In honor of Veterans Day, a heartfelt word of thanks to all of you who have served or are serving in America’s armed forces.  Thank you for your willingness to train, to suffer hardship, to experience separation from your loved ones, and to put your life at risk for your countrymen.

My late father-in-law was a veteran of World War II,  He was one of four brothers, all of whom were drafted away from their family farm in rural Tennessee.

After completing his training, he became a Technical Sergeant in the Army Air Corps — the precursor to the US Air Force.   His responsibilities included making in-flight repairs and serving as a waist gunner aboard a B-24 Liberator bomber in the European theater, as part of the Mighty Eighth Air Force.

Like many men of his generation, he rarely talked about his experiences during the war, downplaying the danger and his role.  “It was late in the war by the time I got over there,” he always said.   Once when my grandmother asked if he had ever been to Germany, he gave a slight smile and said, “No, but I’ve been over it.”

Following the war, he returned to the farm for a while before enrolling in Tennessee Tech on the GI Bill.  Following his graduation from college, he earned a doctorate in agronomy and genetics from the University of Wisconsin.

With his PhD, he took a position as a research agronomist with the US Department of Agriculture and was assigned to a research station at a large state university.  He worked there the rest of his career, developing numerous soybean cultivars that fed millions and teaching graduate students from around the world.

As distinguished as his career was, he was also a devoted husband and father, raising my wife and her siblings in a godly household.

Over the past dozen years or so, we have seen popular sentiment regarding military service return to an appropriate level of respect and gratitude.  This is as it should be.

At the same time, I hear and read some people saying that the US is no longer worthy of such devotion or service.  I am not here to argue for or against — especially not with those who have served.  On this occasion, however, I want to commend those who, like my father-in-law, saw their duty, did it and came home to build an exemplary life.  This is still a county that produces such men.  That is worth preserving.

So how about you?   What lessons did you learn from your own military service, or that of your friends or family members?  How are you using that wisdom to be your best?  Add your comments below.

So here we are with Thanksgiving about three weeks away, and Christmas about a month after that.  Whether you’re trying to make your sales quota, or trying to maintain your GPA, this point in the year seems to jam a stick in many men’s spokes.  Whatever the reason, the temptation appears this way: Why not just throw it in neutral and coast ’til the new year?

We’ve talked before about living a life of consequence so let me give you some grade A elephant chow — you cannot make your mark in life if you don’t finish strong.

Here’s my personal checklist to get and stay motivated:

Sleep — How many hours a night do I need, and how many am I getting?  It’s remarkable how much easier it is to stay motivated when you’re getting enough quality sleep.  This is one of those things where you must be present to win.  You can’t outsource it and you can’t be your best without it.  Without adequate rest, your judgment is impaired and your attention is spent trying to stay awake rather than on doing quality work.

Note that sleep researchers have determined that your brain needs that downtime to process all that great thinking you’ve been doing all day.  In a similar way, all the benefits of your exercise regimen accrue while you’re asleep. That’s right — you don’t build muscle in the gym, you build it while you’re asleep.

Depending on your age, you need between seven-and-a-half and nine hours of sleep per night for optimal health. (More than nine hours a night will shorten your life.  Seriously.)  Biologically, the sleep cycle is 90 minutes, so to be able to wake up when you mean to without feeling drugged, count back from your wake time in 90 minute blocks.  For example, since I want to get 7.5 hours of sleep and to wake up at 5:30 AM, I need to be asleep by 10:00 PM.

Naps are good — just keep them under 20 minutes.  Oh, and if you need more sleep than you’ve been getting, try turning in earlier.  Wayne Cordeiro calls that “sleeping in on the right side of the clock.”

Hydration — Am I drinking enough water?  I know coffee contains water, but your body and your brain need good old dihydrogen monoxide for you to feel like yourself.  You wouldn’t operate your car without oil in the crankcase would you?

Attitude — Am I able to see the tasks in front of me as important parts of the life and legacy I’m building?  Are they providing me with knowledge or experience I’ll be able to use later?  I have learned that I don’t always have the best vantage point to make that judgment while I’m in the middle of them.

Without a doubt there are assignments that do not seem to fit the context of your mission — and the younger you are, the less likely it is you can refuse them and live.  Strive to connect those mandatory tasks to your calling, wrap them up successfully and move on.

Anxiety —  Am I allowing fears to distract me?  When I am facing the likelihood of undesirable results or the fear of failure, I sometimes find it easier to procrastinate than to move forward.

This is the heart of it:  You and I must take authority over these fears and silence them.  Even if they seem to be the most real things in our lives, even if there is empirical evidence accompanied by 95% confidence interval statistics that predict that the thing you dread is coming true, you must run toward it to overcome it.  As Michael Hyatt says there is no failure — only learning.

Nutrition — Am I taking in enough of the right kind of foods?  You need protein and fats (yes!) to maintain muscle and brain health.  We’ll talk more about this later, but make sure you aren’t starving yourself and make sure you aren’t getting most of your calories from carbohydrates.

Exercise — Am I skipping my workouts?  Physical activity will increase your confidence, boost your mood, and bust your stress.  If you have access to a gym, make time for regular exercise.  If you don’t, do what I do — train at home.  If you outgrow a pull-up bar and a 55-lb. kettlebell, mister, I’d like to shake your hand.

Discipline — Am I considering how my actions or inaction will affect my family, my colleagues, my friends — the ones who depend on me?  Am I allocating my time,  attention, effort and money to get the outcomes I desire? I am a big believer in to-do lists as well as in Evernote for keeping track of the things I must get done.

Pro tip — For us men, testosterone is where a lot of our get up and go comes from.  Nearly everything on my checklist will affect your testosterone level for good or ill.  Look into it and stay motivated.

So how about you?  What’s weighing you down?  What are you doing to overcome it?  What did I miss on my checklist?  Add your comments below.

“Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.” – Psalm 119:37

We have spent the last several weeks considering the importance of the psychological and emotional needs Identity, Stimulation, and Security. In this post, I’d like to discuss the consequences of the misplaced or unmoderated need for stimulation.

Knowing how to distinguish real from counterfeit is valuable

Is stimulation bad?

Let’s address this up front: stimulation is vital. Babies need visual and auditory stimuli to develop normally. And sociologist Robert Ardrey who enumerated these needs maintained that we need stimulation throughout our lives to be emotionally healthy. We need to encounter new ideas, new people, new locations, new songs, new works of art to feel and be truly alive. If you’re creative at all, you know that it’s nearly impossible to create out of a sense of boredom.

