The Basis of Civilization

Here is a good article, "The Basis of Civilization" (thanks for the recommendation, Margaret). Here are a couple of excerpts:

"The family ideal as defended by Chesterton is something quite different than the industrialized consumer family, where the family members leave the house each morning by the clock and on a strict schedule to pursue work and recreation and the majority of life outside the home. Chesterton’s ideal was the productive home with its creative kitchen, its busy workshop, its fruitful garden, and its central role in entertainment, education, and livelihood. Unlike the industrial home, life in a productive household is not amenable to scheduling and anything but predictable."

"A college education is the most overpriced product on the planet, and over-rated as well. Parents have the privilege of sacrificing nearly everything to send their children to college, only to have them get their heads filled with doubts and destructive ideas, undermining everything their parents have taught them."

God in Your Work

Brother Lawrence on work, from Practicing the Presence of God

“We should offer our work to Him before we begin, and thank Him afterwards for the privilege of having done them for His sake.”

“Our sanctification does not depend as much on changing our activities as it does on doing them for God rather than for ourselves. The most effective way Brother Lawrence had for communicating with God was to simply do his ordinary work. He did this obediently out of pure love of God, purifying it as much as was humanly possible. He believed it was a serious mistake to think of our prayer time as being different from any other. Our actions should unite us with God when we are involved in our daily activities, just as our payer unites us with Him in our quiet time."

“He isn’t impressed so much with the dimensions of our work as with the love in which it is done.”

Pursuing a Life of Purpose

Last Sunday I completed a teaching series on "Pursuing a Life of Purpose." Although all the principles presented are biblical, many of the ideas were inspired from Stephen Covey's book, First Things First. You can listen to or download these messages in the audio player in the right sidebar. I have embedded the presentation (made on prezi.com) below if you want to see the main points and scripture references as you listen.

Moses and Shared Leadership

I am thankful to God this week for two new elders at our church, Highland Christian Fellowship. R.D. Hodges and I have been elders for about four years now. Last Sunday we added Walt Stringer and James Wilkes. It was a long and beautiful process to see our fellowship seek God’s leadership in this (I should write about that, too). I love shared leadership. It is biblical and it makes sense. Having a plurality of elders was one of the primary findings in my dissertation The Authority of Church Elders in the New Testament.

I encountered in my Scripture reading this morning another affirmation of this principle. It is in Numbers 11, which is interesting in light of the fact that some point to Moses as the paradigm for a one-man leadership model.

Moses prayed, “I alone am not able to carry all this people, because it is too burdensome for me” (v. 14). God answered, “Gather for me seventy men from the elders of Israel. . . . I will take of the Spirit who is upon you, and will put Him upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you will not bear it all alone” (v. 17).

Sometimes it is difficult for men to share leadership. They become jealous and prideful. But “Moses was very humble, more than any man who was on the face of the earth” (Num. 12:3). When some men in the camp began to prophesy, manifesting that they also had received some of the Spirit, this bothered Joshua, Moses’ assistant. These men in the camp were not at the tent of meeting, where it seemed to Joshua that the official authorization of this shared leadership was imparted. Joshua said, “Moses, my lord, restrain them.”

How common it is to try to control such things. But Moses responded to Joshua, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them!” This demonstrates one of the most important qualities of a leader. His objective is not to have control, do things his way, and have all the leadership, gifting, and honor. His goal is the good of the people. And when more of the people are gifted and active in ministry and leadership, the more blessed and healthy the people are.

World Stats: Smaller Families in Urban Areas

Interesting facts from Operation World: The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation (using data from the United Nations).

"The world's population nearly doubled between 1970 and 2010. Global population growth rates peaked around 1970 and have steadily declined since then - the main contribution to this decline is smaller family size."

51% of the world population are "urbanites." "The urban population reached over 50% for the first time in history in 2009."

Here is what God said about population growth:

"Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. . . . Populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it" (Gen 9:1, 7).

Wisdom is Moral

“But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? Man does not know its worth. . . . It cannot be bought for gold. . . . God understands the way to it, And he knows its place. . . . He saw it and declared it; He established it, and searched it out. And he said to man, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding.’” Job 30:12-28

I was struck by the simplicity of these verses this morning. Wisdom is moral discernment and righteousness. “It cannot be bought for gold.” This reminds me of the highly valued “college education,” which is purchased. Wisdom cannot be obtained this way. Wisdom is different than knowledge. One can have knowledge and not discernment and righteousness. You can determine how wise you are based on whether your not you can discern evil and whether or not you turn away from it.

Business and Flow of Information: "Adapt or Die"

The crucial legal foundation of the free market is the right of private property: ownership. This implies that at the heart of free market liberty is the right of making exchanges: the right of disownership.

This quote is from an interesting article by Gary North, "Adapt or Die (in the Unemployment Line)." It explains how technology and the every increasing free flow of information is changing the market. These are important principles and current realities to grasp. It is helpful to those who are considering how to start their own businesses in the current economic state and evolution. The article is also helpful for understanding how the free market works (for example, how unions helped move businesses out of the country). Here is his conclusion:

At the heart of the free market social order is this principle: the right of exchange. This implies the right to bid. The right to bid produces a universal response: price competition. The free market extends its dominance by means of price competition. Price competition is at the heart of the extension of liberty.

So, use those smart phone aps. Use Google. Look for a better deal. As a shopper, you would be wise to learn the tools of information-gathering

When you see what deals are out there, you will see that the flow of information is increasing. The offers are increasing. Price competition is increasing.

This should lead you to a conclusion as a producer, meaning a seller: either adapt or die. You do not own your customers, any more than you, as a customer, are owned. You are a free agent. So are they. You are looking for better deals. So are they.

You can stand on the edge of this revolution and wring your hands. You can cry out: "Unfair competition!" This will not save you from extinction. It will only slow you down.

Meeting a WWII Veteran

My daughter Bethany played in a piano recital at a nursing home last Friday afternoon. After the presentation I met an amazing man. His name was Jim Cole. Mr. Cole had blue ball cap on with big yellow letters: “I am a WWII Veteran.” The first thing he said to me was, “We should have sung ‘God Bless America.’” I introduced my boys to him and explained that they had been studying, reading, and writing about war. He told us that he was in WWII for a long time as an airplane pilot. He flew “the biggest bombers we had.” His summary of the war for the boys: “Germany and Japan were trying take over the world. And they almost did. About the only countries left were America and England. We had to stop them.”

By this time a dozen kids and adults had gathered around to listen to Mr. Cole. He was old and bent, but his clear voice and build revealed that he had once been a very strong man. “The Germans and Japanese had better planes than anyone at the beginning of the war. Faster and better maneuverability.” He stressed the importance of learning and being ready. “If someone tells you to go bomb a certain country, you can’t do it unless you know where it is on the map! When I was your age, I knew where the countries were on a map.” He leaned forward and shook his finger at the boys. “Learn! Learn! Don’t be a dummy! If we have to go to war again, it will be you boys who have to fight. Learn and be ready! You’ve got to think and use your brain. Use your head for more than a hat rack.”

While we were talking Anna and Meredith Riggins and Chloe and Emma Curtis prepared to sing “God Bless America.” They sang in harmony and it was beautiful! By this time there was no one left in the room but Mr. Cole and some of us who came for the recital. As they started to sing, his shaky, bruised hands reached for the walker sitting in front of him. He slowly pulled himself to his feet. He sang with them. His face was beaming. It may not be possible for these young ladies who sang to know what an amazing Christmas present that song was to Mr. Cole.

I was inspired by Mr. Cole’s strength, his sense of honor, his sense of responsibility, his desire to be ready, and his pride for our country.