Journal - 30 Mar 2011 - Luke 20:1-8 - Asking the Right Question

My journal entry yesterday from our Bible Reading Planner was fascinating as I look at how Jesus handled opposition.

For those who are unaware, DUMC encourages the use of a journal when we spend time daily with God, writing down our thoughts. We use the process SOAR (Scripture, Observation, Application and Response).

S

¹ One day as he was teaching the people in the temple courts and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the elders, came up to him. ² “Tell us by what authority you are doing these things,” they said. “Who gave you this authority?”

 ³ He replied, “I will also ask you a question. Tell me, ⁴ John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or from men?”

 ⁵ They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Why didn’t you believe him?’ ⁶ But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us, because they are persuaded that John was a prophet.”

 ⁷ So they answered, “We don’t know where it was from.”

 ⁸ Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

O

Although the context of this passage is in a negative sense of wanting to trap Jesus, let me turn it around positively.

Here we see the principle of  Matthew 10:16 "Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves."

Sometimes, it is not our answers that will solve the matter. It is the conclusion of the one who asks when asked back!

A

Often we are too quick to give an answer. If we are to take time to think about how to help the person by asking the right question, it would have benefitted him alot more because he owns the answer by thinking it through. What a powerful principle! The power is not in the answers because answers can be easily found in the days of internet. It is in the right question. I have often encourage those in my MAG (Mentoring and Accountability Group) to ask good questions. "What do you think?" is often my reply. We use the QC process, one question and one contribution from each person. What is one question you would like to ask the group for their collective wisdom and what is one contribution you would like to give to the group. This will encourage a culture of not just receiving, but giving as well to the group. It also encourage every person that learning to ask the right question in life is the key to our spiritual growth. Right question produces the right answer!

R

Lord, give me the wisdom of Matthew 10:16 when I deal with opposition. Teach me to listen well, pray and help the person come to his own conclusion where possible. Amen!

Life Seasonings - Principle 7 of 10

Principle 7:  Walk in freedom 
(Walk light)

If we can have the ability to see the unseen in people, what will we see? In my imaginative mind, I see people with black backpacks on their backs with all sorts of things imaginable that they have accumulated along their life’s journey. Some have their backpacks so stuffed up that they are struggling to move, fumbling under the sheer weight. Some have even collapsed to the ground and not able to move at all. Yet I see others skipping joyfully around on very light backpacks, almost empty, with tell-tale signs of a carefree life. They can stop, walk or run with absolute ease.

And there are many types of people somewhere in between these two extremes. Two persons may have the same redemptive experience in the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, yet they are not the same in the way they walk (or run) their life’s journey. That’s why some Christians seem to be living their Christian life passionately whilst others drag their feet.

All Christians may start on the same line, that is, we are totally set free in Him. “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1) But not all will run at the same pace and the same distance. Others are totally distracted from the journey and some, sadly, go backwards. If we have spiritual eyes to see, we see Christians with differing passion and love for God, weighed down by heavy or light backpacks. What makes one Christian on fire for Him and another living mediocrely and half-heartedly?

As a pastor, I have counseled many people. One common trait among those seeking help is this: They carry very heavy burdens in their lives. Although technically they have been set free from their sins at the point of their conversion, yet they continue to stuff back the very things they have left behind as new Christians. Sometimes they add on many other things as well.  Jesus puts it another way in the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:1-23). The seeds that were scattered fell into four places: on the path, rocky places, among the thorns and on good soil. The seeds represent the message of God that was sown into the hearts of men. The seed that fell on the path is liken to a man who has heard the message, but it is snatched away immediately by the evil one. It has no chance to grow. The person remains unfruitful. The second seed is liken to a man who receives the message with joy but because there’s no depth or root in the way the message has an effect in his life, and when trouble comes, he too falls away. The third man is choked with the worries of life and the deceitfulness of wealth, he is unfruitful in his Christian life by default. But the fourth man, who hears the message, understands and applies it, becomes a fruitful man, passionate about life and useful for the kingdom of God.

It is good to inspect right now what kind of Christians you are at this stage of your life. Regular inspection of broken walls, as Nehemiah did before he re-built the walls in Jerusalem, is a necessary part of maintaining a passion for God and living fruitful lives. Which type are you?

a.      You made a profession of faith before but the devil stole everything from you even before you made a start?

b.      Were you discouraged along the way because you couldn’t handle problems and you have been blaming God and others ever since?

c.       Are you distracted by worldly cares and values, are distracted and living mediocrely as a result? Somehow things just don’t make sense in this unending pursuit.

