regal splendour, my God is projected upon a world that does not see and does not care to see. How pitiable we are not to see the sheer brilliance of him who creates. He concomitantly is. Yet we do not see. We do not miss it. Yet I will; him in it, in fact.
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Copyright © 2008, S. J. Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

‘Counted Worthy of Suffering Disgrace’ for Proclaiming the Author of Life Fearlessly

The story of the Acts of the Apostles as told by Luke is an amazing series of events, miraculous signs and wonders, spiritual conversions, and faith over the first thirty years of the Church. Nothing more personifies the apostles’ courage and depth of faith than the stories of fearless preaching in the Name of Jesus in the face of stern opposition of the Sanhedrin and ruling Jews.
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One such story of Peter and the other apostles evangelising in the temple courts is memorable for more than one reason. Those in the Sanhedrin were perplexed, not knowing what to do with the apostles. Read part of the speech a Pharisee named Gamaliel -- a teacher of the law -- made in citing examples of previous men of insurgent activity (i.e. that they were of ‘human origin,’ which is what he thought the apostles were) convincing the Sanhedrin to let the men go:
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“Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.” (Acts 5:38b-39 NIV.)
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This position made a lot of sense. But what happens next demonstrates the victorious power of Spiritual life in Jesus’ name:
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His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
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“The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.” (Acts 5:40-42 NIV -- bold for emphasis.)
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How many of us rejoice because we’re ‘counted worthy of suffering disgrace for Jesus’ name’? Yet we have numerous opportunities daily to praise God for all the very many trials we are subjected to -- for his faithfulness in all of it. It’s the same deal. We might not be actively evangelising but by simple virtue of the fact we choose not to complain, we glorify the Saviour’s name. We astound some when we do not react. We astonish further when we thank God for the bad things that we endure.
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Not that it’s easy. It makes me cringe just to think of what might be around the corner having suggested my personal response to suffering is to praise -- but that’s the power of God; to get us there.
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Copyright © 2008, S. J. Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

Perspectives on Workload Overload

It’s ages old and was certainly here well before the Industrial Revolution of the early 1800s. So, it’s not what a lot of people think and a sign of the tremendously busy age we live in, yet we could be guilty of trying to do more with less... it’s workload overload -- the greatest single cause of burnout.
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I know of people in lower management positions doing seventy hours per week. Those above them are doing that and more in some cases. Some apparently do it for the sheer thrill, some for the kudos, some more for the spark of achievement; some also for the adrenalin... and some do it because they plain love their work and co-workers and company. Yet, it’s known to be unhealthy!
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Workload overload is a symptom of rank foolishness, yet we see it everywhere. At its core it is a very real example of insanity as people try and extract from themselves and others ‘superhuman’ levels of achievement; all driven by machismo -- an exaggerated or exhilarating sense of power or strength -- featured in males and females alike. Of course, we’re blessed with so much ability. We can extract marvellous feats from our bodies and minds. Unfortunately, due to greed or lack of courage or other vice or misshapened virtue, we often abuse it. Then what we get is eventual burnout -- it may not occur for several years, but it does eventually come. And that’s what marks it as foolish.
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A golden rule for life is balance. Balance in physical, mental, emotional / social / psychological and spiritual health. This is the key to life. We get little lasting reward from going overboard in any one area -- it’s just not sustainable.
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Achieving this golden rule is not hard but it does require commitment to change and maintenance:
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1. We must make time for our spirit.
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We operate best when we’re calm, and we should be predominantly calm. Operating on adrenalin, whilst exhilarating, is dangerous to our longer term health. Making time spiritually is also the best way to get to know ourselves -- and importantly our limits.
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2. Increase and sustain physical fitness.
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Being physically fit is an elixir really like no other. It serves us in all other health areas, not just physically. We should devote at least thirty (30) minutes a day to exercise that gets our heart rate elevated and our breathing lightly puffing.
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3. Say no to overload demands -- both to ourselves and others.
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The only way we know our true thresholds for work, and then beyond to overload, is to at once, slow down, get in tune with our spirit, then take it from there. It is okay and acceptable to respond to an emergency every now and then, even daily. What’s not okay is having no downtime. Every human being should be able to work in peace the majority of the time; the exception to this might be the emergency services. But these people don’t work under pressure all the time. They have significant down time, or should do.
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The best manifestation of wisdom is to be steadfastly true to the spirit within. The benefits are truly global in nature and are so inextricably personal; we only get one chance at this life. Why would we throw that away for something as perishable as superficial achievements or feelings? This issue is not about the company. It’s personal.
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Copyright © 2008, S. J. Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Being Stuck With A Terrible Reputation

“If you argue your case with a neighbor,
do not betray another [person’s] confidence,
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or he [or she] who hears it may shame you
and you will never lose your bad reputation.” –Proverbs 25:9-10.
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The above proverb nails a particular situation. But getting stuck with a terrible reputation that’s just plain wrong is an altogether easy thing -- in fact, it’s too easy. People have such long memories. It’s a general rule in life that if we ever did something negative to someone, and worse still, memorable, it will take many months and even years to put right the incorrect perception people have developed. So, what to do?
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1. Fix it there and then!
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Here are more proverbs that hit this nail on its head:
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“if you have been trapped by what you said,
ensnared by the words of your mouth,
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then do this… to free yourself,
since you have fallen into your neighbor's hands:
Go and humble yourself;
press your plea with your neighbor!
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Allow no sleep to your eyes,
no slumber to your eyelids.
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Free yourself, like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,
like a bird from the snare of the fowler.” –Proverbs 6:2-5.
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The essence is this. If we’ve said something or done something that we know is wrong, we shouldn’t delay putting it right. No matter what it costs, we need to go to the person or people affected and do what we can to put it right. We might feel like fools but paradoxically we’ll gain a lot of credibility and respect from admitting our mistake and seeking to make amends. Many people will forgive and be inclined to give a person who does this sort of thing a second chance.
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2. Work hard to establish a good reputation with other stakeholders!
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If we’ve tarnished our reputation with some regrettable actions and there is one group or person who doesn’t think too highly of us, we can still work hard with other groups to establish what we don’t have with this original group. Again, the proverbs speak to us.
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“Go to the ant, you sluggard;
consider its ways and be wise!
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It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler,
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yet it stores its provisions in summer
and gathers its food at harvest.” –Proverbs 6:6-8.
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We must work hard like an ant with industry, not complaint. When we allow complaint to well up on the inside we are half gone. Working hard to establish a good reputation is all about investment for the “tomorrows” to come. Of course we won’t see the results today, so let’s not expect to. When we’re not thanked for the good things we do, it means the ‘thanks’ are coming i.e. in the future. We must be patient.
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3. Resist the temptation to talk about others!
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So we return to the first abovementioned proverb. If we speak against any person, no matter their position, we can expect it will end up working against us. We need to be disciplined in order to not betray confidences or criticise others. We can think positively about people when others choose to be critical.
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Doing the above things can only advance our standing as people of integrity that have no warrant for a bad name… “Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest.” –Proverbs 26:2. Eventually, this is what occurs for those with integrity: any word against us works out for us. We have to believe it. It has the magic of God about it.
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All Scripture quoted is from the New International Version.
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Copyright © 2008, S. J. Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