But let’s also agree that stimulation, like many other beneficial things, is subject to misuse. We can seek sensation and experiences as a substitute for a healthy sense of identity and or security. We can use cheap imitations of genuine accomplishments to avoid potential pain or loss. We all have our favorite mindless entertainments, and we use them to get a quick hit when we’re procrastinating. I can find no shortage of articles to read when I should be writing, for example. But why do we do this?

Paging Dr. Zimbardo

In his TED Talk titled The Demise of Guys, Dr. Philip Zimbardo explains that westerners, men in particular, have essentially re-wired their brains through consumption of visual media. He says that excessive screen time — particularly web surfing, porn and video games — has created what he calls arousal addiction. This type of addiction creates a powerful craving for novelty — that is, for more and different stimulation. He contrasts this with drug addictions, where the desire is for increased quantities of the same substance.

Your brain on stimulation

So what happens when our brains are stimulated in this way? The arousal response results in production of the neurotransmitter dopamine. It’s powerful stuff. Dopamine lights up the brain’s pleasure/reward center and it is part of the neurochemical mechanism of motivation. When you’re producing dopamine you are receiving a naturally occurring positive reinforcement that will cause you to repeat the behavior that created the reward. If you’re generating product or creating something positive, this can be an engine of prosperity. But what if you’re reinforcing the pursuit of pleasure for its own sake?

When a man exposes his brain to excessive stimulation — via junk food, gambling, porn, or video games — dopamine production increases radically. The producers of this stuff know it. In the same way water flowing downhill creates a gouge, then a gully, excessive dopamine creates its own pleasure pathway — a landing pad that demands more traffic. As Zimbardo explains, the desire is for greater variety, not just more of the same. The recipe for loneliness then is: Indulge, rewire your brain, and isolate yourself.

Nothing new under the sun

Man’s tendency to seek too much of a good thing didn’t start with the advent of the internet, any more than his tendency toward violence began with the invention of machine guns. However, the ability to create large-scale impacts in a very short period of time is a product of technological progress. Men have always been fascinated by sex, but the anonymity of the internet has provided access to far more images far more frequently. Zimbardo claims the average man views 50 pornographic video clips per week. If so, the effects of arousal addiction are likely to be more widespread and more profound

But let’s go back to the root of all this: we need stimulation, and we are biochemically wired to reward ourselves for it. The feeling of accomplishment when you achieve a goal, complete a project, take a trophy buck, or ask that cute girl for her number — that’s all proper and a result of dopamine doing its job. This is natural and beneficial in its proper place and proportion.

I submit to you that the problem is seeking that dopamine rush without doing the difficult work that leads to legitimate rewards. Each of us has a mission, and we need to be at our respective posts. Faithfulness brings a good reward. Shirking your duty to chase shiny objects leads to all kinds of calamity. Let’s look at an example from ancient history.

Oh look — a squirrel

In chapter 11 of 2 Samuel, there’s a famous story of a king seeking stimulation in the wrong places. It goes like this:

In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.

It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house.  And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.”

So David sent word to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to David. When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab was doing and how the people were doing and how the war was going. Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” And Uriah went out of the king’s house, and there followed him a present from the king. But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. When they told David, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?” Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing.” Then David said to Uriah, “Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. And David invited him, and he ate in his presence and drank, so that he made him drunk. And in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.

In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. In the letter he wrote, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down, and die.” And as Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew there were valiant men. And the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, and some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite also died. Then Joab sent and told David all the news about the fighting. And he instructed the messenger, “When you have finished telling all the news about the fighting to the king, then, if the king’s anger rises, and if he says to you, ‘Why did you go so near the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? Who killed Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Did not a woman cast an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?’ then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.’”

So the messenger went and came and told David all that Joab had sent him to tell. The messenger said to David, “The men gained an advantage over us and came out against us in the field, but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate. Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall. Some of the king’s servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.” David said to the messenger, “Thus shall you say to Joab, ‘Do not let this matter displease you, for the sword devours now one and now another. Strengthen your attack against the city and overthrow it.’ And encourage him.”

When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she lamented over her husband. And when the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.”

Go to school on David, or learn your own painful lessons

It almost looks like the plot of a Hollywood thriller, doesn’t it? Voyeurism, lust, adultery, conspiracy, murder, corruption, and a cover-up. None of it necessary.

Notice first that King David was at home when he should have been on the battlefield with his army. Maybe he had been too successful too soon, or maybe he had gotten bored with winning. No matter the reason he was casting about on his roof, spying on his neighbor’s wife as she bathed. Maybe she was bored, too, and wanted the excitement of an affair with the powerful king next door. Perhaps. But if he had been faithful to his mission, his men, and his God, he wouldn’t have been there in the first place.

There’s more to the story, and I urge you to read on in 2 Samuel. You can start here. But I want to encourage you — and me — to get solid on your identity and your purpose, and avoid the cheap buzz that fake stimulation creates.

Be a producer, not a consumer

If you are in the grip of one of the fake stimuli, I challenge you to quit being a consumer and to begin to produce, to create. You know your gifts, spend your time seeking the rewards of genuine accomplishment by making something that others can enjoy or from which they can benefit. Create sculptures, paint pictures, plant gardens, paint houses, tell stories, write songs, stage plays, serve others. And learn to enjoy the satisfaction of real rewards.

So how about you? How are you experiencing accomplishment and avoiding arousal addiction? Add your comments below.

“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” – Psalm 119:11 (NIV)

In Part I, I recounted the biblical story of Balaam from the Old Testament book of Numbers. Most of what I have to say in this post will resonate more if you read that post (I’ll wait). But for those of you who don’t have time right now, the story is as follows:

The children of Israel were wandering in the wilderness following their deliverance from slavery in Egypt. Balak, the king of Moab, did not like his new neighbors and sent for the prophet Balaam to put a curse on the Hebrews. Balak had heard that Balaam’s blessings and curses were pretty strong stuff. Balaam refused to go at first, but Balak upped the offer. On the way, God sent an angel (invisible to Balaam, but visible to his donkey) to block his way. When Balaam’s frustration boiled over, resulting in his hitting the donkey, the donkey put the prophet to shame by speaking to him about his bad behavior. Oh, and Balaam had King Balak build altars and sacrifice to the Lord, only to pronounce blessings on the children of Israel instead of curses.

