Know the Value of Others

There was once a young man, a summa cum laude of a prestigious university, who came to a remote village and crossed a wide river via small boat. While travelling, he asked the boatman, “Do you know the exact weight of your boat when it is full to its capacity?” “I don’t know, Sir,” replied the boatman. “Well, you are a boatman. You should know that!”

Few minutes passed and the young man asked again, “Do you know the exact height of that mountain over there?” The poor boatman answered, “I’m sorry, Sir, but I don’t know the height of that mountain, Sir.” “Well, you are always here boating everyday so, you should know that!,” insisted the young man.

Then, after few minutes, the wind suddenly blew so furiously that it heavily hit the boat. The boatman insistently suggested, “Sir!, we need to jump out of the boat immediately and swim across the shore to spare our lives!” The young man fearfully exclaimed, “What!? Swim? No!, just keep rowing! I don’t know how to swim! I don’t know that!!” The boatman said, “But, Sir, that’s the only option we can do to save our lives! You should know how to swim! You should know that, SIR!! ... I’m sorry, Sir, but with this kind of storm I can’t save you, and I must now go!”

Indeed, there are things you know that others don’t, and there are things others know that you don’t. So, we don’t need to compare ourselves with anybody else nor do we need to demean others with their seemingly disadvantage. We don’t even have the license to belittle someone because of our seemingly advantage over them, either. The Book of Romans is astute in reminding us by saying, “… Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you” (Rom. 12:3).

My former military chaplain had once said, “Nobody has the monopoly of knowledge and intelligences... not even the monopoly of GOD’s blessings.”

GOD gives each person with skills and talents that make him or her totally special. That is why we do not have the right to label anyone dumb or stupid, even the mere thought of it. Better yet, we need to explore our own areas of intelligence and help others discover their’s, too. Then we’d all be happier and more content with ourselves.

Likewise, we are here not to compete with each other. Instead, we are here to complete each other. In the same way, we ought to learn the truth that we need each other. Our strengths and weaknesses give us the chance to complement each other. In other words, we help and support each other in our weak areas, and we use our strengths for the benefit of the whole. And so, there’s absolutely no competition there.

Be careful. Respect everybody because we’re all GOD’s creation. You may not admire someone much, but nevertheless, GOD loves him. There’s an African saying that goes this way: “The opinion of the intelligent is better than the certainty of the ignorant.”

As Citizens of the Kingdom, we are expected to use our talents, skills, intelligences, or any advantage that we have to serve and to help each other in the spirit of warmth, harmony, and love. For one day we will face the real Judge and shall render an account.

Victory Over Fear

By:  B. Espinoza

Black Bart, who robbed 29 Wells Fargo stage coaches between 1875 and 1883, managed to strike fear in the hearts of his victims. Bart used his evil demeanor to ignite fear in anyone unfortunate to be on or around a Wells Fargo stagecoach during a robbery. Bart used fear to get his victims eyes on their circumstances. He knew distracting his victims from what was true was his only hope for a successful robbery and get away. The truth about Black Bart was in the 29 robberies history documents; he never once fired his gun or took a hostage. I wonder if the victims of his later robberies would have been as afraid, when robbed, if they had just set their mind on that truth. Like Black Bart, Satan uses fear as a tool to distract us from what is true.

Satan's understanding of who we are in Christ is evidenced by his repeated attempts to get us to submit to fear. When we are fully aware of the truth of who we are in Christ, we will not be afraid. The only thing Satan can do is to distract us from this truth. He does this by attempting to re-direct our focus, from our riches in Christ, onto our seemingly fearful circumstances. Satan knows he can't rob us of our riches in Christ, so he has no choice but to encourage us to lose sight of all we have and all we are in Christ.

Though we may lose sight of this, at times, God continues to prove Himself faithful in our lives. Remember when the Armenian army surrounded the Israelites camp? (2 Kings 6:15-17) A fear struck servant came to Elisha with the disheartening news. However, Elisha assured the servant. So he answered, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” (2 Kings 6:16 NKJV)  Elisha prayed and instantly the servant's eyes were opened to see the hills, all around, covered with horses and chariots of fire. The truth was that God had provided the Israelites more than enough protection from the Armenians. Elisha's eyes were on what was true while the servant's gaze had been distracted by the surrounding enemy.  I wonder if the servant would have seen God's army from the start had he not allowed the enemy to distract him from what was true.

Though, in Christ, I am more than a conqueror (Romans 8:37), on occasion, I allow intimidating circumstances distract me from this truth, and I submit myself to fear. Just as the turbulent waves of the sea distracted Peter from Jesus' invitation to walk on water, causing Peter to be consumed by the waves, when I focus on the waves in my life overwhelming feelings of helplessness rob me of doing the impossible through Christ.  Like Peter, when I fix my eyes on Jesus I am able to confidently rise above my fears and miraculously walk to Jesus, by faith, on what previously were my fears.