All the three above are big time contributors to your backpack. This list is not exhaustive of course. We are talking here about every sin that you have disobediently committed that grieves the heart of God in every conceivable area of money, sex and power, or as Apostle John puts it in 1 John 2:16 (NKJV) – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. For every commission of sin, we add another item into our backpack.

Christ has set us free. Why have we robbed ourselves and allowing the evil one to rob us of that freedom? The passionate plea of Apostle Paul is “Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” It is so easy to go back again to our old life. Repent from your ways, stand firm and be like the fourth man, and the journey that you will embark from then on will be an incredible one. So, walk light and walk free!

Life Seasonings - Principle 6 of 10

Principle 6:  Grow Well and Deep 

(Be Like An Oak Tree)

“Superficiality is the curse of our age. The doctrine of instant satisfaction is a primary spiritual problem. The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people.” A profound statement made at the very beginning by Richard Foster in his book “Celebration of Discipline”.

Often we want and desire to extend the breadth of our influence in our ministry or career and these are the obvious and tangible things we see in our outward accomplishments. The downside is that if we are not careful, we get sucked into this curse of superficiality. We are uncomfortable with these inconsistencies because we have an in-built integrity check called “conscience”, an innate desire in our spirit to operate ethically or morally and be the kind of person exhibiting godly character and strength. We would like to grow well in breadth but we also know, like a tree, if it is without a deep root system, we will fall and crumble when floods and wind come. The oak tree is a common symbol of strength and endurance and has been chosen as the national tree of many nations. From just a sapling, it grows into a giant that spread its branches, seeking light to nourish itself and searching with roots deep into the ground for water. What we can’t see are the hidden roots that feeds the majesty of the tree.

Many people may start well but they finish miserably at the end of their lives, or at best mediocrely. As the adage goes, “We live the first half of our life learning how to live the second half better.” With the experience of our first half, we hope to build a wealth and reservoir of godly wisdom, deep-rooted character that will enable us to live a remarkable second half. By remarkable I don’t mean the spectacular. I mean living life with a sense of destiny and purpose. I have always believed life really begins in our forties, the second half of our life. It will be much more exciting and significant because we would by then have the experience, wisdom, influence, respect and esteem to do what we can’t before when we were younger, and influencing many like-minded others alongside our cause. What many don’t realize are the bad decisions they had made in the first half which caused them to climb the corporate ladder, by hook or by crook, and having reached the top, to realize they are on the wrong wall! By then, climbing down and starting all over again on the right wall would be a little too late because the runway is so short and some consequences are irreversible.

Why is growing deep important? I have learnt earlier in ministry this important principle: “Don’t go places where your gifts take you but your character cannot sustain you.” It simply means that if you don’t intend to grow deep, then be very careful about going wide. If we take care of the depth of our life, God will take care of the breadth.

Why is it difficult to grow deep? Because it takes dedicated time, dogged determination and disciplined commitment. We live in an age that expects instant answers, gives up too quickly and easily distracted. We have more to eat, more to spend and more to enjoy, yet are we any better on the inside? There is certainly an ongoing search for a greater sense of purpose, fulfillment and significance. The world cries out for people with high ethical and moral standards.

We are all too familiar with the term IQ (Intelligent Quotient) that tells us something about our mental capability and capacity. Then someone invented the term EQ (Emotional Quotient) that reveals our abilities in handling our feelings and that of others. Now, another term emerges, SQ (Spiritual Quotient). It is about the ability to handle one’s life purpose, about growth, maturity, fulfillment and significance. As a Christian, this is not new. The concept of spirit, soul and body (1 Thes 5:23) and inward regeneration (Titus 3:5) is taught in Scripture and it is this regenerated spiritual man that is in tune with God who allows for that depth of life and character.

Why is growing in depth important for the Christian? Because it glorifies God and his life becomes a blessing to all those around him. He charges people up, rather than discharging them. His life becomes a source of refuge and strength. “He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.” Psalm 1:3

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:6-7

Wouldn’t you want to go near a man or woman like this?