Jackass!

Panning for gold in the dust of history

Maybe your pastor preached about Balaam somewhere along the line. I don’t ever remember hearing a sermon about the guy. Even so, his story is in the Bible for a reason. I argue it’s because there are many lessons to take from this less-well-known Bible story. Here’s what I learned:

• It’s more important to know God than to know about God – Balaam was familiar with Israel’s God, but he was not a Hebrew. Other sources say he was a sorcerer — a practitioner of magic. Even though he inquired of God, and God communicated His will to Balaam, it’s clear that Balaam less a friend than an acquaintance.
• It’s about what you love – If Balaam had truly known and loved the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, no amount of money would have enticed him to entertain Balak’s offer. Notice that when Balak’s second delegation — the more impressive one — came to Balaam, they conveyed that Balak was able and willing to PAY. Clearly, money was higher on Balaam’s list of priorities, or he wouldn’t have gone away to pray a second time to ask if God would, just this once, curse Israel.
• God cares – even for a stinker like Balaam — Note that God spared Balaam’s life on his foolish trip to Moab. He certainly had the prerogative to strike him down and chose not to. Instead, He opened the mouth of the donkey, and the eyes of the man to see the angelic messenger of judgment.
• God moves – but not because of magic — One might be tempted to imagine Balaam as a success due to his effective use of ritual. I say that God’s words to and through Balaam were in spite of Balaam, not because of him. Remember that God made a covenant with Abraham to make him a great nation through whom all nations would receive a blessing. God’s actions in blessing his chosen people in defiance of wicked Balak was a result of God’s faithfulness and never-ending love.
• God’s will is unstoppable — I find it humorous that the obstinate Balaam got his correction from an animal known for its stubbornness. As Jesus said that if people wouldn’t worship him, rocks and stones would cry out His praise, so unreliable prophets end up being upstaged truth-wise by talking livestock. Note also, that God held Balaam to speak only what He instructed, and God resolutely and resoundingly  blessed His people.
• A miss is as good as a mile — Elsewhere in scripture we find characters such as Ruth and Rahab — foreigners whose faith made them righteous, and who even found their way into the earthly lineage of the Messiah, Jesus. Balaam had a similar opportunity to be a hero of the faith — at least in terms of the conversational familiarity he enjoyed with the Lord — but, as we’ll see, he squandered it.

So how did it turn out for Balaam?

In Numbers 25, we read that instead of a divine curse or a military conquest, the Moabites sought to overthrow Israel by seducing them. The Moabite women made themselves sexually available to the Hebrew men, through this encouraging them to worship their god, Baal of Peor, provoking the judgment of God. If you think the Bible is this sanitized book that faints at sex and violence, I encourage you to get over it by clicking though and reading Numbers 25.

In chapter 31, we learn that Balaam died by the sword of the Hebrews in Moses’ final campaign acting as God’s instrument of judgment. Verse 8b says, “They also killed Balaam … with the sword.” But why?

As Moses’ fighters killed the men of Midian, they took the Midianite women captive. Moses objected strenuously, saying:

“Have you allowed all the women to live?” he asked them. ¹⁶ “They were the ones who followed Balaam’s advice and enticed the Israelites to be unfaithful to the Lord in the Peor incident, so that a plague struck the Lord’s people.” Numbers 31:15-16 (NIV)”

There you have it. Balaam wanted Balak’s money. When God wouldn’t cooperate by cursing His chosen ones, Balaam taught Balak how to undermine his enemies via the honey trap. It didn’t fool God, though, and Balaam paid with his life.

Echoes and warnings

Interestingly, Balaam’s name appears in scripture several more times — in Deuteronomy, Joshua, Nehemiah, and Micah in the Old Testament —  condemning him for his involvement in “the Peor incident” and reminding the reader of his grisly end. His name became a warning to the children of Israel.

But that’s not all. Three books of the New Testament also call Balaam’s folly to our attention, making it all the more unusual that his story seems to be taught so infrequently. Here are the New Testament references in their entirety:

They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bezer, who loved the wages of wickedness. 2 Peter 2:15 (NIV)

“Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion. Jude 1:11 (NIV)

“Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality.” Revelation 2:14 (NIV)

Parting thoughts

Now that you know the rest of the story, I want to offer a few other lessons from the tale of Balaam:

• Always interpret scripture with scripture — If we only considered the text in Numbers 22 – 24 when considering Balaam, we might conclude that he was a righteous man. Subsequent passages show that wasn’t so. Throughout your life, be careful not to build doctrinal castles on single Bible verses or interpretations that aren’t supported elsewhere in scripture.
• Take the long view — When faced with a moral dilemma, think beyond the current circumstances. Balaam’s greed resulted in a payday for him, but a violent death soon after. Be sure that your solution to a problem doesn’t create more problems.
• Evaluate according to the plumb-line of scripture — Compare your plans, your desires, and your feelings against the teachings of scripture. Plans, desires, and feelings are useful, but they can also mislead you. Better to check against a transcendent moral arbiter.
• Own your convictions — Notice that Balaam always protested to Balak that he could only say what God told him to say. This suggests that Balaam had no fixed principles, that he would have been only too happy to go along with the whole curse plan, but God wouldn’t let him. It’s easy to get a wedge between an external conviction and the person who is mouthing it. And Balaam shows the cost.
• Trust God first and always — How bitterly ironic that Balaam should utter the words in Numbers 23:19, “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? (ESV). If only he had truly believed this. He wouldn’t have asked God but one time regarding whether to entertain an emissary from Moab.

So how about you? What insights do you draw from the story of Balaam? How are you seeking to mature spiritually — and how does this story help you? Add your comments below.

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” – Proverbs 14:12 (ESV)

The group of guys I meet with every Saturday morning (Hi fellas) is serious about becoming disciples who make disciples. This is a most worthy objective, and although it requires intention and perseverance, one doesn’t become mature by gritting his teeth. There are no shortcuts — you just have to put in the time, doing the right things for the right reasons. With this thought in mind, I’d like to tell you the story of an Old Testament prophet named Balaam. His story starts in the book of Numbers, beginning with chapter 22.

During the time Moses was leading the children of Israel in the wilderness, following the Exodus from Egypt, Balak the king of Moab wanted to be rid of his new neighbors. He rounded up his advisers and sent them to hire Balaam — a prophet — to curse the Hebrews. He explained he had noticed that whomever Balaam blessed stayed blessed, and whomever he cursed stayed cursed.