All throughout the Bible, God instructs people to not fear. Though we may feel sometimes this is easier said than done, it is no coincidence that when you add up all the instances in Scripture where it is instructs, "do not fear," "fear not," and "be not afraid" they total 365 occurrences--one occurrence for every day of the year. Perhaps this is God's way of telling us never will we face a day that we will ever have a valid reason to be afraid.

May our faith in Jesus shine so bright, extinguishing all ungodly fears, that those who don't know Jesus will marvel at our boldness and know, as the Sanhedrin did after witnessing the boldness of Peter and John, that we have been with Jesus. (Acts 4:5-13)

Why I’m Retiring Early and Inviting You To Do the Same

By:  C. Chua

As of today, I’m retired from work and life.

What do I mean? I mean that I’ll no longer work or live life as conventional society deems me to. I’ll no longer concern myself with monetary needs, societal statuses, creating a lifetime of achievements, matching people’s expectations, and so on. I’ll just do my thing, act the way I want to act, and live the life I want to live, void of expectations and self-obligation—and trust that everything will work itself out in the end.

Why? Technically I still have a good four decades to go before I am considered fit for retirement. (The retirement age in Singapore is 65 now. It was 62 previously and was extended to 65 last year, and is probably going to be 68 or even 70 by the time I’m in 50 or 60.)

I guess I just realized that life is too short to be spent doing something, anything, I don’t want to do. Thinking back, a good part of my life had been spent living for someone or something else. From my studying years to my working years, I had constantly been in mad pursuit of goals which were both set by myself and by the society.

While the pursuit of these goals had made me a stronger and better person, the act of pursuing them had made me defer the present moment in wait of a better future. It made me constantly wonder “What’s next?” and look out into the future for greater happiness rather than actively live in the present.

Now that majority of my life goals have been achieved, I’m seeking for the next level-up where every moment of my life is pure bliss. I have realized that this requires me to organically create my life path from the present moment, based on my current passions and needs, rather than constantly think about how to manipulate my present reality to achieve a hypothetical future.

The latter focuses a lot on delayed gratification (putting off your current needs), while the former is about being aware of your current moment and nurturing it into a better moment the next.

The future:

(A point that isn’t here yet / Constant obsessions)

How can I get there?

What should I do next?

The past:

How I was living in the past?

The present:

(Where we are at now / New thinking)

What do I feel like doing today?

What is inspiring me the most right now?

How I’m going to live starting from today?

This is what I’m trying to convey too: to live life in a child-like manner, based on today and now, rather than worrying about what should be or what others might think!

On the surface it may not seem as though anything is going to change. I’ll still be writing articles at the blog. I’ll still be creating videos. I’ll still be taking on media interviews to spread my message. I may still be creating new courses (I’m thinking of an anti-procrastination course or a fear-crushing course next.) I’ll still be creating new business ideas because I love conceptualizing, strategizing, and creation. I’ll still be creating plans for my life because I love to plan.

However, on the micro-level, things will be different. Instead of asking, “What’s next?” or “What should I do today to achieve my goal?,” I will be asking myself, “What do I want to do today/right now?.” Then, I will proceed to do just that. It’s a slightly, but fundamentally, different approach to life that will create a different life experience altogether.

This is more than just semantics. This is something that’s going to change my life inside out. I’ve already begun living this way for the past few weeks and I’m really liking the shift so far. Gone are the days of negligent self-pressure, self-burdening, and life deferment. What I’m experiencing now is true inspiration and passion, from moment to moment. It’s like being in a perpetual state of flow.

To You

For you reading this, I encourage you to imagine you are retired now. What is the life you want to live? What is your definition of true bliss? What is a dream reality to you?

Then, think about how you can create that life right now, right now in this moment, rather than defer that life to some distant future.

Because you don’t live in the future. You live in the now. If you’re not completely happy today, in this present moment, then when are you ever going to be happy? Happiness starts in the now. If you want to live a happy life, you have to make happiness a present reality. Then, build on your present to create a greater future.

I’m done putting off my present in pursuit of a supposed better future. I invite you to do the same as me too—to live in the present, make happiness a present reality, then use that to create a marvelous life path as you move forward, rather than defer the current reality for the future.

I’ll end off with this quote by Confucious:

“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” ~ Confucious

Note:

Why I’m Retiring at 28 and Inviting You To Do the Same  – Orig title

You Are Accepted

By:  R. Warren

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9 NIV)

Most of us spend our entire lives trying to earn acceptance. We want to earn it from our parents, peers, partners in life, people we respect ourselves, and even people we envy. The desire to be accepted drives us to do all kinds of things. It can influence the kind of clothes you wear, the kind of car you drive, the kind of house you buy, even the career you choose.

