1 Corinthians 13:6 - It does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
I referenced Matthew Henry again on this one. He said, "It does nothing out of place or time; but behaves towards all men as
becomes their rank and ours, with reverence and respect to superiors,
with kindness and condescension to inferiors, with courtesy and
good-will towards all men."
Being a first born (check out the birth order book [aff link]) I have no problems with this. I always want to do things the way they're supposed to be done and follow the rules. I make sure I'm doing what I'm supposed to and when I'm supposed to.
However my fault here lies in the reasoning behind doing so a lot of the time. There's a difference between following the rules to follow the rules, which can be dogmatic and religious, and not doing it out of service and love.
Too many times, doing the right thing becomes fulfilling a checklist and doesn't have the heart behind it should. There's a big gap between following the rules and rejoicing in the truth.
How have you walked the line between following rules and doing what's right?
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Love Is Series: Verse 5b
1 Corinthians 13:5b: It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful
To know how I measure up to this, I need to look no further than a review I received from work. My manager polled all of the management team about each individual manager on a long list of areas and asked for commentary on them. The results were provided to us anonymously. We answered the questions about ourselves as well so we know how what we think about ourselves matches up with how our peers see us. It's a pretty fantastic tool.
Anyway, short story long, one of the comments on mine was, "Once he has his mind made up, doesn't waiver."
Granted, this was only one person, and I don't have any perspective. But being that I consider myself pretty laid back and flexible, it's disappointing that I've given anyone, even that one person that impression.
At some point, or maybe over several occasions, I gave this person the impression that my way was the only way. And I'm not ok with that. I want to be open to others ideas, work as a team and move forward. I don't want to give the impression that I'm "irritable or resentful" if I don't give my way.
Luckily with this tool saved in my inbox as a reminder, I can approach our meetings with this prospective and remind myself to show my openness when discussing plans of action.
Hopefully it carries over into my family life as well.
How do you do with not getting your own way? How would others say you do?
To know how I measure up to this, I need to look no further than a review I received from work. My manager polled all of the management team about each individual manager on a long list of areas and asked for commentary on them. The results were provided to us anonymously. We answered the questions about ourselves as well so we know how what we think about ourselves matches up with how our peers see us. It's a pretty fantastic tool.
Anyway, short story long, one of the comments on mine was, "Once he has his mind made up, doesn't waiver."
Granted, this was only one person, and I don't have any perspective. But being that I consider myself pretty laid back and flexible, it's disappointing that I've given anyone, even that one person that impression.
At some point, or maybe over several occasions, I gave this person the impression that my way was the only way. And I'm not ok with that. I want to be open to others ideas, work as a team and move forward. I don't want to give the impression that I'm "irritable or resentful" if I don't give my way.
Luckily with this tool saved in my inbox as a reminder, I can approach our meetings with this prospective and remind myself to show my openness when discussing plans of action.
Hopefully it carries over into my family life as well.
How do you do with not getting your own way? How would others say you do?
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Love Is Series: Verse 4b-5a
1 Corinthians 13:4b-5a: Love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude.
Is thinking you're good at this stuff boasting?
Seriously, though, I had to marinate on these for awhile because I found it tough to put envy and boast in a love context. I looked at Matthew Henry's commentary and he talked about in the context of loving your neighbor, which made sense, so let's look at that.
For envy, Henry says, "it is not grieved at the good of others; neither at their gifts nor at their good qualities...If we love our neighbour we shall be so far from envying his welfare, or being displeased with it, that we shall share in it and rejoice at it."
I honestly think I'm generally good with that. I'm content with what I have, I'm happy for others when they succeed--unless I feel they really didn't earn it, and then I struggle. Every now and then there's a gadget that I get overly obsessed with and want for awhile, but I've learned to move past this.
The second part though, was convicting. Henry says, "True love will give us an esteem of our brethren, and raise our value for them; and this will limit our esteem of ourselves, and prevent the tumours of self-conceit and arrogance."
I don't believe myself to be outwardly arrogant. I'm bad at self-promotion, I don't like to talk about my own accomplishments and get embarrassed and uncomfortable when publicly recognized at work.
However on the flip-side of that, I do have have an inward arrogance that rears it's ugly head in allowing myself to gossip or speak poorly of those who do their job poorly. And that's just as bad if not worse. Too often I find myself complaining about someone's poor performance instead of helping them be better or seeing if there's a deeper issue that's causing them to struggle.
This is a hard pill to swallow and definitely something I need to get right if I'm going to be a good example in the workplace.
How does envy and boasting play into your life? How have you found to fight the "tumors of self-conceit and arrogance?
Is thinking you're good at this stuff boasting?
Seriously, though, I had to marinate on these for awhile because I found it tough to put envy and boast in a love context. I looked at Matthew Henry's commentary and he talked about in the context of loving your neighbor, which made sense, so let's look at that.