Reflections On “Australian Idol 2008”

I love watching snippets of Australian Idol and other such shows that deal with truth. One of the things that I think these shows bring out is the vast amount of denial in people who get up and obviously can’t sing! My wife said to me, ‘Surely their friends need to be more honest with them before they enter something like this.’
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What I see is the judges of the show scrutinising not only singing talent but also character. Has this person the character, the poise, the self-belief, and the integrity to go all the way and honour not only themselves, but the show. Can they prove inspiring on national television?
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The judges make some tough calls along the way. They sit through their fair share of auditions-of-disbelief, where it defies explanation as to why some people entered in the first place. Some auditions get ugly; but some prove inspiring.
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The best thing about Idol is it takes fame and fortune to the people. It gives everyone an equal chance based on merit. If someone has the talent and the character they never know if they might become the next Shannon Noll or Guy Sebastian. Now that’s a thought to ponder for anyone with starry eyes!
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There aren’t many television shows I get into, and I don’t watch very much TV, but shows like this are engaging because they deal in truth. You see a raft of entrants rejected, but a number of hopefuls go on, and it’s not just the gorgeous ones. The talented ones who appear to be stayers and have character tend to go well.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Out Of Balance – Getting Off The Seesaw

As I look around me, observing closely, reflecting over people, I see a person here and a person there who appear awkwardly out-of-balance. They’re like a washing machine on spin cycle rocking all over the laundry floor. It's like they have most of their lives in focus and in balance, but not yet all of it. I'm thinking of a particular person who a few months back would provide great customer service in her job role, yet she'd often not begin her lunch break until 1.30 in the afternoon -- she was at the beck and call and mercy of all it seemed. Lots of happy people except, that is, for herself.
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Then I noted a change in this person. She started to be clearer in her planning and would defer "important" last minute requests from others, tasks, and meetings to protect her lunchtimes. I could regularly expect her to be out of the office at 12.30 to the minute. She was like clockwork. Yet, into the bargain for a better structured day came a ‘rigidness’ that meant there was now too little flexibility -- she would insist on the break; it became part of an important routine. (I would expect this person to be quite heavily in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator ‘judging’ preference rather than ‘perceiving’ preference.)
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Now, to the uninitiated these details might seem insignificant -- that ‘spin cycle’ of life wobbling ungainly through our days. I see this in my own life. In seeking balance, I often go farther than centre to attain or restore it. It's like a seesaw with a pendulum that swings the other way all too readily.
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When we seek to restore balance we could do these things:
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~~ Analyse the pitfalls of adjusting too much.
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~~ Identify the threats of change; perhaps we might sacrifice one good thing for another we're missing. Would that be good? Suggests a false economy.
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~~ Talk to important others who might be able to give you instant feedback.
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~~ Set measures so you can monitor adjustments as well as maintain the areas of good balance in your life.
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Balance is hard to achieve and maintain. But it’s not impossible if it’s important enough to us. There are few more important things in life, surely, than being balanced -- prudent and diligent in how we live. We need to fiercely guard our balance and remain insightful as to the things we have to do more, or do better, or do less. Life out of balance is like being on a seesaw -- rarely do we feel at peace with equilibrium.
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Copyright © 2008, S. J. Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

Who Has Authority Over Me?

“Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don't you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”
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Jesus answered, “You would have no [authority against me whatsoever] if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”
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-John 19:10-11 (NIV modified).
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Pilate was in the wrong place at the wrong time from his own viewpoint. There were various opposing, confounding forces that he couldn’t possibly reconcile. He didn’t want to put Jesus to death; neither he nor King Herod found anything of substance against him. If anything, there’s a hint that Jesus was able to establish a remarkable rapport with Pilate. Certainly Pilate had showed respectful awe toward Jesus and fear that he was dealing with deity. Their rapport is notable in each interaction through the gospels. For instance, when Pilate first spoke to Jesus he used Jesus’ native Aramaic, and could have been surprised to hear Jesus retort in Pilate’s native Latin tongue; an intellectual joust.
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If Pilate could not find cause to crucify the ‘King of the Jews’ what was the opposing force that forced his hand? Jesus’ very own people of course. The High Priest that year, Caiaphas, played a remarkably salvation-honouring role which is a tremendous irony given the Pharisees hated Jesus. It is written in John: “It was Caiaphas who had counseled the Jews that it was expedient and for their welfare that one man should die for (instead of, in behalf of) the people.” -John 18:14 (Amplified) Recall also what John said back in chapter 11 regarding Caiaphas: "as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one." -John 11:51-52 (NIV in part).
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The chief priests, scribes, teachers of the law and Pharisees made Pilate’s choice very simple in the end -- there was no other outcome acceptable to them but crucifixion.
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Of course, from the Christian viewpoint, it all turned out perfectly to plan. God the Father’s master plan from the beginning worked out for all creation, for not only was Jesus to be raised to be the Saviour of the world; his death was to become the key symbol of truth in life. Whoever loses his or her own life (for God’s purposes) will save it.
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Who has authority over me? Only One. Nobody else. Who should I fear? No one but God. People can do anything to us or for us; God is the one that allows it. He gives and he takes away. True faithfulness is the response of praise at the time of both ecstasy and distress. If we thank him for the good times, why would we not thank him for times other than good?
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John 19:11 is such an encouragement to all true Christians. It’s a statement of reliance in only one power; monotheistic worship of the Godhead three-in-one. Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and blessing -- worthy is he to receive our fullest devotion.
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Copyright © 2008, S.J. Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

