Am I reaching my maximum capacity?

Recently I have been reading a book by John C. Maxwell called, “No Limits.” Like most of Maxell’s writings, the book is largely about perspective and attitude. One of the things that has stood out to me in this writing is knowing the difference between what I can and cannot control. There are many things in life that I cannot control. There are also things that only I can control. Knowing the difference is essential to reaching my full capacity, in my career, in ministry, and in my personal goals.

I certainly cannot control what other people think about me anymore than I can control the weather. I cannot control the actions of others. I cannot control the state of today’s politics or economics. I can’t even prevent myself from getting a flat tire, catching a cold, etc. When we focus on what we cannot control, it can be tempting to get frustrated, angry, bitter, or even depressed. Instead we should be focusing our energy on what we can control. Controlling what we can, and not wasting precious energy one what we can’t, is one of the most important lessons we can learn in life. One might say that it makes the difference between a person being perpetually frustrated or at peace.

There are many things that only I can control. I am the only one who can control how I spend my time. I can spend the same thirty minutes (or four hours) watching television in the evening or reading something that will help me grow. I once met a man who spoke French, German, and Italian fluently enough to have a nice conversation with a native speaker of these languages. The man had never taken a foreign language class and had never lived out of the country for more than a couple of weeks at a time. He told me that he decided he would spend an hour a night with a language instead of being in front of the television. It worked and he was quite a linguist. Naturally, being linguistically inclined myself, I was inspired. Perhaps you have no interest in learning a language but the point is that all of us have the same amount of time in each day. It behooves us to make the most of it.

Another thing I can control is with whom I spend my time. I can choose to stop by the office of a person who will share the office gossip everyday. While this might keep me “informed,” it usually also keeps me focusing on the negative. I must admit that there are certain people I do not want to talk on the phone. If a person calls me with a definite need to talk, I am “all ears”. If the same person calls me continually, only with a need to talk about how bad the world is, I may utilize caller ID. Please don’t feel bad at me for saying so. There are some things that only I can control. One of those is the people I allow to speak into my life.

I am the only one who can control my attitude about life. One day I will have to answer to God for the talents and abilities he gave me. I want to be able to show him that I used them for the good of his kingdom. I want to have reached my maximum capacity. I will not answer for anyone else, only for myself. I need not feel bad if I can’t sing, play, draw, or paint like someone else. I need only take what I can do and use it for God’s glory.

My passion should be my priority. Many people spend years of their lives berating themselves because they can’t sing like sister so-and-so. This is such a waste of energy. My energy is renewed when I take what I know I am good at (all of have talents) and focus my time on doing it well. Mr. Maxwell uses the analogy that he will never be a good ballet dancer. Sadly (or thankfully) neither will I. Yet I will not worry about this. I will find something else I am good at doing and develop it for God’s glory.

One day I want to hear God say well done. Though my salvation is not dependent on my abilities, scripture is clear that I will answer to God for the use of my time. God help me to control the use of my time and my energy for his glory!

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Jones

Works Cited

Maxwell, John C. No Limits: Blow the Cap Off Your Capacity. New York: Hatchett Book Group, 2017. Print.

Look for the Rainbow

Recently, I saw a photo of a rainbow that a friend posted on Facebook. The caption said, “I feel hope every time I see a rainbow.” As I sit here and listen to the rain this morning her comment seems appropriate. It has been raining for days; it actually seems like months. It probably doesn’t help that I have a list of things I want to do outdoors. One of those things is to fix the wipers on my wife’s car. Thankfully, it is parked safe and sound under the carport where I can work on it this afternoon without getting wet. Meanwhile, I have to go out in the rain and drive to work when what I really would like to do is curl up in my chair with a good book. Oh, the joys of being an adult!

Actually, I don’t mind the rain so much. It is much cooler when it rains. I understand that it is watering the grass and keeping everything green. But on days like today, it is tempting to wonder if the rain will ever stop. If I didn’t have the promise of a rainbow, that is. For those of you who know the Genesis story, you will understand the reference. In the ancient world, God sent a massive storm and flooded the earth because of man’s sin. After that horrific flood, where it rained for forty days and nights, almost nothing was left alive. Only one man, Noah, and his family of eight was saved alive in a boat called an ark. After the flood, God promised Noah that he would never destroy the earth with such a flood again; he put a rainbow in the clouds as a token of his promise. If you will look close enough, there is always a rainbow after the rain.