Thinking & Living Christianly (Rom. 12:1-3; Phil. 4:8,9)

Pr Daniel Ho's sharing at March 2011 Leaders' Meeting 1. Be aware of how we really think and therefore, believe and behave. How we think affects our living. 1 Cor 14:20 - think maturely. 2. Be aware of how God wants us to think He wants us to think after His thoughts - mind of Christ. Need to align our thinking and see if it is in line with the mind of Christ. 2 Peter 3:1 The best way is to read and understand His Word. Inconsistencies will show in our lives. 3. Renewal of the mind is a lifestyle, not an experience 2 Cor 3:15-18 4. Renewal of the mind involves putting off and putting on (Eph 4:22-25; Col 3:5-10) 5. Our mind must be focused on that which is right, good and positive (Phil. 4:8; Col. 3:2) 6. Our soul, mind and will prosper and emotion must prosper before our life will prosper (3 John 2) Our health has to do with our inside. Many diseases are psychosomatic in nature 7. Abundant life has been provided and we must possess it (John 10:10)

Life Seasonings - Principle 5 of 10

Principle 5:  Have a good sense of humor 

(Learn to laugh)

It is medically known that some human diseases are psychosomatic in nature where symptoms of the sufferers are caused by mental processes rather than immediate physiological causes. In other words, it is the problem of the mind, caused by stresses of modern day living that manifest itself in a physical way, although nothing is wrong physically with the person. A 1996 Malaysian national health study found mental illness to be prevalent in about 10.7% of the population. This is a scary thought that 1 in every 10 Malaysian are mentally ill to some extent. The facts seem to indicate a surge in mental illness due to the ill effects of urbanization, stress and poor mental health.

The Bible has already addressed this. Proverbs 15:13 A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit. Science has long ascertained that our minds and bodies are interrelated. The Bible takes it one step further to say so are our spirits. 1 Thessalonians 5:23b May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Psalm 139:14a I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Our bodies are truly amazing creation of God that is able to heal itself. If you accidently cut yourself, or your mouth starts to have an ulcer, you can be assured that a few days later, the affected area will be well covered up by new skin and the germs that have gotten into the body annihilated. Doctors will tell you that if you are positive in outlook during an illness, half your battle is already won. When we are joyful in the spirit, the mind senses that on its radar screen and releases chemicals in our bodies that are instrumental in enhancing the immune system to help fight diseases in our bodies. The ravages of processed and chemical-laden food, coupled with man-made pollution and stressed of modern living, have reduced these fighting capacities of our bodies. While these may be hard to control, the joy of the Lord is within our reach. Nehemiah 8:10 “ …. the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

A cardiologist in India has even started a laughing club to cope with modern stresses. Club members gather together early in the morning or during lunch breaks, do some stretching exercises and then just laugh together after that for forty minutes. This phenomenon of the healing power of laughter has now spread to more than 1300 clubs worldwide and it simply goes to show that we don’t laugh enough nowadays.

This is not an article to explain the miracles of our human body, but rather to emphasize the point that there is within us the fruit of the spirit of “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23). Joy must come from within, in spite of challenging circumstance without. Christians are to be the ones that exhibit the peace of the Lord in all situations. God has exhorted us not to be worried or anxious about life, but to trust God in all circumstances (Proverbs 3:5-6; 1 Peter 5:7). Life is difficult enough with its daily problems and if we don’t develop a good sense of humor about life, even to laugh candidly at ourselves some times, we are in for a heavy and depressing ride. Often we tend to think of our Lord Jesus as someone who is sober and magnanimously stern. Seldom do we imagine Jesus laughing with his disciples. Yet I really do believe they often laugh together in their journeys. If you read the Gospels somewhat in between the lines, in the light of the wits and humor of our Lord Jesus in dealing with different people, you will be surprised to know that Jesus was no stranger to the role of humor in lifting deadly weight of burdens from our shoulders. Try imagining Jesus explaining Mark 10:25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Try Matthew 17:24-27 or Matthew 23:24 (Camels’ jokes!) where Jesus pictures the legalistic Pharisees as fastidious diners, doing their best to strain a gnat from their soup, but swallowing a whole camel in the process. In Jesus’ spoken language of Aramaic, the humor is even more pronounced where the word for gnat is galma, while the word of camel is gamla. See the pun? To prove my point, there are three books I know that has these titles: The Humor of Christ (Elton Trueblood, 1964); The Humor Of Jesus: Sources of Laughter in the Bible (Earl Palmer, 2001); The Humor of Jesus (Henri Cormier, 1977).

The point is, often, we see Christians with long solemn faces. Fun, joy, laughter and humor are the exception rather than the norm. I believe we all need a good sense of humor in our lives. Learning to laugh at yourself is good start. Life will be much easier! Cheers!

