Pride and Prejudice

Our foolish pride comes from this world, and so do our selfish desires and our desire to have everything we see. None of this comes from the Father.  

--  1 John 2:16

According to Proverbs 16:18, "Pride comes before disaster, and arrogance before a fall." And this is true for both people and organizations. For example, you've probably heard of Microsoft Word, the popular word processing software found on millions of personal computers and other devices around the world. But what about WordPerfect? Back in the 1980s and early '90s, it was the dominant word processor until Microsoft introduced its game-changing Windows 95 operating system.

WordPerfect, which operated on the old DOS operating system, suddenly became obsolete. And although subsequent Windows-based versions of the software were released, there were still compatibility issues. Microsoft Word eventually overthrew the once-invincible WordPerfect. And in 1996, Norvell--WordPerfect's owner--sold WordPerfect for only 10% of what it had paid just two years earlier. 

This multi-million-dollar loss was, to say the least, a disturbing reality check for Norvell. Its management of WordPerfect and the employees who created it is a textbook example of corporate pride and arrogance. Likewise, Christ-followers must understand that pride can hurt us badly if we overlook it and take things for granted.

At pride's root is our love of the world's values rather than our devotion to God. And pride happens to be a disease with some nasty side effects. One symptom is farsightedness. That's because we tend to see it in others but not in ourselves. Our heads then grow and our minds shrink. And eventually, we reach the point where we actually think we're strong and smart enough to do it all-- and all while forgetting that God is the only true power and source of our success. We become arrogant, vain, stubborn and defensive. And we may even develop a strange sense of satisfaction when others, often our closest friends, face difficulties or tragedies in their lives.

These painful symptoms can last for days or even years. But we'll eventually reach the point where God lets us crumble and fall flat after some unforeseen situation or circumstance. It's the pride before the fall. And it's only when we're struggling helplessly in the debris that we finally regain our senses and return to our Creator.

Like the common cold, we're all bound to catch the pride bug every once in a while. So what's the best way to battle the illness once it's set in? First, the remedy doesn't call for adopting an artificially low self-esteem or a terminal woe-is-me attitude. Instead, we'll heal by replacing deceptive self-confidence with reliable Christ confidence. The prescription is to always put God first in our lives and remember that we can do nothing without Him. Always give Him the credit for your blessings and successes. Help others through their struggles. And then remember that God chooses and uses humble people to do great things in the world.

The Bible sums it up with some solid advice: "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up."

Mom's the Word

Listen, my son, to your father's instruction
and do not forsake your mother's teaching. 

--  Proverbs 1:8

Many historians consider him one of our nation's greatest presidents. He led the United States through the dark days of the Great Depression, defeated the Axis powers in World War II and won a remarkable four presidential elections.

He was Franklin Delano Roosevelt ("FDR"). By the time of his death in 1945, he was the most powerful leader of the world's greatest military machine. And he was also something of a momma's boy.

FDR's mother was Sara Roosevelt, described as a "strong-willed widow who wasn't about to give up her hold on her only child." She made the future president wear a dress until he was five years old. When young Franklin left home to attend Harvard, his mother followed him to college and moved to Boston. And after FDR married his fourth cousin, his mother bought the newlyweds a fine home in New York City--and then moved in to run the household! It was years later that FDR's wife Eleanor wrote, ''...you were never quite sure when (my mother-in-law) would appear, day or night.''

OK, maybe Sara Roosevelt took her role as a mother a bit too far. But FDR obviously would do (and did) almost anything for her. When she died in 1941, the president wore a black armband to symbolize his deep mourning and affection.

Perhaps FDR's old-fashioned perspective can teach us a thing or two about appreciating our mothers and their irreplaceable roles in our lives. With the traditional family under attack from so-called progressive thinkers, Hollywood celebrities and the cultural elite, it's God's Word--the Bible--that once again proves to be our source of truth about the strength and value of motherhood. Where would our society be without strong mothers teaching the next generation to walk in God's ways? It's through the examples of good mothers that we learn about compassion, character, work ethic and faith.

King Lemuel sums it up through these observations in the Old Testament book of Proverbs:

"Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her the reward she has earned, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate."

These were words of wisdom and truth centuries ago, and they still are today. And it just goes to show that FDR had it right all along. Maybe there's something to be said for being a momma's boy (or girl).

What Happens In Vegas

So when you give to the poor, don't let anyone know what you are doing. Your giving should be done in secret. You Father can see what is done in secret, and He will reward you.

--  Matthew 6:3-5

Las Vegas has been known for decades as an anything goes type of town. And its reputation is well deserved. No matter the time of day or night, high stakes gambling, quickie weddings (and divorces) and risqué entertainment are just a casino away. But a few years ago, city officials decided to broaden Sin City's appeal. Rather than pandering to the lowest common denominator, Las Vegas began promoting itself as a family-friendly vacation destination--sort of like Disneyland, but with lots more glitz and glam.

If you don't remember that brief change of heart, you're not alone. It wasn't long before the message was scrapped in favor of the famous What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas campaign. And when an advertising slogan enters the lexicon, you know you've hit the marketing jackpot!