When I think of the rainbow I am reminded of God’s promises to always take care of us. That is why the rain doesn’t bother me this morning. It may temporarily spoil my outdoor plans. It may inconvenience me and make my morning commute messy. Yet it also reminds me of the promises of God. No matter how hard it rains, I am reminded that God will not allow it to flood the entire earth. This in turn reminds me that God is always looking out for me.

Perhaps there are things I am tempted to worry or fret about this morning. Maybe my plans aren’t falling into place the way I want them to. Like the rain, there is nothing I can do but wait it out. Eventually, the rain will stop and I will walk on dry ground again. It always happens because God’s promises never fail.

Trusting Him Daily,

Sullivan Jones

Love is Greater than Knowledge

Yesterday evening I heard a wonderful message on unity. The main point of the message was that none of us should ever have to feel alone. With that in mind, a portion of my scripture reading stood out to me this morning. It is found in I Corinthians 8:1 –

Now concerning things offered to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but (love) edifies.

In this setting of scripture the Apostle Paul is dealing with a problem that had arisen in the church over foods that were considered clean and unclean. Many of the first Christians were Jewish and had been raised with strict dietary laws. Jewish law forbade anyone to eat meat that had been prepared in a way that was not considered kosher. This especially meant food from an animal that had been killed as part of a ritualistic sacrifice to a pagan god.

The problem was that these early Christians were living in a Greco-Roman world where almost all the meat sold in any public market had been dedicated to some idol. This presented no problem for most of the newly converted gentile Christians. They had not been raised with such strict laws and, as such, were not bothered over eating “unclean” foods. Many of the early churches were made up of a combination of Jewish and Greek or Roman Christians worshipping together. One can see the instant conflict that would arise from this type of situation.

Paul’s solution was simple; if eating meat doesn’t bother my conscience then I will give God thanks for the food and eat it. If it does bother my conscience, I am free not to eat. If a Roman Christian knew that his Jewish brother would be offended by the meat, he would not bring that meat to a church supper. If a Jewish brother saw his Roman brother buying meat in the market he should not judge him. The more important thing was to have unity.

In the opening verse of this chapter Paul says something that I find interesting: “Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.” This simple principle not only applied to the Corinthian church but applies to us as well. It is easy to think that I know more than my brother or sister knows about a certain situation. I can rely on experience, education, or any number of things for this knowledge. But knowledge can have a way of making one prideful. My pride about how much I know does no one any good. Love, however, will cause me to edify my brother or sister.

We are all entitled to our own opinions. None of us will ever agree on everything. The one who does not eat meat could easily label his brother as worldly; the one who does eat meat might label her sister as old-fashioned. Neither of these opinions edifies anyone. They only cause confusion and offense. True love will always be willing to put aside knowledge for the good of a brother or a sister.

This does not mean that one must compromise genuinely held Biblical principles. There are many things the word of God is clear on, such as the identity of God, the divinity of Jesus, God’s moral nature, and righteous living. The Bible says clearly, “thou shalt not lie.” There is no way to change this to fit a personal idea or conviction. Yet there are many ideas we have that may not be as clear in scripture. A sign of spiritual maturity is to understand the difference between Biblical teaching and my own sense of what is right and proper.

Even when I know I have scripture to back up my convictions, there is a way to present this to a brother or sister. Perhaps this person has never been taught what I know. If so, I should pray that God will help me to show him his error in a way that builds up his faith. I should also be willing to concede that some of my own ideas come from my upbringing and may not necessarily be sound doctrine. Either way, I must do everything in love.

Knowledge is good, but used out of context it can cause me to be proud. True love will always edify the church. As Paul said later on in this same letter to the Corinthian church, the greatest of all spiritual gifts is love (I Corinthians 13:13).

Meditation:

Lord, help me to show someone love today instead of my knowledge. Perhaps, in time, I will be able to also offer instruction. However, I will never be able to offer instruction if a person doesn’t first realize how much I love him.