Life Seasonings - Principle 4 of 10

Principle 4: Make time for people 
(Leave them better than when you found them)

Consider these statements. “Where there are people, there are problems. Where there are no people, there are no problems. Wouldn’t the world be a better place without people?” These statements are in the context of a training dealing with relationship problems. We recognize that the root of all problems in the world has to do with dealing rightly or wrongly with another human being. In other words, although we can’t live with people, we can’t live without them either. The fact remains that we are created by God to live in community and we crave for it. (Genesis 2:18 - "It is not good for the man to live alone.") These cravings reflect positively in love but negatively in an unhealthy pursuit of that acceptance from, and significance in, people. To put it succinctly in an adage: “We buy things we do not need, with money we don’t have, to impress people we don’t even like.” If there are no people to impress, there would not be any necessity to accumulate more and more. We can only eat so much, wear so much and play so much. Anything more than that is a deprivation of these resources to someone else in the world.

This is the oxymoron bit. People are extremely important to us but our lifestyles and priorities do not seem to point to that. We hurt the very people we loved, by accumulating wealth which we think are good for them, with the time that was meant for them. We backstab and step over people to do that and we created for ourselves a dog-eat-dog world.

When we live within the right context of community, we receive strength and contribute to its betterment. When we don’t, we take something away from it and leave the community a worse place than it was before. Therefore in that sense, there are really two kinds of people in this world. Those that give to it and those that takes away. Candidly, my question to each of us would be:  Do we leave people charged up, or discharged?

 “We were once people living in darkness. We have now seen a great light.” (Matthew 4:16) The Bible also says in Ephesians 5:8 “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.” Light conveys warmth and life. It gives energy. Darkness takes away. It is cold and silent. Those of us who have seen the light and are in the light, we are to be a source of encouragement and growth to those around us. When we are around other people, there’s more life in them after we leave. Do you have people in your life that when you run into them, your face naturally lights up? Conversely, are there people in your life that when you see them coming your way, there is a natural urge inside you that makes you take the opposite direction, unless you are cornered and are forced to greet them. What kind of person are you to others around you? Do people’s faces brighten up when they chance upon you? Do they look forward to see you? Or are you avoided at all cost? This is a sobering thought and something we would rather deny than to confront because it is uncomfortable.

As a people helper, I constantly feel discharged by the issues I help people with. The Lord recharges me daily but being a social creature, I need people to recharge me too. So the best thing I can do for myself is to learn to regularly go near people who can charge me up. These are the people that I look forward to seeing and they encouraged me and help me see the bright side of life. This is a human need, and it is biblical too, as the Apostle Paul exhorts us to do these to one another: encourage, honor, love, edify, honor, be devoted to, accept, care, forgive, greet, be kind, be compassionate, comfort, live in peace with, to be kind with, and the list goes on. These are the actions that charge others up.

How would you know which kind you are? I encourage (or dare!) you to ask someone who would be honest enough with you. Try your wife, husband, parents, children, cell members, cell leader, pastor, colleagues, friends and even your maids!

May I challenge you to be a people charger? Give energy, not take away! Make time for people and leave them better than when you found them.

Life Seasonings - Principle 3 of 10

Principle 3: Have Peace (Will it matter in a thousand years?)

A non-Christian couple, plagued with a troubled marriage, came to see me recently in the office. Out of sheer desperation, they had even resorted to paging through the Yellow Pages seeking for the services of psychologists. They consulted one picked from the list and were disappointed with the first session. A DUMC ex-colleague of the wife suggested that they seek the help of the church and hence both ended up in front of me in the counselling room. It was written all over their faces the absence of peace. Frowns on their faces seem like permanent features. I spent the next one hour dissecting their problems and the pleasant conclusion to both of them at the end of that time was that they realized the sum of their individual problems seen insurmountable in the beginning. By taking the problems individually, they were able to see that there was no justifiable issue to consider a separation. A smile broke out at the end of the session and you can literally see peace returning to their faces.

What are the roots of their problem? Firstly, it is in trying hard to change the other person and secondly, the inability to adapt to each other. Often, we try too hard to change people to suit us. And if wisdom prevails, we would have recognized that we can’t change someone unless he is WILLING to change! No amount of nagging, cajoling and threat can change a person. Yet we often get upset and frustrated when we can’t. For example, when an inconsiderate driver rudely cuts into your lane, your natural reaction would be to get upset at the inappropriate violation of your space and pretty soon some not so nice thoughts begin to form in your head. If only you could teach him a lesson or change the way he drives! In Life Skills training, we call this “catching someone else’s monkey”. There are times we need to accept the fact that we can’t really change a person.