Monday, August 25, 2008

People Like To Be Right – Give Them What They Want

Humans are the funniest creatures. We all like to be right. We all like to win. We all like to be popular and have lots of friends and supporters. Not many go out of their way to be found wrong, to lose, or go against the flow. It’s plain and simple human nature. Yet we’re often left confused as people’s goals and purposes for these objectives clash.
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At a meeting at work or within your community you might expect to be right at times and at times be wrong. You win some and you lose some; at times, whether you win or lose, you’ll be popular or unpopular. You can be right, lose, and have friends -- at the same time. You can be wrong, win, and have no friends. We love most of all to be right, to win, AND have friends. To win ‘all ways’ requires a bigger-than-self approach that takes into account the broader perspectives of all stakeholders.
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Notwithstanding who’s right, who wins or loses, or who gains and retains friends and who doesn’t, what is most important is that we work with people -- we’re dependent on other people as they’re dependent on us. There are things that are more important than what we feel. We can achieve far more when we focus on helping and supporting others to win and have success; especially those who cannot fully succeed without our help. We may not think we have much influence -- take another look -- people are probably reliant on us quite a lot more than we think; do you work with people? Do you have a family? Wherever there are people, there are relationships, and teamwork is required to make that work. We are all involved in, and required for, teamwork.
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Success is abstract. An old mentor once cautioned me, “How important is it?” as I panicked about something that seemed important at the time. Later, having re-thought my proposed actions, deciding to keep faith, the worrisome issue ended up working out totally. We find that at times our level of success is so low that we lose faith and we give up; sacrificing all the hard relational work we’ve put in. It’s such a waste.
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The most important thing in life is people. Success in life, real success, is best measured on what people would say about us -- the legacy we leave. If we can only learn to discern what people really want and need, and we take that into account in the whole picture, we’re on the right track.
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People like to be right. They like to be respected and treated fairly. We get far further in achieving overall team objectives when we can give people what they want. If we honestly can’t and we have respectful rapport, we live on to fight another day to give that person what they want, eventually.
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Copyright © 2008, S.J. Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Mary Chose What Was Better

Left to do all the work herself whilst her sister, Mary, sat at her Lord’s feet, Martha complained bitterly, “Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “You are worried and upset by many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42 NIV)
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Choices. Life is littered with choices, especially in this rich Western life we have in our day. We get a clue regarding the best choice. Mary chose what is better. She chose to devote her time to worship and experience her Lord; it wasn’t slackness, but devotion. Not the easy option; actually the difficult one. How easy is to stop and be, in the moment? It’s too difficult for nearly all in both secular and spiritual spheres collectively. We think busyness is a new thing. It is only a new word. Busyness has always been the great temptation of the conscientious.
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Jesus doesn’t criticise Martha for working and preparing the house and providing hospitality. He tells her off because her heart for the work she chooses is not right. If her heart was right there’d be no complaint -- just pleasure that her sister was edified and illuminated spending time with Christ. It’s a lesson in approach to work -- the choice to work. There are only two ‘musts’ in life; we must take up physical space while we exist, and we must eventually die. Work, therefore, like everything else, is always a choice.
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Mary chose a ‘better portion’ in the same way we would if we went to a banquet and chose the correctly balanced meal that was good for us; a small amount of high quality protein like fish, a little complex carbohydrate like rice, and about two thirds of the plate of vegetables or green salad. It’s our choice at the end of the day. How many choose heavily-calorie laden foods and go back for second and third helpings? It might feel good at the time, but that’s not the better choice. And we know it.
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We all tend to worry about too many things. Jesus says, “Few things are needful, or only one,” and this means there are few necessities in life and the simple things in life, and ways of living, are best.[1]
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There is much labour that is “good” and has merit. We often have so much choice in what we have to do in life that it’s a matter of setting and constantly reviewing priorities -- it’s a tricky business![2] When we try to achieve too much we become a harried mess. This is especially an issue for industrious people.[3] We need to deliberately make choices to reject unimportant things that might even be good. Clearly at the top of the list of the most important things to do is experiencing the spirituality and mystery of God through worship. This is central to what is “better,” and not just good, in life.
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And it extends to this: what if this were your last day -- and it could be -- what is truly important? Does your idea of priorities change? Another indication we’ve made the right choice: the feeling of ‘rest’ and contentment when looking back afterwards.
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Copyright © 2008, S.J. Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
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ENDNOTES:
[1] Leon Morris, Luke – Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, Revised Edition (Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1974, 1988), p. 209-10.
[2] Darrell L. Bock, Luke – The IVP New Testament Commentary Series, (Downers Grove, Illinois & Leicester, England: InterVarsity Press, 1994), p. 199-200.
[3] Ibid, p. 200.

Sounds And Signs Of Life

White noise in the bush. The white noise sound of the wind, rain, and waves is therapy,
Stand still. Hear it -- it’s everything and nothing at the same time,
It’s the sound of the country and nature,
Sound carries so far and so purely. There’s nothing to interrupt it; it just goes on. Lovely.
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It’s the wonderful truth of the science of creation,
Sound lives and it’s on show,
Listen... there it is!! Proof no less,
It brings form and meaning into creation; order in the chaotic Cosmos at that moment. It’s perfect.
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Momentum flows as this sound energy motivates a perfect continuum generating little or no resistance,
Traffic too, can be heard far off… it too carries... its noise,
Sound -- it all adheres to the same rules. But some of it’s just noise; alas, the miracles of science explain it all,
Trucks heard from miles away break this perfect continuum of the earth’s grace.
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Birds -- playing a symphony -- hear them perform,
Some are constant providing a gentle, incessant rhythm,
Some breaking in, interjecting, starring as ‘soloists,’
Playing the lead.
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Sunlight breaking through shadows,
A secluded reminder of the heat energy of the sun,
Light bending in conformance to creation’s rules,
The road still wet, in parts at least, as the shadows move gently with the sun’s progress.
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Condensation dropping from tree leaves above,
The innocent dew of the morning,
A random smattering of dew drops are heard,
Forest in action we hear and then can ‘see’.
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Existence pure and simple -- nature at peace with itself.
Like nature, humanity does not change -- it is static,
The same things are repeated generation after generation,
Though we think we’re all so new.
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Life,
It’s like a new song that’s suddenly recognised,
As a song already known,
Wow, we knew it all along.
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Copyright © 2008, S.J. Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
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The poem was inspired during experiences gained from a trip to Pemberton, Western Australia, on 19 May, 2008, as part of my first Wedding anniversary.