Essentially, a visit to Las Vegas promises (or at least suggests) days and nights of no-guilt fun and excitement. Nothing that happens there has to leave the city limits. And if you don't tell, they certainly won't. At least that's what they say. But that's not how real life works. As Christ-followers, we understand that our Creator already knows about all of our thoughts and actions--regardless of whether we're alone or at a crowded blackjack table. There's nowhere to hide. And one day, we'll all have to give an account of our life's words and deeds. That should be quite an explanation for most of us!

Christ-followers are to be bright lights to a blind and desperate world. But with so many eyes upon us, doing the right thing and standing up for our convictions can be tough--and even painful at times. Those who refuse to cut corners, shade the truth or puff up their resumes can lose out on careers, friendships and much more. And no good deed seems to go unpunished.

That's just a little that can happen when people are watching. But what about doing the right thing when no one will ever know? Maybe it's that car door you scratched in the crowded mall parking lot. Or the $20 bill that fell from your co-worker's pocket. And think back a few years to when you were playing baseball in your backyard. Who really broke your neighbor's window?

It's daily circumstances like these that challenge our faith, values and convictions. But as Christ-followers, we're directed to be true witnesses to the freedom God has given us through the costly sacrifice of His Son, Jesus. When we accepted His forgiveness for all the ways we've hurt others and ourselves throughout our lifetimes, we gained the freedom to make a positive difference in this world and turn our backs on the past.

Maybe Las Vegas is the town that never sleeps. But if you stick with Jesus' practical admonitions for living through faith, you'll see that a good night's sleep with a clear conscience pays off better than any winning hand at the poker table. 

Fearless

"Don't be afraid!" Moses replied. "God has come only to test you, so that by obeying him you won't sin."

--  Exodus 20:20

Are you one of the millions of Americans with a phobia--a strong, irrational fear of something that poses little or no actual danger? 

Maybe it's something common like claustrophobia (the fear of enclosed areas) or aviophobia (the fear of flying)--or perhaps one of the biggest fears of them all: glossophobia (speaking in public). But you also wouldn't be alone if you suffer from galeophobia (the fear of cats) or even coulrophobia (the fear of clowns). And what about folks diagnosed with panophobia?

(They fear everything!)

Christ-followers aren't immune from phobias. But it might surprise you to know that some suffer from zeusophobia--a fear of God. To be fair, maybe it's more accurate to say that many Christ-followers aren't so much afraid of God as they are of saying yes to Him. One of the problems is that we too often think of God as a cosmic consultant offering well-intentioned suggestions rather than the all-knowing Creator who made us, loves us and wants only the best for us. When you get down to it, saying no to God is perhaps the most basic definition of sin. And mankind has been doing just that since those early days of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

We know in our heads and our hearts that God loves us. In fact, He loves us so much that he sent His only Son to die on the cross to pay for all of our failures in life. So with this in mind, why would anyone say no to God?

First, saying no and playing it safe is a basic human instinct. Fleeing from danger (real or perceived) makes perfect sense when we consider our innate desire for self-preservation. We also can say no to God when He calls us to do something uncomfortable or inconvenient. And that seems to be more often than not. Maybe it's His call to help a neighbor who's between jobs, drive a shut-in to the grocery store or talk with a co-worker who's approaching a spiritual crossroads. Taking that first step can be awkward, difficult-and sometimes scary.

But maybe selfishness is the biggest reason so many people say no to God. After all, saying yes to Him usually means saying no to us. But be forewarned: when we say no and turn our backs to God, we need to prepare for a certain level of spiritual storminess and turmoil. God knows what He wants and How He wants to do it. So it's only fitting that we'll often find ourselves in a much worse situation after our refusal than if we had just said yes to Him in the beginning. As the old saying goes, sometimes we need to feel the heat before we can see the light.

Are you afraid to say yes to God? You're not alone. And He'd like to talk with you about it.

"God's Spirit doesn't make us slaves who are afraid of him," the Apostle Paul tells us through the Book of Romans. "Instead, we become his children and call him our Father."

So what are you afraid of?

 

Overcoming the Inevitable

Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?"

--  John 11:25-26

Few people like to talk about it, but it's something we'll all have to face one day. It's not a trip to the dentist's office, an audit by the IRS or even a ballet recital. It's something much more inevitable:

DEATH.

Why do so many people worry about death? For those who aren't Christ-followers, death represents the unknown. It's a gaping black hole. And who knows what's at the bottom of that pit or who's on the other side? And besides, death is just so...final.

What we don't know or understand frightens us. It frightens us a lot.

That doesn't sound very reassuring. So here's some good news, but it's only for Christ-followers. If you've accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you have absolutely nothing to fear from death. In fact, death is simply the transition between our relatively brief existence on Earth and an eternity of joy with Jesus. From Revelation--the final book of the Bible--we learn that our troubles, tears and sorrows will be things of the past. That sounds like something to anticipate rather than fear.