So in a marriage, for example, I have often said to young potential marriage partners that they should not go into their marriage with the aim of hoping to change each other to be like them. They will get very disappointed if they try. Funnily, most couples are attracted to each other simply because they are different and yet it is these very differences that threaten to split them apart later in their marriage. I am marrying you because of what you can bring into my life of which I am in lack. The truth is that they need to adapt to each other’s differences. Adaptability therefore negates the need for absolute compatibility. Rather than asking who is the one most compatible to me (which is very self-centered), I seek for someone I can adapt to (which is very other-centered). This is a great formula for successful marriages and therefore peace in relationship. Young people often go into marriages with half opened eyes, in a dreamy state, saying their vows with their fingers crossed and hoping for the best. Then immediately their eyes are wide opened as they live with one another exclaiming “This is not the man (or woman) I married!” In DUMC, we try to reverse the trend. Say your vow with wide open eyes so that you really mean what you say and say what you mean. After that, half close your eyes and overlook each other idiosyncrasies and start adapting to one another.

Often we fight over the most trivial of things. It is usually never over the ‘big’ things that get us into trouble with one another, but the small things, accumulated over time that when summed up together becomes insurmountable. The lack of peace is a reflection of the heart, of always wanting to have things our way and the inability to adapt to circumstances or people, whether consciously or not. A mark of pride hangs over our neck for others to conform to us rather than God.

Our Lord is the Prince of Peace. He said in John 14:27 (NIV) Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. That means we need to realize He is in PERFECT control of everything, even with the person who is annoying you or the situation that discourages you.

Whenever my wife and I fight (we are still works-in-progress!) we remind ourselves, “Will it matter in a thousand years?” Often it will not matter and the issue is laid to rest as we learn to adapt to one another. HAVE PEACE!

Life Seasonings - Principle 2 of 10

Principle 2 : Marry your best friend (Till the day you die)

Marriage is a life-time commitment. At the wedding altar, couples exchanged their vows: “For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part.” It is a vow made where there are no exceptions to the rule, irreconcilable differences or circumstances that can break the marriage vow. The Lord himself confirmed the original intent of God in life-long commitment (Matthew 19:8). Certainly we don’t marry just to have a companion because many other people can be good companions. It would be naïve to suggest that one should marry because it is time to do so. Putting two people together for a life-time commitment who have absolutely nothing in common with each other is to invite disaster on an unprecedented scale, if you do not know this yet! One is a man and the other a woman, how different can you get?

I remember an adage: Don’t marry someone you can live with. Marry someone whom you can’t live without. Hmmm … that’s a good thought. One plus one, in a marriage, should not be two, but maybe five, or even ten. What can’t I do as single, which I can only do when I get married, apart from having babies, that is? I cannot fathom the thoughts of some married people who seem to give the impression that they are ‘stuck’ in an unhappy marriage. Instead of being a blessing to each other and the people around them, they spend their entire married life putting out fires in their relationship. How terrible that must be, considering that you are to live with each other for 40 or 50 years. No wonder they take the easy way out – divorce. The kind of brokenness that results must be heart-breaking, especially if there are children involved.

To those looking for a life-long mate, the point is simple. If you are to live with someone for the next 40 or 50 years, you jolly well marry someone who is your best friend, someone you can really truly enjoy being together with. He or she must be your best friend that you will learn to love and accept unconditionally. Not that there are no valleys in the relationship, but in these circumstances, the stronger one holds the weaker one up. Best friend become “best-ter” friends over the years and best friends never quit on each other. Best friends operate interdependently and are secure with each other’s uniqueness and successes. Solomon wife’s calls him “This is my lover, this is friend.” (Song of Solomon 5:16)

Life Seasonings - Principle 1 of 10

Principle 1 : It’s my fault (Taking personal responsibility)

We play the blame game all the time. When something goes wrong, it is always somebody else’s fault. We rarely admit we are in the wrong as first response. This is the sinful state of our human mind which originated with Adam and Eve: “She made me do it.” “The Serpent deceived me.” (Genesis 3:12,13) Counsellors call it blame-shifting. It doesn’t matter whether we are young or old, we blame-shift all the time and the greatest disservice that happens when we do that is we don’t see the plank right in front of our eyes (Matthew 7:1-5).