“Message for Mr. Balaam…”

First thought best thought?

Balaam invited the men to stay as his guests overnight while he asked for God’s guidance. When God told Balaam not to go with the men, or to curse His blessed ones, he refused the offer of the Moabite king and sent the men back to their homes. As he did, he told them that he wasn’t allowed to exceed the authority God had given to him. At this point, it seems that Balaam is a man of integrity, and his response seems to be the right one.

For his part, King Balak was annoyed but rounded up his most senior and impressive nobles and sent them to Balaam to request his services a second time.  They conveyed a message that the King would pay Balaam’s price, honor him, and do anything he said to do, if only he would come and curse “those people.” Once again, Balaam said no, but invited the Moabite nobles to stay the night while he sought God’s guidance.

What part of “Thou Shalt Not” don’t you understand?

God told Balaam he could go with the men, but He commanded Balaam only to do what God instructed him to do. Then something interesting happened. As Balaam was going, God became angry at Balaam, and He sent an angel armed with a sword to discourage him from going to Balak. Balaam’s donkey saw the angel, but Balaam couldn’t,  and the donkey left the path and went into a ditch to avoid the fearsome creature. The angel appeared ahead of the donkey in a narrow passage through a vineyard and the donkey pressed hard against one of the walls in that narrow passage, crushing Balaam’s foot. And a third time, the angel appeared to block the path in a narrow alleyway, and the poor donkey — seeing no escape — simply lay down.

Balaam thought each of these incidents was an occasion for an ass-whoopin’ (see what I did there?) and struck the animal each time the donkey seemed to misbehave.

An extraordinary privilege

Most of us don’t get the rest of the story so immediately, but Balaam received an extraordinary gift. God enabled the donkey to speak to his master. The beast rebuked the man, asking him why he chose to beat her after all the years she had served him without ever acting this way. Humorously, the prophet didn’t seem to question the circumstances or the reality of a talking donkey, but joined the debate with gusto, saying to the donkey she was lucky he didn’t have a sword of he’d have killed her.

Then God opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel and the sword. And the angel asked why the prophet had chosen to beat his animal. But more, he explained that his mission was to turn Balaam back from his current course. If the donkey hadn’t balked, the angel would have killed him while sparing the donkey.

Balaam repented and confessed his wrong — even offering to return home — but the angel said he could go with the men. He told Balaam he could only say what he was instructed to say, nothing else.

A king’s welcome

King Balak went out to great his would-be spiritual hit man. He chided Balaam for his reluctance, asking if Balaam thought the king couldn’t pay him enough. Balaam said God wouldn’t let him do anything other than what He commanded. Balak then took Balaam up to one of the high places of pagan worship to look down on his Hebrew enemies.

And a kings’ frustration

On three separate occasions, per Balaam’s guidance Balak built seven altars and sacrificed a bull and a ram on each one. At Balaam’s instruction, the king would wait by his offerings while Balaam went aside to hear from God. Each time, Balaam would come back to the king with a word from God — not a curse for Israel, but a blessing. Each time the blessing was more lavish and effusive. The second blessing is a personal favorite. Here’s Eugene Peterson’s Message translation as it appears in Numbers 23:

On your feet, Balak. Listen,
    listen carefully son of Zippor:
God is not man, one given to lies,
    and not a son of man changing his mind.
Does he speak and not do what he says?
    Does he promise and not come through?
I was brought here to bless;
    and now he’s blessed—how can I change that?
He has no bone to pick with Jacob,
    he sees nothing wrong with Israel.
God is with them,
    and they’re with him, shouting praises to their King.
God brought them out of Egypt,
    rampaging like a wild ox.
No magic spells can bind Jacob,
    no incantations can hold back Israel.
People will look at Jacob and Israel and say,
    “What a great thing has God done!”
Look, a people rising to its feet, stretching like a lion,
    a king-of-the-beasts, aroused,
Unsleeping, unresting until its hunt is over
    and it’s eaten and drunk its fill.

The king couldn’t stand it! He confronted Balaam saying in effect, “I brought you here to curse my enemies, and all you did was bless them!” Balaam protested that he had already told the king that He wasn’t allowed to deviate from what God told him to say.

The end of the alliance

As they relocated to the third location with the construction of the seven altars and the sacrifices of bulls and rams, the Bible says Balaam didn’t engage in his usual sorcery. Instead, he looked at the camp of Israel and spoke prophetically, blessing Israel and condemning Balak — and some other neighboring tribes for good measure.

Naturally, Balak was furious, and sent Balaam away without paying him anything. Both men returned home. End of story.

To be continued?

This episode in scripture seems to be one with a good ending. A prophet is solicited to do evil and steadfastly refuses to defy the will of God. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple, as I will explain in my next post.

So how about you? In what ways are you becoming more mature in your faith? What has surprised you most about the process? Add your comments below.

“The starting point of all achievement is desire.” – Napoleon Hill

Happy New Year, my friends and readers — Ontozoans all! From the title of this post, you may have discerned that I have chosen a focus word for this new year — Breakthrough. Over the past five-to-six years, I have been chipping away at some significant obstacles. Mostly diligently, but occasionally giving in to discouragement and having to reacquire the trail.  Now, though, I can see the horizon on the other side of these obstacles. With God’s help, I’m ready for a breakthrough.

But I don’t just want a breakthrough for myself. I’m praying, believing and working to see breakthroughs in the lives of family members, friends, and professional colleagues, too.

What’s the word?

You may have chosen a focus word for yourself for 2018. It does not have to be the same as mine. The main thing is to encapsulate what you’re aiming at and what you’re trusting God for, so that you can keep going when you’re tired. You’ve very likely made some resolutions and/or established some goals for the new year — I’ve been refining my own list under the breakthrough umbrella — and I hope you’re taking to heart some of the things we talked about here and here. Rather than more advice on how to develop goals or to tell you what your goals ought to be, I’d like for us to talk about how to see them come to fruition. The key is desire.

Sure, you’ve got sound goals, but without desire you’re an empty suit.
(Photo by P. Belch – used with permission)

It’s not what you think…

For many of us, the very word desire has come under a cloud. It’s as though we automatically associate desire with something unwholesome, something sinful. But isn’t it possible to long for something noble and good? I would argue that anyone who has been homesick or who has missed his beloved or who has grieved at the death of a loved one knows this appropriate form of desire. This kind of desire is a gift from God, and it is to the soul what magnetic north is to a compass.