For envy, Henry says, "it is not grieved at the good of others; neither at their gifts nor at their good qualities...If we love our neighbour we shall be so far from envying his welfare, or being displeased with it, that we shall share in it and rejoice at it."
I honestly think I'm generally good with that. I'm content with what I have, I'm happy for others when they succeed--unless I feel they really didn't earn it, and then I struggle. Every now and then there's a gadget that I get overly obsessed with and want for awhile, but I've learned to move past this.
The second part though, was convicting. Henry says, "True love will give us an esteem of our brethren, and raise our value for them; and this will limit our esteem of ourselves, and prevent the tumours of self-conceit and arrogance."
I don't believe myself to be outwardly arrogant. I'm bad at self-promotion, I don't like to talk about my own accomplishments and get embarrassed and uncomfortable when publicly recognized at work.
However on the flip-side of that, I do have have an inward arrogance that rears it's ugly head in allowing myself to gossip or speak poorly of those who do their job poorly. And that's just as bad if not worse. Too often I find myself complaining about someone's poor performance instead of helping them be better or seeing if there's a deeper issue that's causing them to struggle.
This is a hard pill to swallow and definitely something I need to get right if I'm going to be a good example in the workplace.
How does envy and boasting play into your life? How have you found to fight the "tumors of self-conceit and arrogance?
Monday, February 25, 2013
Review: Dominion
Programming Note: I've always enjoyed writing reviews. Not because I think my opinion is that important, but I like analyzing what I like and dislike about things (vague stretch towards the "Prosscess name). Being that I want to write more, and I enjoy writing reviews, you'll probably be seeing them more here.
Dominion
We were lucky enough to be able to take a week off over a Christmas. One of the things we did was finally get a game night in with my wife's cousin and his wife (visit her blog if you like food).
The first game we played was Dominion. [Aff link] They thought they were just introducing us to a new game, what they did was create monsters. After returning home from Christmas, my wife and I purchased Dominion and have played a couple games almost every weekend since (we track our wins in the box lid, we're a bit competitive). We also recently got an expansion pack which I'll review later.
Dominion is a strategy card game where you build a deck of card over time with the ultimate goal to buy or earn the most victory points by the end of the game.
There are a few major things I really enjoy about this game.
1) You can decide how deep to get into the strategy. There are entire websites devoted to the strategy of the game, but it's also easy to learn and play pretty quickly. We've had friends over and taught them the same as we were taught. It takes about 10 minutes of explanation and then you can dive in. The new players might not win the first go-round as they're learning how the game flows, but they'll likely enjoy it and be able to do considerably better next time.
2) It's different every time. There are 25 action cards in the stand-alone game and you only use 10 at a time. So there is a ridiculous number of possible combinations to the game and each one will require a little different strategy. Throw in an expansion with another 25 action cards and you'll never, ever play the same game twice. There are randomizer cards which we normally use, or sometime we each choose 5. There are also preset suggestions that come with the game.
3) It doesn't take forever. Once we got the hang of it, we get through a game in 30-45 minutes for the two of us. It's a nice little break and if we have more time we can play twice.
4) The box. Ok, this is kind of silly, but I love how the boxes are set up. They're super organized and well made.
If you're looking for something a little different, I really recommend picking up Dominion. Or really, someone you know might have it. It's way more popular than I realized (considering I hadn't heard of it until December).
In a world full of party games, this is a great way to have some fun and use your brain at the same time.
Dominion
We were lucky enough to be able to take a week off over a Christmas. One of the things we did was finally get a game night in with my wife's cousin and his wife (visit her blog if you like food).
The first game we played was Dominion. [Aff link] They thought they were just introducing us to a new game, what they did was create monsters. After returning home from Christmas, my wife and I purchased Dominion and have played a couple games almost every weekend since (we track our wins in the box lid, we're a bit competitive). We also recently got an expansion pack which I'll review later.
Dominion is a strategy card game where you build a deck of card over time with the ultimate goal to buy or earn the most victory points by the end of the game.
There are a few major things I really enjoy about this game.
1) You can decide how deep to get into the strategy. There are entire websites devoted to the strategy of the game, but it's also easy to learn and play pretty quickly. We've had friends over and taught them the same as we were taught. It takes about 10 minutes of explanation and then you can dive in. The new players might not win the first go-round as they're learning how the game flows, but they'll likely enjoy it and be able to do considerably better next time.
2) It's different every time. There are 25 action cards in the stand-alone game and you only use 10 at a time. So there is a ridiculous number of possible combinations to the game and each one will require a little different strategy. Throw in an expansion with another 25 action cards and you'll never, ever play the same game twice. There are randomizer cards which we normally use, or sometime we each choose 5. There are also preset suggestions that come with the game.