Why Doesn’t He/She Change? Because It’s Not Yet Important to Him/Her

“Could you please clean up the kitchen after you’ve used it!” barked Lisbeth, tired and frustrated. Whatever she tried, it seemed she’d not found any way to motivate her husband Philip or their two kids to do as she required... Helen, a general manager of a large industrial dry-cleaning company, felt exasperated. One of her managers, Sophia, consistently fell short in some of her key performance indicators, not to mention her lack of savvy with some of team -- conflict would often spiral out of control to a point that anger erupted. Helen had tried everything to bring about change including several performance interviews...
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Change. How do we get important people in our lives to change? How do we influence them in real ways as to see them doing the things they ought to be doing, or stop doing things they shouldn’t be doing? Living with people can be a frustrating exercise at times, particularly when they won’t listen or respond appropriately.
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The main problem is ‘your issue’ is not yet important enough to them for them to change. It’s ‘your issue’ after all. It needs to become ‘both your and their issue’ or ‘their issue’ for change to have any chance of sticking. This applies to the rule of common sense.
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Also, are you listening? It appears to me that the important law of relational reciprocity applies also. If we listen, we increase the chances of our partners, children, and subordinates listening.
Change is a difficult business. It’s uncomfortable. Change gets easier when you’re constantly or regularly changing; when we’re in flux so-to-speak. Requiring people to change -- if that is part of your role in life -- as parent, manager, partner, might also mean we need to be just as adaptable. Can we lead by example? Or are we saying, ‘Do as I say, not as I do’? Let’s be honest with ourselves.
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People simply don’t change unless there’s good reason. Why would they otherwise? If Lisbeth could convince Philip and their two kids regarding the impact of the messy kitchen on her life and how that makes her feel, she’d have a reasonable chance of influencing change. Empathy needs a chance to work. If Helen could bring Sophia into her world; that decisions will soon need to be made as part of her general manager role regarding Sophia’s performance -- that her tenure is up for review, surely that might motivate Sophia to change if she wanted to keep her job. It’s up to Sophia, not Helen.
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Influence is all about making things personally important; so ownership is transferred from the complainant to the perpetrator of the problem in the first place. An important factor is having the personal courage and dignity to follow-through with what you know needs to occur. Make it personally relevant. If we can do that, influencing change becomes easier and much more practical -- a science that can be learned and applied rather than an art that requires special intuition and flair.
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Copyright © 2008, S.J. Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator And Relationships

Jim and Jo are a couple who’ve been boyfriend and girlfriend for some time. They’ve travelled through the romantic phase of their relationship and are now quite steady knowing each other rather well. Like most couples however, they have their differences. For one, Jo likes to go out yet Jim is a homebody. Jim is also ruggedly independent and tries hard to keep his feelings to himself, whilst Jo is warm-hearted and loves a ‘deep and meaningful,’ and this leaves her emotionally starved on occasions.
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Opposites attract. We’ve come to expect this in relationships so Jim and Jo’s example doesn’t surprise us. It’s almost as if people who are similar end up being opposites in any event as even the smallest differences tend to become polarised in life as a couple. Let’s face it, a couple needs certain things in common just to get to first base. Understanding your partner’s differences is crucial to the ongoing success and level of happiness you experience in your relationship together.
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The science of personality profiling goes a long way toward sorting out the mess of confusion, explaining away the differences. Based on Jungian psychological theory, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)[1] is one of the most dependable personality profiling tools. “Type” as it is referred to is widely used in life these days. It gives people an insight as to their preferences and the ability to understand how others view the world differently. There are sixteen (16) broad categories based from eight (8) key opposing descriptors called functions, comprising four (4) dichotomies:
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Extraversion vs. Intraversion dichotomy
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People showing preference for extraversion are typically interested in “the outer world of people and activity,” whereas those introverted “focus on their own inner world of ideas and experiences.”[2]
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Sensing vs. Intuition dichotomy
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Sensing types take the “real and tangible” information of what’s actually happening whilst those intuitive souls like to stand back to view the bigger picture. They live in the world of possibilities; sensing types love fact.[3]
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Thinking vs. Feeling dichotomy
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Those with thinking preference will “look at the logical consequences of a choice or action,” whereas those with feeling preference “like to consider what is important to them and to others involved.”[4]
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Judging vs. Perceiving dichotomy
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Structured, organised, and decisive. These are all attributes of those who have judging preference over perceiving. Perceivers, on the other hand, “like to live in a flexible, spontaneous way, seeking to experience and understand life, rather than control it.”[5]
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Being an ENFP, I can expect to be almost a rank opposite of an ISTJ though none of the sixteen categories above is mutually exclusive. For example, no one is totally extraverted or intuitive. We all tend to exhibit a ‘blend’ of each function; it is very rare for someone to be totally at one end of a dichotomy. For instance, my wife is introverted yet loves fellowship with people at church and being part of group activity. I’m extraverted but like a lot of time to myself to think, be creative, and reflect on my experience of life. In these ways, we both exhibit part of the opposite end of the dichotomy uncharacteristic to our personality type. So, it’s not a perfect science, and people are easily fooled by “boxing” others tightly. We’re all unique, and the MBTI doesn’t set out to categorise us perfectly.
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The key to happiness in relationships is understanding. We all need to understand firstly ourselves, and certainly too, our partner. Knowing preferences can give us important cues and clues regarding how to treat them and how to interact with them. It helps us not judge them ignorantly but enlightens us to be the best partner we can be for them; the law of reciprocity dictates that when we reach toward them, they in turn will reach toward us in some way. We get what we give, and we will tend to reap what we sow. So, we need to get to know our partner’s type and make basic adjustments to meet their basic needs the way they basically prefer. In the process we find a sort of joy that is difficult to explain, but is simply derived in love.
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Copyright © 2008, S.J. Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
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ENDNOTES:
[1] Katharine Cook Myers (1875-1968) and her daughter, Isabel Briggs Myers (1897-1980) developed the MBTI, extending the ideas of innovative Swiss psychiatrist Carl G. Jung (1875-1961). Myers was motivated to develop the MBTI as a legacy of witnessing the waste of World War II.
[2] Isabel Briggs Myers, Introduction to Type: A Guide to Understanding Your Results on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, 6th edition, revised by Linda K. Kirby and Katharine D. Myers. (Mountain View, California: CCP Inc., 1998), p. 6.
[3] Ibid, p. 6.
[4] Ibid, p. 7.
[5] Ibid, p. 7.

