WARNING: What I have written here may offend you. If it does, I hope you’ll stop and think through the logic of it, and give pause to consider whether it might be truth. I’ll trust and honor the decision you make once you’ve thought it through.

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This Makes Sense: When you come to the light hanging over the roadway, if it is green, then go on. But if it is red, then stop.

And, this Makes Sense: Thirty years ago when I was a student at the University of Missouri and a fruity little company named Apple had just released their first MacIntosh I had a class where they taught us to write code. I don’t remember much from that class, but I do remember that they taught “If-Then” statements so that as the computer “thought” when it came to a fork in the road “if” a certain thing were true, then the computer did a certain thing, and “if” a certain thing were false then the computer did something else.

These “If-Then” statements about computers and stoplights make perfectly logical sense to us. We abide by them and don’t argue with them. They are socially acceptable. But now, I’m going to introduce you to an “If-But” statement that most people object to.

Similar, but Socially Unacceptable:  In a book written nearly 3000 years ago by a man believed to have been raised in aristocracy and ultimately executed because his socially unacceptable call to higher living offended people, a leader wrote to people saying that they had forgotten God. They were still acting religious but their religious offerings and behaviors were “detestable” because they weren’t offered from pure hearts. Their religion had become a “transactional business relationship” instead of a “love affair of devotion.” (How does that work in your marriage?) And they were far from God.

Isaiah challenged Israel’s behavior and then wrote this interesting, logical “If-But” statement: “If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land (sounds good doesn’t it); but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword (ouch, that’s bad).” (Isaiah 1:19-20)

I’m pretty sure I could gather a random group of people and get them to buy in on the “If-Then” logic of stop lights and computer programming, but when presented with the “If-But” logic of living under God, they’d rebel with much protestation saying things like “How can an educated and sophisticated man like you believe such a fairy tale” or “There is no such thing as absolute truth” or other such goofy, uninformed and intellectually weak arguments. Humans object to being ruled by anyone or anything—even themselves—and the notion of bowing before God the Creator offends their self-righteousness, and their self-grandeur.

The simple truth is you and I can’t be righteous in and of ourselves. Our righteousness can only be bought through the blood of Jesus shed on the cross. And grand? Well, yes we are—grand creations living out the grandeur Heaven values when we are living God’s way, doing God’s work, empowered by God’s Holy Spirit. Alternatively, we’re a heap of dung.

Not a very socially acceptable message, was it? Are you offended yet? Don’t be. Come instead and join me in bowing before a loving creator who wants more for us than we do for ourselves. Luke, one of the men who traveled with Jesus recorded this quote from Jesus “What Father, if his son asks for a fish will give him a snake? Of if he asks for an egg will he give him a scorpion? How much more will your Father in Heaven give……to those who ask Him.” (Luke 11:11-13)

God is good. He has good in mind for you. He’s got simple rules, and most of them are logical. This one certainly is.

All the blessing that Heaven can afford (stop and think about how much Heaven can afford) is waiting for you. If………

I hope………

…..everything gets better.

…..she gets over it.

…..I get a job.

…..I don’t die from a heart attack despite my poor exercise and nutrition.

…..the world changes for the better.

Hope, is not a strategy.

You may or may not know that the years from 1990-1999 were very financially successful in America, and the U.S. stock market performed well. Conversely, the years from 2000-2009 were economically difficult and the U.S. stock market sucked big time. Not long ago I ran into a stock market expert. He is kinda big time. He’s a Certified Financial Planner and has a nationally-syndicated radio program. He manages a very large practice with hundreds of millions of dollars under management. His son has a major league baseball contract. He’s doing well in most areas of his life.

As we did that “talk about the weather and sports thing” that guys do when they run into each other our conversation drifted to our work in the field of finance and he said “Barry, I just hope the next ten years (2011-2020) are like my first ten (1990-1999).” When I asked what he saw on the horizon or in the economy to give him confidence he said “Nothing. I just hope.”

Hope?

Hope??

Is that all you got?

People in Hell HOPE that someone will bring them ice-water.

Hope?????

Many people live their lives in a soap opera version of Fantasyland called Hope. They hope their marriage improves, but they aren’t doing anything to make it better. They hope the economy improves so maybe they’ll get a raise, but they aren’t giving any extra to help their company exceed the competition. They hope their kids turn out all right, but they won’t shut off the TV, talk, listen, and teach. Instead, they sit there and just hope—-as if the world just “does it” to them and they have no control over anything.

Here’s a principle for you: As a man sows, so shall he reap. It doesn’t say “As a man hopes, so shall he reap.” If it did, those folks in Hell would have ice-water.

You are not so weak minded as to believe that hope is an effective strategy for success.