Two other thoughts here: If you’d like to research this idea, John Eldredge’s book, The Journey of Desire, does an excellent job of unburdening the word from its unfortunate associations. And second, if I’m in danger of losing you for the balance of this post, please consider substituting the word passion instead. It’s the intensity that one brings to the pursuit that matters.

…Except it IS what you think

I’ve always been skeptical of the “name it & claim it” school of theology, and for a long time I thought it was prideful to want something. That is, I believed that I was pitting my will against that of God by having ambition. So instead of prayerfully setting some goals, I spiritualized my fear of failure and rationalized my procrastination. As Louis Rader said, “As long as you remain in neutral, you can only go where you’re pushed.” That was me — waiting on God to push me — even though he had given me a healthy mind and a healthy body.

Thank God, I got some help finding the godly middle ground between the manifestly incorrect Prosperity Gospel and the equally incorrect sanctified ambivalence. I have learned since that many times God has communicated His will through the desires of my heart and the ways He has equipped me to bring them to life. To clarify, I don’t just go with whatever feeling I have at the moment, and I am very careful to sort out my desires in the light of scripture. Instead, I walk with God so that over time, my heart’s desire comes to resemble His. And the things my heart responds to very often lead me to the center of His will.

The behaviorist’s path

Behavioral psychology has debunked one of my long-held notions. Where previously, I thought that moods and feelings were kind of like the weather — that is, we can’t change them, so we just have to wait for a better set of conditions to come along. Behavioral psych says it isn’t like that at all. Our thoughts influence our feelings. Our feelings influence our behaviors. If you’re a man with goals and ambitions, consider very carefully what thoughts you entertain. The Apostle Paul was writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit when he advised the Philippian church:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Philippians 4:8 (ESV)

This is good counsel for living a moral life, but it is also the way to discipline your mind and your life for maximum impact. Measure your feelings against the thoughts that inspired them, and measure those thoughts against Truth. Build on your strengths and reinforce the best that God has placed in you.

When you fail at a task, talk to yourself the way your best teacher or coach would — or the way you would speak to a student under your instruction.

How bad do you want it?

My pastor teaches that the key to breaking any addiction is love. The addict who wants to be free must love something else (God) more than the substance he’s addicted to. He also likes to say that God is under no obligation to deliver us from our friends. If we love our chains, God will leave us in them.

If one of your resolutions this year is to get out of debt (present!), ask yourself how badly you want to be free of your indebtedness. If you lack down-to-the-bone commitment, you will not succeed.

A certain amount of doubt will creep in along the way, but if you can’t find a passion for the end result from the comfort of your couch, perhaps you have the wrong goal.

Make it automatic

A great deal of success in life boils down to having the right habits. We all know bad habits are too easily acquired and are equally hard to defeat, but good habits can be equally stubborn. If you want to be fit and active throughout your life, you’ll want to cultivate the habits of exercise and sound nutrition. You can research anything (There’s this thing called The Internet, see?), but to make a habit of it, you need to practice the desired behavior consistently for three weeks.

It will feel weird and unpleasant at first — perhaps even for the entire three weeks. This is where desire comes in. You have to have passion to propel you through the uncomfortable first steps until the new behavior becomes habitual.

Review and refocus to return refreshed

Even when you’ve established the habit you want, life will intrude. Work issues will flare up, illness or injury will derail your fitness regimen, or you’ll have to spend your writing time earning extra money to keep your car on the road. Take the long view and recognize this is a temporary setback. It’s important to emphasize the word temporary.

Also, note you’re going to want to review the vision — the desired end state — to remain committed to it. This is true even if none of the dread circumstances above happen to you. At various times in my life, I’ve taped goals or things I wanted to learn to my bathroom mirror. It’s a great way to keep your goals in view while you brush your teeth. And, once again, this is the beauty of a focus word.

Seek help

Most of the people in your life want you to succeed. (Well, OK, some of the people in your life want you to succeed.) Why not tell them what you’re up to? The act of publicizing what you’re trying to accomplish will help you maintain your drive. Do you know anyone else with a similar objective? Can you share resources, critique each other’s work, or recommend each other? Find partners and fellow pilgrims.

And pray. If God is the source of your vision, why not seek His wisdom and ask for perseverance as you run the prescribed course toward your goals?

This doesn’t just apply to goals and resolutions, but I thought now would be a good time to talk about it. Happy 2018!

So how about you? What are you setting your heart on in the new year? Add your focus word as a comment to share how you intend to stay motivated through the entire year.

“Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.” – Psalm 119:37

We have spent the last several weeks considering the importance of the psychological and emotional needs Identity, Stimulation, and Security. In this post, I’d like to discuss the consequences of the misplaced or unmoderated need for stimulation.

Knowing how to distinguish real from counterfeit is valuable

Is stimulation bad?

Let’s address this up front: stimulation is vital. Babies need visual and auditory stimuli to develop normally. And sociologist Robert Ardrey who enumerated these needs maintained that we need stimulation throughout our lives to be emotionally healthy. We need to encounter new ideas, new people, new locations, new songs, new works of art to feel and be truly alive. If you’re creative at all, you know that it’s nearly impossible to create out of a sense of boredom.

But let’s also agree that stimulation, like many other beneficial things, is subject to misuse. We can seek sensation and experiences as a substitute for a healthy sense of identity and or security. We can use cheap imitations of genuine accomplishments to avoid potential pain or loss. We all have our favorite mindless entertainments, and we use them to get a quick hit when we’re procrastinating. I can find no shortage of articles to read when I should be writing, for example. But why do we do this?

Paging Dr. Zimbardo

In his TED Talk titled The Demise of Guys, Dr. Philip Zimbardo explains that westerners, men in particular, have essentially re-wired their brains through consumption of visual media. He says that excessive screen time — particularly web surfing, porn and video games — has created what he calls arousal addiction. This type of addiction creates a powerful craving for novelty — that is, for more and different stimulation. He contrasts this with drug addictions, where the desire is for increased quantities of the same substance.

Your brain on stimulation

So what happens when our brains are stimulated in this way? The arousal response results in production of the neurotransmitter dopamine. It’s powerful stuff. Dopamine lights up the brain’s pleasure/reward center and it is part of the neurochemical mechanism of motivation. When you’re producing dopamine you are receiving a naturally occurring positive reinforcement that will cause you to repeat the behavior that created the reward. If you’re generating product or creating something positive, this can be an engine of prosperity. But what if you’re reinforcing the pursuit of pleasure for its own sake?