Who Sees When You’re Unaware? And Who Cares?

Walking along I was one day and I noticed someone I knew a distance off, perhaps one hundred metres away. He was just walking back to work from a break; there was nothing sinister in what he was doing. It was interesting in that I was suddenly aware that I could see everything he was doing, yet he was completely unaware of my presence and observation. I reflected momentarily on this sudden awareness within me. I thought “wow,” I’m in this position as someone also observed, without my knowledge; without my consent. That’s a bit of a frightening prospect. We take both positions of power as the observer or relinquish the power as observee -- and all this takes place simultaneously, through each day, when we’re around people, and even at times when we think we’re alone; we watch and are watched.
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How often are we “seen” yet we’re completely unaware of it. Fortunately, most of us are not famous or anything other than ordinary; we blend in quite well with our environment, particularly when our behaviour is not too ‘out there.’ We can now, in a moment, sympathise with the Bill Clinton’s’ and the Pope Benedict’s’ and the Michael Phelps’, for they live such a public life; we’re blessed to know a genuine private world at least a thousand times less public than these three.
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There are many times I know when I am least at my best and I’m completely unaware of the fact that someone always watches -- if not human, certainly the Divine. Imagine seeing with multiples sets of eyes… imagine that perspective! Like me, you too have weak moments. When we collectively have horrendous moments, there is one who sees.
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God’s like this -- he sees everything we do, and don’t do. God is Spirit -- he is within us and within all. The Scriptures are littered with hints and clues regarding this. For instance, Qoheleth, the teacher and writer of the ancient book of Ecclesiastes puts it like this, right at the end of his excursus: “For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.”[1] The Apostle Paul concurs, for he said to the Corinthians in his first letter -- in downplaying their judgment of him as unimportant, “It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive commendation from God.”[2]
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Imagine that God, who sees everything including all the disgusting, revolting, filthy stuff that we know about ourselves and yet, still accepts us! We stand innocent before him when in fact we know we’re guilty. When God sees everything, including all the bad stuff, yet amazingly loves us still more than we could ever know, why would we feel perturbed about other mere mortals thinking down on us?
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Yet judgment comes and it affects us. We know that we’ll be watched, as we also watch. We know that people might judge lightly what we do, or they might condemn; as we also might judge lightly or condemn. We will be judged and we will judge. That comes with the territory of life and the human faculty of thinking, knowledge, emotion, and conscience. But, isn’t it such a relief to know this Love that subsumes and totally accounts for worldly judgment; both theirs and ours. We’re made right though we’re wrong.
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This surely helps us feel more comfortable in our own skin. Mortal judgment, whilst of some import, is not the be-all and end-all. It is the Judge who will bring to light the hidden things of darkness so that we will be fairly and justly and equitably and rightly judged -- at the end of all. This should make us somewhat comfortable, yet it also keeps us vigilant and this fact alone continues to motivate us toward good thoughts, words, and deeds. Now that’s balance that truly brings spiritual life, and correct perception, to the soul whom hungers and thirsts for righteousness and truth.
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Is it really that important what people see or don’t see? The answer of course is, ‘yes’ and ‘no’. Therein lays a classic spiritual paradox that starts a whole fresh discussion.
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Copyright © 2008, S.J. Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
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ENDNOTES:
[1] Ecclesiastes 12:14 (NRSV).
[2] 1 Corinthians 4:4b-5 (NRSV).

Grace and Truth: Two Vital Ingredients Toward Love

Love is such a broad concept. It is many, many things. Like truth, love is both objective and abstract; it’s these things and many things in between at both at the same time. It’s so difficult to define. In fact, there are about objective fourteen permeations in defining love according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary; that’s without discussing the more abstract examples where it shows itself.
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But, one way to define love really fully -- in general relationships at least -- is the enmeshed state of truth combined with grace; the ability to state plainly the issue at hand but do it in a way that is completely sensitive to the other person’s feelings and anyone else’s. Such a thing requires both tact and courage... honesty and compassion... respect and candor.
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The truth, by itself, is damaging. It hurts, literally. It hurts most when it comes without grace or without enough grace (tact, compassion, respect). Grace in this way is a sort of ‘undeserved favour.’ It’s not the ‘charming’ sort of grace that is elegant and full of poise. Grace is always erring on the side of the other person -- it’s always prepared to give the benefit of the doubt. The timid can be seen as giving grace because they always tend to give way to others -- they perhaps get a double portion of grace but lack the courage to present truth adequately.
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We often reject the truth about ourselves because we don’t see it “in” grace’s eyes. If we saw the truth through the eyes of grace, it would be soft enough to see and cope with. Many people find the truth just too hard to bear. A person who is 100 kilograms overweight is probably living in denial and a classic example. They can’t handle the truth because it is too harsh a reality for them; or at least the remedy would require too much courage. Yet, if only they had a way of realising grace enough to love themselves unconditionally they would find that they could literally achieve anything.
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Grace loves because it wants to -- it is a choice and it is completely spiritual. It’s never forced like many of our decisions -- i.e. decisions that show kindness on the outside but aren’t felt ‘kind’ within the inner-self. See, grace is a miracle of God; to actually feel love in your heart for a person that wrongs you; this can only happen with the Spirit -- which lies in each one of us. All of us have the ability to be altruistic. Yet, altruism is the Holy Spirit giving us a sample of the spiritual experience.
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Grace isn’t nice because it has to be. How often are we “nice” because we have to be -- we really don’t like “that” person but we tolerate them because we have to; we work with them, or they’re our brother or sister, or through some other circumstance, you have no choice. This is NOT grace. True grace actually feels genuine in giving another chance. There’s no cost involved personally when we give like this; it’s grace. People who are too truthful, on the other hand, were described by Rick Warren as “EGR” people -- that is, Extra Grace Required... from us, to accept their faults. We all know some people who seem to need more of our ongoing grace and forgiveness; they’re socially unaware and don’t know what they don’t know -- in some instances they perhaps don’t care. People who bluntly reveal truth without considering the consequences are part of this group.
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We need the honesty of truth in relationships; and more than ever today, in a ‘politically correct’ age, when we’re increasingly inclined to flattery and to soften the message, making it false and meaningless, and potentially banal and docile. But the truth that’s not filtered somewhat lacks love of grace. It becomes brutal and self-effacing. Truth and grace in equal proportions, however, equals love in relationships.
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This is where it gets hard. How do we employ courage and tact at the same time? It can only happen with love! We need a heart of love. Both sides -- love and truth/grace -- are interdependent. They are strands that are part of the same cord. They strengthen and reinforce each other for capable, lasting, loving, and resilient relationships based on mutual understanding and value.
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Copyright © 2008, S.J. Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