Should you have hope? By all means! And it should rest on a foundation of right thinking, sound decision making, proactive planning, effective habits, and intentional living all bathed in prayer and thoughtfulness. If you’ve got those things happening, then it’s not hope, it’s faith: the evident expectation of a thing not yet seen.

Wrong thinkers would have us to believe—incorrectly—that the world is a soft, squishy, fuzzy, place of peace, platitudes……..sort of nirvana-esque. ‘Taint necessarily so. The real world is a place of “against.” People against people; systems opposing people; philosophies in conflict with philosophies; ideas at odds with one another……it’s a messy, chaotic, and somewhat dangerous place. Always has been, and always will be.

I go squishy soft when I’m in the presence of a baby, don’t you? Fat babies, sleeping babies, crying babies, laughing babies, slobbery poopy babies……..wow! Who wouldn’t love a baby?

I was reading in the Gospel of Mathew this morning and noticed that the very first thing that happened to baby Jesus was someone tried to kill him—when he was a baby! He hadn’t preached an offensive sermon, violated any religious code of conduct, or challenged authority. The most offensive thing he could have produced up to that moment was a really malodorous diaper. Yet right after his birth, the government marked him for death.

Hmmm.

Soft? Fuzzy? Squishy? Peaceful? NO!

Against.

What I take from that lesson is this: in this world you will have much trouble (Jesus said that). It is a place that is “against” occupied by people who are “against” and any notion of permanent ease and peacefulness this side of Heaven is folly. But I also know that Jesus said “I have overcome the world.” Even in this dangerous place we can live in joy, with happiness and confidence.

I’m going to have a great day. It may or may not  be an easy one, we’ll see. But it’s going to be a good one and I will rest my head on my pillow tonight and sleep soundly knowing that I have done my best to make it better, to make a difference for others, and maximally use the life He’s given to me.

Even in the darkness you can choose to walk in the light.

The phone isn’t ringing.

Nobody is calling to say “Please come buy my house.” Nobody is calling saying “Can I please rent this house?” Nobody is calling saying “Can I please invest some money?”

The phone isn’t ringing.

When the phone isn’t ringing I look for reasons. It’s Spring Break. It’s too rainy and nobody wants to get out. The sun is shining and everybody is gone to the park (lake, river, whatever). It’s the holiday weekend. Yada yada yada.

For those of us in the sales business it is demoralizing—emotionally debilitating and a waste of energy—to focus on why the phone isn’t ringing. We can’t stare at the phone and cause it to ring.

We’re very much like farmers. A farmer’s job is to prepare the soil, plant the seed, and wait. The rain may or may not come on schedule. The season may be too cool, too hot, or just right. But for centuries farmers who have planted seeds have consistently gotten a crop. Some years better than others, but a consistently over the years we get more crops than we don’t. Sometimes bountiful. Sometimes skinny. But harvests are consistent events for people who sow seeds.

Our job is to prepare ground and plant seeds. We try to avoid stupid things like planting seeds right before Winter or at the beginning of Summer, or failing to plant seeds at the beginning of Springtime. But we don’t focus too much on wishing for rain, or that it would quit raining. We don’t control rain and sun. We control preparing ground and planting seeds.

Much of life’s pain would be relieved if we’d let go of what we cannot control, and focus on the things that we can control.

An ancient book of wisdom written by one of the world’s greatest salesmen says “In due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary.” It’s interesting that he didn’t say “In due time we shall reap.” Why did he ad the “weary” part? Because this business if sowing and reaping has just enough uncertainty to it to keep us off balance and to cause us to lose our focus—to grow weary of the things we can’t control and to give up our sowing enterprise.

When you are weary like I am, don’t lose heart. Surround yourself with people who refuse to lose heart. Don’t focus on the weariness of sowing, or the “worry-ness” of why the rain and sun aren’t coming in perfect proportions exactly on schedule. Instead, focus on the faithful truth that today’s reapers are yesterday’s sowers, and those who grow too weary to sow, experience 100% crop failure.

Now I think I’ll go down to Nixa Hardware and buy some seeds……….

In San Francisco last week a nice fellow walked up to me and said “Thank you.” I shook his hand and asked why and he then told me that he’d read about me in a book called Get It written by my colleague John Hayes. In the book John had written about the fact that I have a signed, $1 million check taped to the mirror in my closet. It’s a reminder of my economic ability, my earning power, and of the value of my contribution.  Think about it, if you wouldn’t write yourself a $1 million check, why should anyone else?

Anyway, this nice guy named Kirk said “Yeah, I taped a $300,000 check in my mirror, and this year, I’m going to earn $150,000.” Hmmmm. I thanked him for mentioning it and told him I was glad he’d read the book and found the idea helpful. But then later I got to thinking: “He had a $300,000 check taped to his mirror, but I wonder what size the check was in his heart?”

I’ll bet it was $150,000.