When a man exposes his brain to excessive stimulation — via junk food, gambling, porn, or video games — dopamine production increases radically. The producers of this stuff know it. In the same way water flowing downhill creates a gouge, then a gully, excessive dopamine creates its own pleasure pathway — a landing pad that demands more traffic. As Zimbardo explains, the desire is for greater variety, not just more of the same. The recipe for loneliness then is: Indulge, rewire your brain, and isolate yourself.

Nothing new under the sun

Man’s tendency to seek too much of a good thing didn’t start with the advent of the internet, any more than his tendency toward violence began with the invention of machine guns. However, the ability to create large-scale impacts in a very short period of time is a product of technological progress. Men have always been fascinated by sex, but the anonymity of the internet has provided access to far more images far more frequently. Zimbardo claims the average man views 50 pornographic video clips per week. If so, the effects of arousal addiction are likely to be more widespread and more profound

But let’s go back to the root of all this: we need stimulation, and we are biochemically wired to reward ourselves for it. The feeling of accomplishment when you achieve a goal, complete a project, take a trophy buck, or ask that cute girl for her number — that’s all proper and a result of dopamine doing its job. This is natural and beneficial in its proper place and proportion.

I submit to you that the problem is seeking that dopamine rush without doing the difficult work that leads to legitimate rewards. Each of us has a mission, and we need to be at our respective posts. Faithfulness brings a good reward. Shirking your duty to chase shiny objects leads to all kinds of calamity. Let’s look at an example from ancient history.

Oh look — a squirrel

In chapter 11 of 2 Samuel, there’s a famous story of a king seeking stimulation in the wrong places. It goes like this:

In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem.

It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. (Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned to her house.  And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, “I am pregnant.”

So David sent word to Joab, “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” And Joab sent Uriah to David. When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab was doing and how the people were doing and how the war was going. Then David said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” And Uriah went out of the king’s house, and there followed him a present from the king. But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all the servants of his lord, and did not go down to his house. When they told David, “Uriah did not go down to his house,” David said to Uriah, “Have you not come from a journey? Why did you not go down to your house?” Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah dwell in booths, and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord are camping in the open field. Shall I then go to my house, to eat and to drink and to lie with my wife? As you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do this thing.” Then David said to Uriah, “Remain here today also, and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah remained in Jerusalem that day and the next. And David invited him, and he ate in his presence and drank, so that he made him drunk. And in the evening he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.

In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by the hand of Uriah. In the letter he wrote, “Set Uriah in the forefront of the hardest fighting, and then draw back from him, that he may be struck down, and die.” And as Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew there were valiant men. And the men of the city came out and fought with Joab, and some of the servants of David among the people fell. Uriah the Hittite also died. Then Joab sent and told David all the news about the fighting. And he instructed the messenger, “When you have finished telling all the news about the fighting to the king, then, if the king’s anger rises, and if he says to you, ‘Why did you go so near the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? Who killed Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Did not a woman cast an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?’ then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.’”

So the messenger went and came and told David all that Joab had sent him to tell. The messenger said to David, “The men gained an advantage over us and came out against us in the field, but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate. Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall. Some of the king’s servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.” David said to the messenger, “Thus shall you say to Joab, ‘Do not let this matter displease you, for the sword devours now one and now another. Strengthen your attack against the city and overthrow it.’ And encourage him.”

When the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she lamented over her husband. And when the mourning was over, David sent and brought her to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.”

Go to school on David, or learn your own painful lessons

It almost looks like the plot of a Hollywood thriller, doesn’t it? Voyeurism, lust, adultery, conspiracy, murder, corruption, and a cover-up. None of it necessary.

Notice first that King David was at home when he should have been on the battlefield with his army. Maybe he had been too successful too soon, or maybe he had gotten bored with winning. No matter the he was casting about on his roof, spying on his neighbor’s wife as she bathed. Maybe she was bored, too, and wanted the excitement of an affair with the powerful king next door. Perhaps. But if he had been faithful to his mission, his men, and his God, he wouldn’t have been there in the first place.

There’s more to the story, and I urge you to read on in 2 Samuel. You can start here. But I want to encourage you — and me — to get solid on your identity and your purpose, and avoid the cheap buzz that fake stimulation creates.

Be a producer, not a consumer

If you are in the grip of one of the fake stimuli, I challenge you to quit being a consumer and to begin to produce, to create. You know your gifts, spend your time seeking the rewards of genuine accomplishment by making something that others can enjoy or from which they can benefit. Create sculptures, paint pictures, plant gardens, paint houses, tell stories, write songs, stage plays, serve others. And learn to enjoy the satisfaction of real rewards.

So how about you? How are you experiencing accomplishment and avoiding arousal addiction? Add your comments below.

“The Christian and the Materialist hold different beliefs about the universe.  They can’t both be right.  The one who is wrong will act in a way which simply doesn’t fit the real universe.”
— C. S. Lewis

A sound worldview is an under-appreciated aspect of living a maximized life.  To be sure everyone has one — the question is, does the worldview he has correspond to the world in which he lives?

The late Chuck Colson did more than anyone I know to explain the significance of a worldview generally, and why it was so vitally important to have a biblical worldview.

When the game is over, it all goes back in the box

Colson explained that to have a biblical worldview was to view the whole of life through the lens of scripture.  That is, one examines the four principal questions of our existence in light of what the Bible teaches. Those four questions are as follows:

1. Where did we come from?
2. What is our fundamental problem?
3. What is the remedy for our fundamental problem?
4. How should we live?

The Bible frames the answers to these questions with the following words:

• Creation
• Fall
• Redemption
• Restoration

Creation

The Bible teaches that God — the infinite, personal God — created the heavens and the earth and filled them with all kinds of creatures.  At the head of the created order, God placed humanity, on whom He had stamped His likeness.  We refer to this as the imago dei — the image of God.  So from the beginning we can draw two important inferences — 1) God is the maker and ruler of everything there is,  and 2)  There is something divinely different about human life because of the imago dei.

Fall

It wasn’t long after God placed the man and the woman — Adam and Eve — in the Garden of Eden, that they exercised free will and broke the one and only rule God had given them.  Specifically, they were not to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Even though they knew it was wrong, they chose to eat it anyway.  This created a fourfold disruption of the harmony that had existed at creation.  From then on, there was conflict between man and nature, between man and woman (and among people generally), between man and himself, and most tragically, between man and God.