Friday, August 22, 2008

True Leadership – The Glass Is Always Half Full

Isn’t it strange that when we try to commend people at times it backfires in the most unpredictable ways? I found it rather perplexing just recently when I sent an email commending a certain manager to his supervisors and system owners, praising his good qualities against the more ‘average’ qualities of others, in contrast. The problem was the manager’s supervisors wanted to pick the eyes out of the ‘contrasts’ rather than just celebrate the fact that this manager had performed well -- in essence, they gave out to the opportunity to ‘grow’ this sort of behaviour. I found it personally disenchanting. Suddenly I was found justifying basic facts and left somewhat disillusioned as to the act of commendation in the first place!
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For mine, this is the classic management vs. leadership paradox we find in our day, in any day for that matter. Why do we count the staples on a document instead of addressing the real content? Why do we complain of complexity in our world and simultaneously push for fault in everything we see? Managers (by role, if not by character) are, by default, not good leaders. They don’t see the real wood for the trees, so intent are they about detail -- petty and unimportant detail at that; take words for instance. Managers love to ‘wordsmith.’
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Leaders on the other hand seek the positive things they can learn from and grow. They know that truth lies in the gold of reality. Reality makes a difference because it speaks to everyone, more or less. Leaders inspire. They’re about growth and immensity. You don’t see people shrivel with good leadership; on the contrary, apathetic people tend to work for managers; can you sense the blight I attach with my use of the term ‘manager’? I would hate to be called a manager. It’s a banal and growth-harming term that every organisation should banish. Managers (in the sense of the term I use) are destructive to the real purposes of growth and fruitfulness of any organisation.
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True leadership is about growth. It’s about motivation, inspiration, and triumph, both when things are going well, and against adversity. People want to work for real leaders. These are people who will listen and don’t need to be heard. They are interested in teamwork -- and not just about teamwork in their own team; they have much broader, holistic vision. Leaders move, while managers talk and complain.
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Real leadership is transformational in most, if not all, lives it touches. It achieves the transaction as required -- no more, no less -- but fills the persons working with it with a want for more. So, leadership’s about people. People want to be fruitful; by virtue of the visceral sense of accomplishment -- once we know this euphoric feeling, we cannot help wanting to explore more growth and spiritual achievement. Quintessentially, leaders either extract this from people and enliven it, or awaken it -- a lovely, powerful monster for everything good.
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So, what’s missing? People who’re managers miss the golden kernels of truth when they go down the nit-picking line. They should learn to express more faith in others by being less defensive, and having a broader vision of “team”. Everything in life that we do with people should be an inspiration -- there’s no excuse really for anything less.
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Most of all, leaders don’t punish people for suggesting a commendation...
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Copyright © 2008, S.J. Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

“The total agony of being in love,” ... Love Actually

I recall a time not so long ago when I was “totally in love” with this young lady to the point it was agonising. It consumed me and I would muse about her for great periods of time -- not many days would go by when I didn’t invest significant time thinking about her, both subconsciously and consciously, I’m sure. It was distracting and paralysing in retrospect. I’m sure everyone around me could see, but I was blind to it -- or at least I chose to be blind to it. The power of this ‘love’ was totally captivating and entrancing.
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Yet, much later (two years to the day) I learned -- or suddenly discovered -- I wasn’t so much in love, more totally infatuated -- in love with the thought of being in love; the perception of what that might look like; and foolish to that end, as the dictionary meaning puts it: in·fat·u·a·tion 1 : to cause to be foolish : deprive of sound judgment 2 : to inspire with a foolish or extravagant love or admiration.[1] Such a ‘love’ is clearly fanciful, not real, and therefore foolish. But is seems real.
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I’m reminded of this having recently re-visited “Love Actually,” the movie. It is such a good motion picture in that it showcases just some of the myriad of emotions that couple with love. The host of different manifestations of love in the movie range from the betrayal, to closeted love, to lived-out sexual fantasy of Colin, to ‘real life’ love stories in the formation of a relationship between the British Prime Minister (played by Hugh Grant) and his very junior assistant, Natalie, played by Martine McCutcheon, and also between Colin Firth’s character, Jamie, and Aurelia, played by Lucia Moniz.
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According to the film Love Actually, there’s a blend of many forms of love: love in politics (mentioned above); love as a second language -- a wonderful comedy of errors that ends up in marriage; love at work -- that doesn’t work out; love that lasts a lifetime -- and is never expected to end in a cheap ‘fling’; love is elementary -- and painfully so, when you lose your life partner; love is unspoken -- that ‘closeted’ love of infatuation; and, love that simply ‘rocks on’ in words sung by Billy Mack (Bill Nighy).
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The title quote: comes from Liam Neeson’s character’s step son’s (Sam) horribly awkward emotional turn; not so much of losing his mother -- the predicted reaction, but of “being in love” with a twelve year old siren from school. And he tries everything to force his way into her heart.
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And so it is for us when we find ourselves in the tormenting reality of a ‘world central to one person.’ It seems each of us goes through infatuation at least once. We are stung and at times cruelly -- had we been better to be prepared to guard our thinking and our heart? No doubt really.
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There is a Proverb that speaks powerfully to this errant issue of emotion: “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” (4:23) It may have a plethora more meaning but it stands on this at least. We must be careful with our mind. We can be so easily deceived; then we’re but a step from the enemy force invading our hearts.
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Yet, life also goes on in the midst of all this.
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Copyright © 2008, S.J. Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
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[1] http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/infatuation

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Don’t Be Fooled By Momentary Defeat