As Christians, we are to learn to be over comers in our life. I heard in one of Rev. Dr. A.R. Bernard’s talk: “We are not human beings trying to have a spiritual experience. Rather, we are spiritual beings trying to master our earthly circumstances.” What a profound biblical truth put in a fresh new way! We often adopt a fatalistic outlook in life, that we have no control over our circumstances and hence the choices we can make. “My circumstances forced me to behave this way”, when often it is the refusal to take personal responsibilities that is the problem.

When we point our index finger at someone, the other three fingers are pointing back at us. When things go wrong, while we can’t control the circumstances or other people, we can certainly and must control our responses. Maturity is about having the courage to admit that I am at fault and will take responsibility over my contribution to the problem and allow others to realize theirs. When this is an agreed ground rule to relationship, can you imagine the impact it has to human society. There will be no more wars!

Life Seasonings - Ten Principles I live by

I mentioned in my last post that I will upload a series of articles I wrote for DUMC's Floodgates on the Ten Principles I live by. These are the principles I realized I consistently apply and guided me in the many decisions I have to make in the last 50 years of my life. Here it goes with the introductory and thereafter, it will be a principle at a time. These are the unedited version of my articles before it went to the editor. Happy reading!

INTRODUCTION

If ever there’s a book I would like to write, I would title it “Life’s Seasoning”.  Life itself is our best teacher, guided and directed by the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, the Bible. Just the mere fact of living life, is a privilege to be savored and relished. Some lived it well, others wasted it and most I think lived it mediocrely. If only we would learn to respond wisely and react less to life’s circumstances, we could have emerged less scathed and stronger in character. Pains and sufferings are as much part of life as are blessings and prosperity. There are no guarantees to either, yet we can respond wisely to whatever comes our way. Being in blessings is no more spiritual than being in pain. What matter most is how we have lived life the best that we can. God doesn’t hold us accountable to those things that we don’t have or having a responsibility for. He only holds us to that which we have control over.

Lately, I have been asking myself, if I could list down ten things (or principles) by which I lived my life by, things which I feel passionately about and would dedicate not to just live by them but to teach and model to others to do the same, what would that ten things be? This led me hours of writing down in raw forms what these statements are, fine-tuning and finally selecting these ten things. They are by no means exhaustive of all that God had taught me and learnt through life’s experiences. But these will be, as of now, what are most important to me.

I will list these ten things here in this article and from here on in the next five articles following this, I will elaborate what they mean. Some may be repetitive from previous articles that I have written but hopefully presented in a different and fresh perspective. Here it goes:

1.         It’s my fault (Taking personal responsibility)

2.         Marry your best friend (Till the day you die)

3.         Have Peace (Will it matter in a thousand years?)

4.         Make time for people (Leave them better than when you found them)

5.         Have a good sense of humor (Learn to laugh)

6.         Grow well and deep (Be like an oak tree)

7.         Walk in freedom (Walk light)

8.         Life is short (Don’t waste it)

9.         Rooftop principle (Don’t even go there)

10.     Reflect often (Make many pit stops)

There you have it. Most of these phrases are in themselves self-explanatory. The key challenge I have for you here is, are you able to write down what’s important for you and are you prepared to live by them? Just this morning, I was in conversation with a brother who has taken quite a beating in his career for the last twelve years. Job after job lasted only about two years or less. His key reason for not staying long in these jobs is simply his desire to stay true to his moral conviction and ethical stand in his business dealings. With tears welling in his eyes as he related them, I could not comfort him with a reason why he had to go through all these. Or why God has not vindicated him or provided a way out. Or I could tell him he made bad decisions about the company he is joining. As I feel for the brother and the pain he is going through, all I could say at the end of it is simply this: “You have passed the character test, brother, and you have honored the Lord.” I could see how this affirmation encouraged him in spite of what he is going through. What does this mean for him? That “blessing and prosperity” will be with him from here on if he applied the right formula? No one can guarantee that. In fact, that would be plain self-centeredness if we go by the adage that when we do something for God, He will do something for us. The emphasis is on self and not God, and we are in the danger of becoming a consumeristic driven religion. But what if God didn’t answer the way we wanted Him too. Is God any less? That’s where our values and understanding of God comes in. Are our convictions dependent on circumstances or are they God dependent? But one thing I know for certain for this brother. He can sleep well every night from here on because he does not only know the truth, he lived it out as well. Such is the power of a clear conscience and a life of integrity.

How about you? What are your ten things that you live by?