Here we can see that our fundamental problem is that we are in rebellion against the owner of the cosmos.  His judgment of us is correct, because He gave us perfect bodies in a perfect world and we rejected it and God with it.  And because we offended a loving and just God, He must punish our disobedience.

Redemption

Even at the moment of man’s rebellion, God was not about to give up on us.  Once God had established His covenant with Abraham and promised to make a childless septuagenarian into a great nation, he increased their number and even delivered them from slavery in Egypt.  He gave them His law — proving His love and faithfulness despite multiple betrayals.  He sent prophets to tell of the coming king who would bring about the kingdom of Heaven and no longer hold men’s sins against them.

And as those who celebrate Christmas know, at the figurative confluence of Athens, Rome and Jerusalem — where a common language, an  effective system of roads and commerce and a prevailing and ascendant monotheism were in place, Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem.

Understand that this was God in human flesh — one man with two natures, fully human and fully divine —  and totally without sin.  Only He could die in our place and satisfy the claims of divine justice on behalf of all who would believe.  And, as we celebrate at Easter, Jesus conquered death through His resurrection.

Here then is the remedy for our fundamental problem.  Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, we can be reconciled to God.

Restoration

The purpose of Jesus’ incarnation, death and resurrection is not to give us a do-over.  It is not to erase the slate of our lives so we can mark it up again.  If you’re His, you’re absolutely forgiven forever.  Believe it!  But His purpose was to restore the harmony and perfection that was ours when the universe was brand new.  For this reason, every disciple is to live in gratitude and conduct himself in such a way as to make earth as much like Heaven as possible.  The real Heaven, the new Heaven and the new earth are still ahead, but our mission is to live as if it’s already ours.

Is There a Difference?

In their book unChristian, Gabe Lyons and David Kinnaman report that roughly 84% of Americans identify themselves as Christians.  However, no more than 9% of Americans can be said to have a biblical worldview.  Could this explain why the attitudes and behaviors of Christians are so hard to distinguish from the population at large?  For you to be the best version of yourself possible, I urge you to cultivate a biblical worldview — and for Heaven’s sake, live it.

So how about you?  How will you cultivate — and live according to — a biblical worldview?  Add your comments below.

“All the world’s a stage.”
– William Shakespeare

Some time ago, I read an article expounding on the theory of 20th century playwright and anthropologist, Robert Ardrey.  In his book, The Territorial Imperative, Ardrey states that once a creature’s survival needs are met (Think Maslow’s hierarchy: food, clothing and shelter), there is a hierarchy of psychological needs.  Ardrey posited that these needs are identity, stimulation and security — in that order.  Let’s look at each one in light of the state of contemporary masculinity.

Use your skills to create something real

Identity

The foundational psychological need is to have a correct view and knowledge of oneself.  One of the earliest lessons an infant learns is the difference between himself and others — as Cloud and Townsend in their book, Boundaries, said it – “the difference between ‘me’ and ‘not me.'”

I have said before that this culture has deep-rooted ambivalence toward men and masculinity.  On one hand, people envy and desire men’s strength, ingenuity and protectiveness, but it also seems plenty of people are happy to enjoy the fruit of men’s labor without compensating them.

At the level of the state, government taxes men’s labor and redistributes their income to provide for others.  The recipients include the worthy poor, who have fallen on hard times but are doing all they can; but they also include the professional beneficiaries who make no pretense of looking for work.

Societally, men’s strength is regarded as a net negative.  If you doubt this, consider that on police domestic disturbance calls, the responding officer will escort the man from the premises — even if he’s the one who placed the call.  On college campuses, an allegation of sexual misconduct is sufficient to derail a man’s academic career, no matter how scant or ambiguous the evidence.

This is not an endorsement or defense of the abuse of masculine strength, but it does show how the presumption falls.  I point this out to illustrate how the message to men of goodwill is: “Your strength is something to be ashamed of.” Or at the very least it’s “Men aren’t all that special any more.”

This is causing a crisis of male identity.  Is a man supposed to be a caring neuter nurturer a la Stuart Smalley, or a swaggering lothario?  As if those are the only choices!  Unfortunately, it seems even some churches are confused about the specifics of maleness — the calling and giftedness of being a man — as opposed to interchangeable “persons.”

I affirm what scripture teaches, even when it’s uncomfortable.   However, the misuse of the verse stating that there is “neither male nor female” doesn’t invalidate the purpose for which God made men and women nor the respective roles of each.  We are all equal before God, but that does not equate to each of us having the same mission.  God loves me exactly the same as He loves LeBron James or Aaron Rodgers, but I am not suited to either man’s job.  I’m fine with that.

This same crisis is also present in the family.  When fathers are absent, by their own volition or against their will, it creates a void.  Who will step in to confer on a son his true name, to affirm the masculine in him?  There are signs that fatherlessness is hereditary — that is, if you didn’t have a dad, chances are your children won’t either.  You can, however, decide now to be a father to your children.

The term “love child” is a euphemism for what we used to call a bastard — a son with no name.  It is unfair to tag a kid for his parents’ wrongs, but the old stigmas used to motivate people toward doing right by their children, whatever the circumstances of their conception.

Consider how fatherlessness and the deterioration of marriage has caused us to be less sure of ourselves.  We’re rootless, isolated and unsure of our identity.   Worse, the fundamental institutions that used to confer identity — family, church, country — are in too many cases sounding an uncertain trumpet.  They seem ambivalent, unable to define themselves, let alone to affirm the identities of men.

Should God’s men be in doubt regarding who  — and whose — they are?  I admit it’s late, but it is not too late.

Stimulation

Think of the many ways we have to overcome boredom.  The internet — boon that it is — can also be a scourge to those with an unmet need for stimulation.  Now it’s possible to visit the virtual equivalents of seedy hotels, casinos and brothels without the risk of being found out.  Gambling and pornography are just two of the ways a man can get into trouble online.

Then, of course, people resort to social media to attract attention to themselves, or to engage in the two minutes’ hate of social media shaming or outright slander.  The cost and the consequences for the perpetrators are very nearly zero.  Creating offense or feeling outrage is a pale substitute for really living, but at least the ones who do these things feel something.