3) It doesn't take forever. Once we got the hang of it, we get through a game in 30-45 minutes for the two of us. It's a nice little break and if we have more time we can play twice.
4) The box. Ok, this is kind of silly, but I love how the boxes are set up. They're super organized and well made.
If you're looking for something a little different, I really recommend picking up Dominion. Or really, someone you know might have it. It's way more popular than I realized (considering I hadn't heard of it until December).
In a world full of party games, this is a great way to have some fun and use your brain at the same time.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Love Is Series: Introduction and Verse 4a
I'm going to be attempting a series based on 1 Corinthians 13 in which I'll put myself into the verses of the definition of love to process how I'm loving those around me.
1 Corinthians 13:4a "Love is patient and kind"
I had this idea awhile back and looking at even this first verse made me put it off. It's tough to think about yourself and really be honest. I like to think of myself as patient and kind. But am I?
I think I'm generally kind. My sarcasm can sometimes defy that, which is something I've try to get better about over time but still struggle with. I started to think about what being kind means and here's what Merriam-Webster had to say:
1 Corinthians 13:4a "Love is patient and kind"
I had this idea awhile back and looking at even this first verse made me put it off. It's tough to think about yourself and really be honest. I like to think of myself as patient and kind. But am I?
I think I'm generally kind. My sarcasm can sometimes defy that, which is something I've try to get better about over time but still struggle with. I started to think about what being kind means and here's what Merriam-Webster had to say:
1 chiefly dialect : affectionate, loving2 a : of a sympathetic or helpful nature
I like to think that when it comes to being needing sympathy or help, I'm generally there for them. But is that enough? That's why I think these two are together, and even why kindness follows patience.
I don't think one can truly be kind without patience.
It's easy to help someone in need, but what if it becomes difficult? What if the person is really whiny? Or acts entitled to the help? Or is unappreciative? What if the need for help comes at a truly inconvenient time?
That's when kindness can turn to begrudging duty. It's when sarcasm becomes the first response. It's when resentment sets in. And that's no longer patience.
When I first though about this, my first thought was that I'm unfortunately less patient with my family than with others, specifically coworkers. But in general I think I'm equally impatient with others, I just give them that surface kindness.
Patient and Kind seem simple on the surface, but they require a lot of humility and grace to truly give enough for people to be treated fairly, let alone be loved. It's troubling to think about how often I fail at these two things.
What are your thoughts? How do you stack up with kindness and patience?
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
And then slightly under 200 days later...
A little over six months, and I'm going to give it another go. No promises...
Figured I'd start again with an update on my BHAGs:
Make daily devotions a lifestyle
This has been better this year. I've completed several shorter reading plans through YouVersion and am working through two more now. With the exception of about one week where I forgot to turn on the reminders, I'm reading something pretty much every day. I still need to spend more time in prayer.
Read a book a month
Not even a little bit. I don't think I've read any books since I stopped posting here. Currently I am working through For Men Only with our small group at church and 1 2 3 Magic with my wife. (Afflinks)
Be Debt Free
We've let other things become priorities with our money. We're trying to get back on track with this.
Write More
Heh, obviously that hasn't been going well.
NEW: Get Healthy
This I've been working on (along with my wife) for a little over a month. I've started using the LoseIt app for iPhone to track calories. Just thinking about what I'm eating have helped stop overeating and that along with exercise have helped me lose 15 lbs through our first four weeks. Still a long way to go, but I'm happy with the progress.
I realize this makes for boring reading, but that's not the point. I'm going to try and write a few posts and schedule them later to get things going again. Hopefully you'll hear from me again before another six months passes. If not, Happy Halloween!
Figured I'd start again with an update on my BHAGs:
Make daily devotions a lifestyle
This has been better this year. I've completed several shorter reading plans through YouVersion and am working through two more now. With the exception of about one week where I forgot to turn on the reminders, I'm reading something pretty much every day. I still need to spend more time in prayer.
Read a book a month
Not even a little bit. I don't think I've read any books since I stopped posting here. Currently I am working through For Men Only with our small group at church and 1 2 3 Magic with my wife. (Afflinks)
Be Debt Free
We've let other things become priorities with our money. We're trying to get back on track with this.
Write More
Heh, obviously that hasn't been going well.
NEW: Get Healthy
This I've been working on (along with my wife) for a little over a month. I've started using the LoseIt app for iPhone to track calories. Just thinking about what I'm eating have helped stop overeating and that along with exercise have helped me lose 15 lbs through our first four weeks. Still a long way to go, but I'm happy with the progress.
I realize this makes for boring reading, but that's not the point. I'm going to try and write a few posts and schedule them later to get things going again. Hopefully you'll hear from me again before another six months passes. If not, Happy Halloween!
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