How is this possible? In short, it's the Easter story. After Jesus willingly died on a cross to pay the enormous debt for our sins, He proved that He was indeed God's Son by fulfilling Old Testament prophesies and rising to life. The huge boulder that had once sealed His grave was rolled away--and the tomb was empty! And so was the devil's greatest weapon against mankind: the inevitability of death.

The Easter story reveals an obvious truth: one day, death will take us all. But there's some very good news in this sobering thought. If you've surrendered your life to Jesus, death can't keep you. It's already been defeated through Jesus' triumphant resurrection.

When Easter morning arrives this Sunday, remember that it means much more than chocolate rabbits, jelly beans and colorful hard-boiled eggs. Easter is really a celebration about overcoming the inevitable and defeating the unbeatable. You can therefore believe Jesus' promises and have supreme confidence in your eternal future.

It's the amazing Easter story. He conquered death long ago so you don't have to worry about it today. 

On the Job

"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'"

--  Matthew 25:23

Forbes.com recently posted an article about The Happiest Jobs in America--a comprehensive list of occupations based on more than 25,000 employee-generated workplace reviews compiled by online jobs site CareerBliss. The list considered work-life balance, work environment, compensation and growth opportunities, along with several other factors. And if you believe its findings, the happiest employees around happen to be database administrators. The article also reports high satisfaction levels among quality assurance engineers and executive recruiters.

Who are the least satisfied on the job? Apparently security officers, bank branch managers and accountants.

According to the old saying, you'll never work another day in your life if you love what you do for a living. That's when a run-of-the-mill job becomes a passion. But whether you're thrilled with your career or you're simply clocking in the hours for a paycheck, the Bible has some words of wisdom that put things into perspective: 

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart," writes the Apostle Paul, "as working for the Lord, not for men..."

So whether you're the CEO of an international corporation or a 9-to-5 ditch-digger, you should do your job for God's glory. This means Christ-followers need to consider the workplace as much a place of worship on weekdays as church is on Sundays. What's more, we must work--and live--with the end in mind. Because once we pass into eternity, job titles and salaries will be worthless. Rich or poor, famous or obscure, we'll all have to account for what we did in our lifetimes with the gifts and talents our Creator gave us.

The world's message is that money, position and upward mobility equal a successful career--and that a successful career means a successful life. But this is a distorted viewpoint. While there's nothing wrong with having a large bank account and an impressive job title, these things become obstacles when they're the focus of life and the object of worship. Everything we have--our money, possessions, family and health--is due to God's generosity. He gives it freely. And He can take it away without notice.

God's definition of success comes as a surprise to many. Instead of living self-centered lives on the fast track to stock options and a corner office, our motivation should revolve around being His hands and feet in the home, workplace and community. Our faithfulness to God is therefore the real gold standard of success. Likewise, it's how we should live with the end in mind: always on the job.

 

In Search of Excellence

There are many rooms in my Father's house. If this were not true, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.

--  John 14:2

It's one of history's best-selling and most-influential books on business, as well as the most widely-held library book in the United States from 1989 to 2006. But some critics say its content is flawed and that the hype fails to live up to expectations.

First published in 1982, In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America's Best Run Companies explores the common management methodologies of 43 profitable and innovative corporations. And data analysis reveals that the authors' choices have largely held up over the years. However, Forbes magazine points out that some of the profiled companies--like Wang Laboratories and Atari--have actually shrunk or gone bankrupt. The balance sheets of Xerox and NCR were also less than stellar in the 1980's--the era that the book covers. And an article in Fast Company magazine suggests that In Search of Excellence used faked data to make its case.

Maybe some of these companies weren't so excellent after all. But that's the way it is with anything created by humanity. In one way or another, we're all destined to disappoint.

Let's contrast this somber fact with heaven, one of God's creations that will far exceed mankind's preconceived notions and expectations. The Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians that 14 years earlier, he had a remarkable glimpse of what all Christ-followers will one day experience for eternity. "Yes, only God knows whether I was in my body or outside my body," he reported. "But I do know that I was caught up to paradise and heard things so astounding that they cannot be expressed in words, things no human is allowed to tell."

The Bible doesn't provide a complete description of the afterlife, but what it does tell us is amazing. For example, we'll be reunited with fellow believers and celebrate with them in joy. And Revelation tells us that God's city is 1,400 miles long and just as wide and high, with walls 200 feet thick. Notably, there won't be any churches there because we'll have a personal relationship with Jesus and God. And no one will need the sun or the moon--or any kind of light for that matter--because God's glory will be the light, and Jesus will be its lamp. Revelation 21:3 tells us, "And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.'"

When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we can look forward to an eternity of happiness with our Creator. What's more, we'll enjoy a total absence of everything negative in the human experience. "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or sadness. There will be no more crying or pain," we read in the final book of the Bible. "Things are no longer the way they used to be."

Describing heaven on this side of eternity is largely futile because its mere existence overpowers anything that we can ever hope to imagine or comprehend. So until we get there, rest assured that it will exceed our expectations many times over. It's in heaven that we'll finally discover true excellence.