Would you agree that people do the craziest things to be accepted? Remember as a kid you wanted so badly to be in the in-crowd that someone would say to you, “I dare you to do this,” and you did something stupid. You did it because your desire to be accepted overruled the desire for personal safety in your life. When you played baseball as a kid and teams were chosen, remember how great it felt to be picked by the better player? Remember how bad you felt when they got down to the last two or three and you still weren't chosen?

We love the feeling of being accepted.

Being chosen does tremendous things for your self-esteem. 1 Peter 2:9 says,“You are a chosen people” (NIV). That ought to raise your self-esteem! Christ has accepted you — not based on your performance, something that you earned, or something that you deserve. God simply says, “I chose you.”

You may have accepted Jesus into your life, but have you ever realized that Christ has accepted you? You don't have to earn it; you don't have to prove yourself.

“Even if my mother and father abandon me, the LORD will take care of me”(Psalm 27:10 GW). The fact is, some of you had parents whom you could never please. No matter what you did, it wasn't good enough. If you got C’s, they wanted B's. If you got B's, they wanted A's. If you got A's, they wanted straight A's.

The tragedy is that some of you today are still trying to prove yourself to your parents. You're still trying to earn their acceptance, but, in all likelihood, you're not going to get their approval if they haven't given it to you by now, because that's their problem.

The good news is this: You don't need it to be happy! There are 7 billion people in the world. If two people don't like you, who cares? As a part of God’s family, you have been accepted by God!

Enjoying Who God Created You to Be

By:  J. Meyer

Start believing today that you are a rare, one-of-a-kind, valuable and precious individual. To help you learn how to be successful at being yourself, I want to give you some easy-to-follow suggestions:

Speak good things about yourself. 

Declare what God’s Word says about you. For example, say to yourself, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ. I am made acceptable in the Beloved. God formed me with His own hand, He loves me, and God doesn’t make mistakes.”

Avoid comparing yourself with others.

God must love variety, or all of us wouldn’t look so different. He has created each of us differently right down to our fingertips. We can look to certain people as good examples to follow, but even then, good traits if duplicated will manifest differently through our individual personalities.

Focus on your potential instead of your limitations. 

Refuse to concentrate on your weaknesses except in an effort to turn them into strengths. Keep your flaws in perspective. People with a high level of confidence have just as many weaknesses as those without confidence, but they focus on their strengths instead of their weaknesses.

Learn to cope with criticism. 

If you dare to be different, you’ll have to expect some criticism. Going along with the crowd when you know in your heart that God is leading you in a different direction is one of the reasons individuals don’t succeed at being themselves. You won’t be comfortable in your own skin if you go against your own convictions.

You are a person who is perfected and complete in Him. When you start to believe that, you will no longer feel that you are lacking anything or that there is anything wrong with you.

Remember this: God will never anoint you to be anyone other than yourself. Let now be your time to go forward and be set free from the torments of comparing yourself with others and trying to be someone you’re not. God is proud of who He made you to be!

Small Beginnings

By:  L. Stewart

 Zech 4:10 says, “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin.” 

I’m so glad that God gets excited when I start something new. He knows that trusting Him will cost me something.  

I recently started a new life adventure. God directed me, an almost 40-year-old school teacher, to move from California to Virginia to go back to school. As a wife and mother of three, you can imagine the tremendous leap of faith this was for my husband and children. But the Word of God is full of such stories.

When the exiles returned to Jerusalem from Babylon, they faced one obstacle after another.  First, the Jewish exiles had no place of worship since Solomon’s temple had been destroyed. Zerubbabel and Jeshua were priests in charge of building a new temple. But before they could build the temple, an altar of sacrifice was built. 

Ezra 3:3 says, “Even though the people were afraid of the local residents, they rebuilt the altar.” 

Have you ever been afraid to start something for God? God almost always calls us to the very thing that terrifies us. Fear is the opposite of faith. He must kill the fear that lies within us, in order to make us people who solely rely on Him and His Word. Faith is what pleases God.

When God spoke to me in 2005 He said, “Major in Communications and prepare for television.”  My first thought was, “I’m afraid to speak! And I don’t know the first thing about television!” 

God probably smiled right about then. I love what Joyce Meyer says. If God asks you to do something that makes you afraid, just “do it afraid!”

Have you ever started something new for God and nobody seemed to care or offer to help? Jeshua and  Zerubbabel believed God wanted them to rebuild the temple. Unlike today, the men had no building program launch celebration. They couldn’t even pay the workers real wages; the Bible says the Jewish exiles paid the workers with food, wine, and olive oil. 