My wife told me of an event that occurred at a under eight’s netball game. The little girl in the Goal Keeper’s position fell over at an early stage in the game, and her disappointment or embarrassment caused her to require quite a bit of consoling before she was able to take her effective place in the game -- fortunately, the ball was down the other end most of this time. This is quite characteristic behaviour for this age of child, as they learn to cope with the disappointment of failure.
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This illustration might be rather extreme but it does demonstrate our affinity for dropping our heads when things don’t go well, for instance, in ball sports when a player fouls or gives away a free kick. We’ve all done it -- in our disappointment with ourselves or with the umpire or referee, dropped our head. The following quote beckons us to not fall for this momentary drop in focus.
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“The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing heart.”
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-Robert G. Ingersoll
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Momentary defeat brings with it embarrassment, pain, disappointment, or anger with an outcome we didn’t expect, or we don’t want to deal with. We suddenly react in our ‘wounded child’ state and it does us, and our situation, no good. In the sporting analogy above, we can see the other team charging toward the touch / goal line as we wallow in the self-pity of our sorrows.
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It may be difficult to learn, but training ourselves to not momentarily quit is a very worthwhile activity. And it is about training. It’s a habit. It’s about complaining less and getting on with the task at hand. It’s accepting the status quo no matter how unjust and choosing to move on. It’s faith. Faith like this is personified courage as Ingersoll has purported in his quote.
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There is no reason to lose heart and give up momentarily. In fact, the person who successfully rebounds from defeat straight away is an inspiration to all around him or her. It inspires others to learn the same habit. That can only be a good thing. Also, we never know what we might ‘win’ when we don’t give up. Remember the story of the tortoise and the hare?
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Copyright © 2008, S.J. Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Happiness Lies In Your Own Hand

“Circumstance has no power over you. Your inner weather is always and forever at your command.”
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-Olga Rosmanith.
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Madonna, one would think, would not have too many top-charting gospel songs, notwithstanding her alleged Roman Catholic faith. But as I listened to her song “Secret” just recently I developed the notion that it was very much gospel-related. Perhaps it was the fact that in her video[1] she had vision of various baptisms taking place -- a traditional Christian motif of death to the old life lived apart from God, and new birth into the spiritual life with him.
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But it was also the spiritually-attuned lyrics that caught my attention:
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“Things haven't been the same
Since you came into my life
You found a way to touch my soul
And I'm never, ever, ever gonna let it go
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When God truly comes to someone things are never the same again. Mostly he comes, and most noticeably, during times of intense pain and suffering. That’s how he finds a way to ‘touch our souls,’ otherwise we’d have no need of him -- that’s the essence. We don’t need God (apparently) until we do -- even then many resist and continue to reject him. The wise person, having felt that grasp, never lets go of the loving hand of God in Christ. Jesus is Saviour and Sanctifier.
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Bridge of the song:
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“Happiness lies in your own hand
It took me much too long to understand
How it could be
Until you shared your secret with me
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Happiness indeed lies in our own hands. There’s not a truer statement -- though there are a myriad of statements that are just as true. Even in the depths of misery, suffering, and desolation, we can do a lot about our perception of happiness. In normal life, when we’re not in the midst of suffering, we can discover the truth that happiness does routinely lay within the grasp of our own hands.
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I know from personal experience, it took much too long for me to understand the grace and power of God; it proved to be not my time. It was at my depths that God truly shared his secret with me, and only then was I able to ‘see the light’ so to speak. I praise God that, in almost the worst despair I could imagine, I found the soul-love I’d always sought but sadly didn’t know how to get. Suddenly I my eyes were opened to all sorts of injustices, and not just in my own life -- significantly in others’ lives too.
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The song continues:
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“You gave me back the paradise
That I thought I lost for good
You helped me find the reasons why
It took me by surprise that you understood
You knew all along
What I never wanted to say
Until I learned to love myself
I was never ever lovin’ anybody else
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Most of us are surprised to discover that God truly does understand us -- humanity; and when we finally perceive this truth, we’re shocked at our own insolence. How could we, a creation of the Almighty, begin to even think that he doesn’t care? Yet, he saves us not from many pains and trials. We learn and grow in the midst of them. Is that not love? Does this not bring us to maturity?
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He knew all along alright -- and so we see his patience; right from the depths of time in memoriam -- way back to the Dawn. It’s only when we know God that we can truly begin to know ourselves -- it’s only when we truly desire to know and accept ourselves that we can begin to love the self. Without self-love how can we genuinely love others? Without self-love how could we be free to live for others, serving them?
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Finally, the chorus (below) reminds me of someone having a salvation revelation experience.
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“Something's comin' over me
My baby's got a secret”
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I remember bathing in the Presence, being baptised in the Spirit, for the very first time. Something came over me alright -- it was the breath of God showing me his love and grace -- as a deeply physiologically-felt force took my body and shook it, bringing me to tears of praise and thankfulness for some several minutes. I was one giant goose bump.
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Yes, I have to admit to being inspired to say; even Madonna can preach the gospel! Her gospel message is as clear and as plain as the prophets; happiness lies in our own hands if we just receive Christ in the humility of surrender... “Seek first the kingdom of heaven...”
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Copyright © 2008, S.J. Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
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[1] Video footage from the live “Drowned World Tour” concert recorded in Detroit, Michigan in 2001.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Society Of The Burning Heart And A Passion For God – The Spiritual Journey of A.W. Tozer