In a previous role as a worship leader, other leaders and I would discuss  how to distinguish between leading people into worship versus entertaining them.  I argued then that the conflict isn’t between worship and entertainment.  To entertain simply means to hold the attention of others.  A leader can direct that attention toward God or toward himself.  No, the conflict is between entertainment and amusement.  Where entertainment holds one’s attention, amusement seeks to distract.

The economic climate is hostile, and the lack of meaningful or challenging work is a contributor to boredom.  But rather than seeking distraction in fantasy worlds or stimulation in tormenting others, how about seeking stimulation through the creation of value?  There are still opportunities to make a difference — and even if serving others doesn’t pay your bills, it will hold your attention and teach you how to apply yourself to solve problems.  Ultimately, that’s how all of us get paid.

Security

Ardrey explained that security was third because it was the most contingent on one’s place in the biome.  Large predators with no predators of their own to fear, had less of a need for security than prey animals down the food chain.

Most men in the west don’t have the kind of existential peril from lions, tigers and bears, instead our security is threatened by economic uncertainty and relationship instability.  Part of the Marxist feminist project I wrote about previously was to supplant America’s culture by destroying the American patriarch — by destroying men.  Understand that strategy and you’re prepared to defend against it.  At its heart, it’s about convincing a lion to believe he’s a fixed housecat.  Unless you’ve had the surgery, it isn’t necessary for you to go along with this.

Security rises or falls with identity.  The less sure you are of who you are and what you stand for, the less secure you’re likely to be.  The more secure you are, the less prone you are to boredom.  All of this in spite of employment status or bank balance.

And the remedy is?

I’m so glad you planted that question in my head as I was writing this!  Let’s go back to the top of the list.  Identity is foundational and non-negotiable.  You simply must know who you are.  God has revealed Himself as our Father in Heaven, so we must start by asking Him to tell us our true name and to affirm our masculinity.

From there, we must understand our purpose and our mission in life.  The right mission will carry you through your entire life, and if you are allocating time for work, rest and play, you can avoid the boredom that leads to fruitless stimulation.  Mental masturbation is as fruitless as its real-world counterpart. You and I were made to build things, to create, to come through.

Our security derives from understanding our place in the universe.  A man who places himself under the authority of God has a rock solid identity as a son and an heir.  He has a purpose to fulfill and a job designed for him.

So how about you?  From what do you derive your identity, stimulation and security?  Add your comments below.

Note: I’m re-posting this as a prelude to a series of posts in which I’ll expand on these themes over the next several weeks. Stick around.

“…but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” – Jesus (John 4:14)

Several years ago I served as a volunteer worship leader for our church. Since then I’ve had the opportunity to be part of the band from time to time, giving me the opportunity to play with some very talented cats. Playing with them always teaches me some valuable lessons, and I value the friendships that come from working together.

Taking care of yourself can be a lifesaver.
(Photo by Ian Prince)

This past weekend, I ran into one of the guitarists I’ve played with in this context. As we were catching up, I asked him where he was playing these days. He said he wasn’t playing anywhere regularly, just filling in here and there. But what he said next is why I’m telling you this: He said he was actually enjoying the opportunity just to come to church and worship as a member of the congregation, as playing for worship was in danger of becoming a chore.

This was a great insight — here’s why: Even when you love something, and you’re good at it, you will develop greater skill, greater longevity and greater impact if you build in time for rest.

Recreation is a funny word

We tend to overlook the word recreation — it calls to mind vegging in front of the TV or shooting pool — but look at the word more closely and you’ll see that a proper allowance of downtime for recreation is quite literally re-creation. As in, to be made new.

The goal is not to gaze ever deeper into your own navel, but to find restoration so you can return to your work with renewed effectiveness.

Another lesson from the gym

Most beginners to strength training have to learn not to over-train. Exercise tears down muscle fibers and the body compensates by repairing and increasing them. Athletes who over train never give their bodies enough time to rebuild.

In an earlier post I mentioned that rest — specifically sleep — is an essential part of health and fitness. If you love calisthenics or lifting weights, you should know that you don’t build muscle while you’re training. You build muscle while you sleep. (So if you’re stalled in your fitness regimen, try turning in an hour earlier.) In the larger context of your life, you’ll learn more, accomplish more, and increase your capacity in all kinds of ways if you add some white space to your calendar.

Even when death is on the line?

I’ll be doing some business travel this week, so I know I’ll hear the flight attendants’ recite the safety spiel. If you’ve flown in the last 30 years, you know that when they get to the part about “a sudden loss of cabin pressure” and the oxygen masks dropping from the overhead panels, you may recall the instruction to people traveling with small children.  They are to apply their own masks first, then help the kiddos. The idea is the same in life: Optimize your health and you can help others — said another way, you can’t give away what you don’t have.

What all lifeguards know

As a scout, I earned the lifesaving merit badge. I was surprised to learn that jumping in to save someone is actually the last resort. Throw anything that will float, throw a rope, use a pole or a hook, but only go in when its clear there’s no other way to save the drowning swimmer. And even then, there are specific techniques to avoid being dragged to the bottom by the one you’re trying to help. The goal is to save the one in trouble and live to save others.

So it isn’t… selfish?

No, it’s not selfish to take care of yourself. You’re supposed to do that as part of your stewardship. But you’re not supposed to take care of yourself just so you can look fabulous (not that there’s anything wrong with looking good). You need to take appropriate care of yourself so you’re in the best shape to fulfill your mission.

You may have noticed that life is not always easy or fair, but optimizing your health helps you to be more resilient.

About that mission

A pastor friend of mine said that ministry should always be from the overflow of what God is doing in your life. If you aren’t allowing God to fill you to overflowing, you aren’t bubbling with what Jesus calls “living water,” instead you’re like a stagnant puddle or a drainage ditch.  You collect water, but it flows away or evaporates.

The theological term for this is “working in the flesh,” which means you’re trying to accomplish heavenly tasks with human strength alone. This is a bad practice, and the way to overcome it is to balance service (output) with rest (input). Refreshment is the fuel for effective work.

Along with nutrition, hydration and exercise, I want to encourage you to make stillness and rest — in proper amounts — a part of how you take care of yourself. If you build those habits, you’ll be ready to handle whatever is in front of you.

So how about you? How do you make sure you’re taking proper care of yourself and serving others? Add your comments below.

Note: While I’m taking some time to reboot and work on some new longer-form material, I’m re-posting some of my favorites, like this one.