When we moved to Virginia, my husband and I had no jobs waiting for us. No one welcomed us when we arrived, because nobody knew we existed yet! We only knew that if God provided for all the obedient men and women in the Bible and in history, then God would do it for us too.

Have you ever wanted to start something new and all you hear is negative voices? Zerubbabel and Jeshua faced discouragement from the older generation. Ezra 3:12-13records that while most of the people were rejoicing when the foundation was laid, another sound was heard--weeping!  The older priests remembered Solomon’s glorious temple and they wept when they realized the new temple would not be as grand. 

When God tells you to start something, count on a few things:

Small beginnings

Real risk

Financial need

Fear

Discouragement , even from some believers

Not a very appealing list, is it? Now do you see why God rejoices when we begin a new work for Him? Our faith and obedience attract His favor and His supernatural power. 

God will give you favor from unexpected people when you dare to obey Him. King Cyrus fully supported the exiles return and the building project. The next Persian kings, Darius and Artaxerxes also encouraged construction of the Temple in Jerusalem. Maybe the local people opposed the rebuilding, but the exiles had the favor of the most powerful people of their time.

As you step out in faith, God will not only meet your needs, but will bless you with abundance. Over time, financial provision arrived for the builders, accompanied by reinforcements. God sent a second wave of exiles led by Ezra.  Artaxerxes loaded Ezra with gifts and provisions (Ezra 7) to take back and even wrote to his treasurers, “You are to give Ezra whatever he requests of you.” 

Can you guess how the story ends? The temple is rebuilt and that inspires another man, Nehemiah, to return to build the city wall. See, your obedience to start small may ultimately lead to more people starting small, and the cycle continues. 

My story is still in the “small beginning” stage. But I can tell you that God provided an incredible job for my husband, and I successfully completed my first semester in grad school. May God rejoice over you as you are faithful to start small.

Difficult People

By:  GST

What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among men (Daniel 2:11).

G.K. Chesterton, the British author and critic wrote, "The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies, probably because they are generally the same people" (Mark Rosen, Thank You For Being Such A Pain, (New York, NY: Three Rivers Press, 1999), p. 13.)

Difficult people are all around you.  In the office the difficult person tells you your faults. At home he or she has the frankness to tell you your lipstick isn't the right shade, that you are wearing the wrong clothes, that your fried chicken isn't as good as Colonel Sanders'.  Your difficult neighbor tells you that your house isn't painted the right color, or that you should have more sense than to vote the way you do, or that your tree is on his property.  A difficult teacher picks at your work, accuses you of plagiarism when you wrote your own essay, and reminds you that she has the power to keep you from graduating.

A difficult person makes you miserable, refuses to give you your due recognition, ignores your good work, and minimizes your contribution to the cause, thinks that your business is his business and feels compelled to point out your flaws.

The Bible is a 3000-year record of difficult people who made other people feel uncomfortable.  Cain, Adam's son, made life difficult for his brother Abel, so difficult that he found him in the field and took his life, and from that moment to the present there have been difficult people with whom you have to contend.  They won't go away.  There's no escaping them.  In his book, Thank You For Being Such a Pain, Mark Rosen says, "A difficult person is someone who causes us to feel things we'd rather not be feeling." (Rosen, p. 13.)

Today, however, some have elevated the task to an art form-they are the ones who bedevil you and irritate you and make you wish that a bolt of lightning would take them out of your life.

That's why difficult people offer a great challenge or an opportunity.  They can be as abrasive as an axe that cuts to the root, or else their acerbic deeds, words, and personalities can serve as a grinding stone, sharpening the edge of your axe.  Instead of allowing them to get to you, you learn from them, profit from their critiques, and gain an inner strength which makes you a better person.

Everyone is difficult to someone.  Most of the time, however, people are not trying to be difficult.  Their personality simply runs against the grain of yours.  Their insecurities produce flaws in their relationships which they don't know even exist, and, at the time, they actually think they are doing you a favor to point out the fact that your lipstick isn't the right shade for your complexion.

Since we lived across the street from a golf course, I began playing golf as a kid. With my brother and several of my friends I would whack the ball around the old Overland Golf Course.  It was great fun because we enjoyed each other; however, it was when I began playing with guys who were much better than I that my game improved.  They made the difficult shots that I missed and it was the pressure to do better which made my game improve.

The same thing occurred in college and graduate school.  Hazel Potts was brilliant.  She knew English literature as did no other professor I ever had, but she was also difficult, at times very difficult.  She had a cold look that could turn your blood to ice water and a mannerism which reminded me of a matron in a woman's prison.  But I can tell you one thing for sure, I learned more from her than from the teachers who had pleasant personalities and big smiles.

You can profit from those difficult people in your life.