“I’ve had a lonely life.” This is a statement made by Dr. Aiden W. Tozer not long before he died in 1963, aged 66. The truth is he “kept almost everyone he knew at a personal distance” all his life.[1] It is only by tracing back his heritage that we gain but a glimpse of why he was so distant.
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He grew up in the tough mountain territory of Pennsylvania in the foothills of the Alleghenies. His father Jacob was a hard working, uncompromising man, completely estranged to sentimentalism. Although he was always very thankful of his heritage, Aiden shouldered a huge burden for the family from about the age of ten, after a fire tragically burned down the family home. Educationally, the McGuffey Readers played a huge role in the Tozer children’s education giving strong, Christian-based, moral direction. The fire that significantly interrupted much of the family dynamic the Tozer’s had, was later seen as something that brought good, but only after some major pain of adjustment. The fire marked the end of an era and Aiden was never a boy again.[2]
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Some books are refreshingly spritely in their representation of truth, and Lyle Dorsett’s portrayal of the 20th Century prophet, Aiden Wilson Tozer, a.k.a. A.W. Tozer, is abundant in its accuracy and thoroughly researched.[3] This article is based upon, and summarises, Dorsett’s book.
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The “Society of the Burning Heart,” and “meeting God in adoring silence” were always what captivated Dr. Tozer. He quintessentially loved his Lord Jesus Christ, first and foremost in his life. Wrapping the mysticism of God with inerrancy of the biblical Word regarding the theology of the Godhead, Tozer was as spiritually fervent and complete a minister anyone could find. Attracted to Christianity when he heard Matthew 11:28-30 preached, he was burdened and weary for Christ and he found an early encourager to invest spiritually from his soon-to-be mother-in-law, a Spirit-filled zealot for worship.[4] This released within him a call of God that would endure faithfully for the next forty five years.
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Even though he was called and very soon responded, he and his new wife Ada were caught seriously short by World War I, with Aiden being conscripted in bizarre circumstances that would have proved to be a major test of his calledness. This part of the story is truly bewildering -- an inspiration of faithfulness.[5]
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His ordination on 18 August, 1920 was marked for the reason that he did not celebrate with others afterward; he sought “his Saviour in the secret place” preferring to be alone to pray and seek God’s face.[6] His Prayer of a Minor Prophet[7] reflects his ardent desire to follow his ‘awful, wonderful, entrancing’ God. He prays for protection against the “curse of compromise, of imitation, of professionalism.” He said in it, “I am a prophet, not a promoter, not a religious manager.” He asked for God instead to “drive [him] to the place of prayer.” [8]
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Notwithstanding the assertion he was one of the most highly regarded pastors of the 20th Century it’s ironic that Tozer was “no example of how to do pastoral work.”[9] Yet he was a tower for all ministers, youth, and college-aged people he mentored. His teaching and preaching ministry were said to be of the highest class. Young people saw him as an authoritative figure because he lacked ambition and never pushed his own barrow; he was dignified to an inch.
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One of the toughest critics of his own ‘profession,’ he made his share of enemies both in ministry and beyond. He seriously lamented the decay he saw in the then modern-day church and its compromise regarding biblical principles. Dr. Tozer attributed the ‘personality boys’ penchant for spiritual compromise as ‘nervousness,’ and too subject to the world.
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Tozer’s strong points were many. First, he was an anointed lover of the Godhead. He loved Jesus Christ more than anything or anyone. He worshipped him in truth and spent as much as five or six hours a day (his entire morning six days a week) praying and reading the Bible. He was also quite fiercely ecumenical provided other denominations and leaders supported biblical inerrancy and didn’t compromise biblical ideals for worldly ones.
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He was a voracious reader, powering through more books and authors in a week than some people would in a lifetime. He also read very broadly into the sciences, history, poetry, philosophy, the arts, and ethics, as well as the early Church Fathers, influences in Church history, and theologians. Second-hand bookstores and libraries were frequent haunts. He took literally the wonder of Psalm 8 and believed strongly in learning all he could about creation. The cliché “All truth is God’s truth” was no cliché for A.W. Tozer, and “he was every bit as driven” as secular men, but his motives were “to know God and make Him known,” not make money.[10] Above all “he became magnificently obsessive about the shaping of the soul into Christlikeness.”[11]
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Tozer loved children and routinely met with the children in the Sunday School after services instead of fielding plastic platitudes from well-meaning parishioners after his weekly sermons. Many a mother was delighted that their famous pastor sowed into their son’s and daughter’s lives in this way.
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Tozer’s prayer life was astonishing in anyone’s language. He would pray kneeling or prostrate on the floor often moaning or weeping as he bathed in the Presence each day. Unflinchingly inerrant in his view of Scripture he would use only the Bible in much of his daily reflections and meditation. His prayer life was the major feeder for his preaching as he sought to know the will of God through personal experience rather than write a ‘self-made’ sermon. He strongly desired to “experience [truth] before proclamation [of it].”[12]
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Tozer’s not-so-good points were probably surprisingly numerous -- which is a huge encouragement to the rest of us -- in sum, the ill-equipped, which is all of us. He had the gift of discernment, but using this gift often left Tozer depressed, as he lamented destructive influences affecting the Church and individuals. He often warned his associate pastor Raymond McAfee, “If you want to be happy, don’t ask for the gift of discernment.”[13]
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Althought Tozer was capable in the home, he was anything but an affectionate husband and father. None of his children, with the possible exception of his last, Rebecca, could say they enjoyed any real sense of intimacy with their father; Tozer saved his affection for his Lord. On marrying again after Tozer’s eventual death in 1963, Ada Tozer said, contrasting husbands, “Aiden loved Jesus Christ, but Leonard Odam loves me.”[14] A summarisation of Aiden and Ada’s relationship revealed they both lived lonely, emotionally separate lives. Aiden would often travel and preach, leaving Ada behind. Dr. Tozer also never encouraged fraternisation with his family or Ada’s and even actively discouraged it; family holidays were also not his thing.[15]
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Dr. Tozer, it’s already been mentioned, was not a pastoral carer. He was an opinionated prophet, and even could be called separatist at times.[16] He sensed a “sharp spiritual contradiction” between most pastors and believer’s heads and hearts; that in fact they were not ‘seekers still.’ “They seek and find and seek no more,” he said. This was a hideous dichotomy for Dr. Tozer, and it irritated him no end. He simultaneously held biblical inerrancy and spiritual experience like no other. He had nothing but “disdain [for ministers] for materialism, consumerism, and worldliness.” He freely criticised ministers and churches for any evidence he saw of this.
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Far above all, Dr. A.W. Tozer stands out as the prophetic light of the middle 20th Century; his legacy has been felt very personally and indelibly through Chicago, Illinois, and through the surrounding States within the U.S. Dorsett’s offering is remarkably well researched and written. It’s a book hard to put down. The book is also a resource; I’ve gone back to it at various stages.
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Copyright © 2008, S.J. Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
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ENDNOTES:
[1] Lyle W. Dorsett, A Passion For God: The Spiritual Journey of A.W. Tozer, (Chicago, Illinois: Moody Publishers, 2008), p. 17.
[2] Ibid, pp. 33-38. Again, Aiden was aged 10 when the fire occurred.
[3] This book is heavily cited.
[4] Ibid, p. 51.
[5] Ibid, p. 57.
[6] The full Prayer of a Minor Prophet is widely available and is printed verbatim on pages 65-68 of Dorsett’s book.
[7] This work was finally published in the Alliance Weekly in 1950.
[8] Ibid, pp. 65-68.
[9] Ibid, p. 135. This quote is from Rev. Ed J. Maxey who assisted Tozer for two years during the mid-1950s.
[10] Ibid, p. 94.
[11] Ibid, p. 21.
[12] Ibid, p. 136.
[13] Ibid, p. 134.
[14] Ibid, p. 160.
[15] Ibid, p. 143-4. This reference applies to the two previous sentences.
[16] Ibid, p. 138-9.