pastorsblog

Many Hands

The proverb "Many hands make light work," was first recorded in the English language in the early 1300s in a knightly romance known as Sir Bevis of Hampton. It appeared in practically all proverb collections from 1546 on, probably in large part due to the writings of John Heywood, English Playwright and Poet, 1497-1580.  The phrase posits the notion that more helpers make a task easier, as in: "We need a few more volunteers to move the furniture."

The Bible is replete with examples that validate this train of thought.  We are told that "if one chases a thousand, two shall chase ten thousand."  In the New Testament there are many examples of people who could never have gotten to Jesus had there not been a few friends to help them along.  We are even told that through the agreement in Jesus' name of at least "two or three" anything is possible.  In modern times we are told that when it comes to problem solving "two heads are better than one."  Additionally, there are some jobs that are too difficult to do with just two hands.  It is always nice to have a third or fourth hand handy in these kinds of dilemmas.

I have a small desk ornament in my office that is fashioned after the similitude of tablet of the stone we often see replicas of the Ten Commandments written upon.  The words on the ornament in descending order read: "Together Everyone Achieves More."  Taking the first letter of each word obviously forms the acronym "TEAM."  I like having this displayed where I can see it as a reminder that we really do need each other.

I have often marveled at the power of teamwork exemplified in horse pulling contests.  Horses compete so that their owners can see which one can pull the most weight individually.  When the individual competition is over, the two strongest horses are then teamed together and much more weight than the two of them each pulled individually is attached to the tractor or sled to see what they can pull corporately.  It is amazing to see the amount of weight these two horses can pull together compared to what they pulled alone.  It is always exponential in comparison.  I guess in this case one could say, "Many hooves make light pulling..."

Zig Ziglar has made the statement, "You can get anything you want in life by helping enough other people get what they want."  Maybe if we would spend a little more time lending a helping hand, we would find our load made easier by the power of TEAMWORK!

Deal or No Deal

Move over Price is Right.  Move over Wheel of Fortune.  And yes, you too, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.  The latest craze to hit the game show circuit (and my son's computer) has more than likely increased the stock price of Samsonite briefcases more than anything else in the past 10 years.  Yes, it's Deal or No Deal, the show that features 26 stainless steel briefcases containing amounts from 1 to 1 million dollars.  Contestants take risks for the chance to win the biggest prize possible and sometimes their greed gets the best of them.  This show reminds me of something of even greater importance.  The choice we make with the free will given to us by God.

In the Old Testament, the Lord promised that if we would bless Him, He would bless us.  If we cursed Him, He would curse us.  The prophet Isaiah tells us to "put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness."  Jesus said, " what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and in the end loose his own soul?"  Paul said that Jesus became sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. 

Someone once said that God is a gentleman and will not force himself on anyone, but that He offers His free gift to anyone who will receive it.  God offers each of us eternal life.  We can accept it or reject it.  So the questions is, "Deal or no Deal?"

 

Useful Consciousness

I recently read an article in which a mother of three wrote saying it has always bothered her when she hears the emergency announcements on airplanes telling everyone to grab their own oxygen masks before they assist their children. Her concern was that children seem so much more vulnerable than adults.  The host columnist responded by explaining that if a depressurization occurs on board (when oxygen becomes scarce on a flight), we have only about "18 seconds of useful consciousness."

She continued by saying "useful consciousness" is the time before physical and mental functioning deteriorates to the point where we cannot take care of ourselves. Obviously, if a parent loses useful consciousness, she won't be able to take care of her child.  A doctor explained that if children lose consciousness, they normally have three to seven minutes in which they can be revived without lasting side effects.  So, on an airplane, when the parent generally has 18 seconds to figure it all out, the math makes sense for the parent to put on her mask first and then attend to her child.

A clever Southwest Airline employee said the actual emergency instructions should be changed to "Should the cabin lose pressure, oxygen masks will drop from the overhead area. Please place the bag over your own mouth and nose before assisting children or adults acting like children."

Jim Rohn, a successful and widely known motivation speaker, often says that his father used to tell him, "Son, right after me, you come first."  As humorous as that seems, Mr. Rohn's father was not trying to teach his son to be selfish, but to be responsible.  The lesson he learned was that if he would take care of himself, (mentally, physically, spiritually, emotionally, materially, etc), he would be healthy enough to take care of others.

Jesus taught that to be great in God's kingdom we must learn to be the servant of others (Matthew 20:26-27).  Paul taught that we should prefer one another (Philippians 2:3) or in other words, put our brother or sister before ourselves.  This does not in anyway contradict what has already been said. On the contrary, how can we pray with another, if we have not prayed for ourselves first?  How can we encourage another, if we have not, like David, first encouraged ourselves in the Lord? (1 Samual 30:6)  How can we reach the lost if we have not first been found ourselves?  Do we do others well, if when we are told to "love our neighbor as ourself" we do not first love ourselves?

I once learned that the word JOY was an acronym that stood for Jesus first, Others second and Yourself last and I agree I with that.  We must be selfless and not self-centered and willing to do all we can to serve our fellow man.  But let's not forget to take care of the one who will be doing the caring.  The best chance we will have to help others will be in giving our whole hearts to God!  First and foremost!