Encourage the Good

The philosopher draws a rather depressing conclusion, that there is nothing that really delivers lasting contentment.  He says that he tried projects, pursued pleasure, amassed possessions, and achieved prominence. 

He found these things to be meaningless. He has got what many long for but filling the void at the heart of his search has proved tantalisingly elusive.  When we do attain our objective the view from the top is different and we often find that what we craved does not sustain or satisfy in the way that we thought it would. 

Above all else it is our mortality and the brevity of life which brings real perspective to our hopes, dreams and aspirations.

In harder times it is helpful to remember that there are seasons. That neither good or bad things last forever. This is not to advocate fatalism it is that there is a certain beauty in the way this symmetry is articulated.

Life is about difference. We appreciate the victory because we have tasted disappointment, we learn through defeat and come back stronger, we celebrate because we have known sadness and we grieve in the light of happy memories.

Our lives fluctuate, our emotions are mercurial and those that we are closest to experience the full reality of those extremes with us.

There is so much craziness, conflict and confusion in the world right now that it is hard to know how to respond.

Lord give me eyes to see what you are doing here, help me encourage the good that you show me and to love the people as you love me.

The presence of the “Believe” sign on my shelf behind my head began to draw some comparisons with Ted Lasso

His statement that: “For me, success is not about the wins and losses. It’s about helping these young fellas be the best versions of themselves on and off the field”, has been part of my coaching philosophy for over 15 years.

But beyond that the comparisons are not altogether clear. I am a bit folksy but am not American, I can be seen as unsophisticated but I am not necessarily smarter than I look but I do love to coach and I do care about people although I do prefer to win.

I guess the parallel is that the story is about someone coming into a situation from outside and that I do get the importance of belief.

I confess to using the fast forward button on the remote quite often. It enables me to skip adverts, avoid the less interesting sections of sports matches and enjoy programs I am more interested in. I confess to even fast forwarding through elements of online church services during Covid. There are times in this season where I wish I could fast forward a bit through life. I guess I am not alone in this.

 In both wanting to get through something hard and arrive at something good accelerating time seems an attractive option. Other times I would like to slow time down to make something last, or rewind to experience it again.  

I need to remind myself that every day matters and every day is a gift. I do not have the ability to make painful things pass quicker or happy experiences last longer. There is no remote for my life, I cannot pause, rewind or fast forward.

It is not that God plus something is the key to experiencing protection and stability it is that strength are refuge are located in the Lord. He is our strength and refuge. This is one of the critical points of difference between the Bible and other sacred texts. The Bible does not primarily depict a way to live, it points to God himself.

In most weddings the centre of attention is definitely the bride. Although the mothers of the bride and groom and the bridesmaids share (but obviously never steal the limelight.)

Here the focus is very much on the groom the bride does not appear until later in the song.

This a love song about a king but the hyperbole goes beyond poetry to prophecy. It is a description that goes beyond what any human king could be or do.

Family failure is not fatal. What happens when we are young invariably marks us but it does not have to define us. Patterns in families can perpetuate or they can find new shape.

Korah experienced judgement and death, his sons grieve and lament but the rebellion in the desert and the judgement that follows does not define the family for future generations. The name of Korah will be remembered through his sons for poetry and praise more than his arrogance.

This is number forty four of a series that began life as a commitment to Counting my Blessings every day after ankle surgery on July 2nd 2021.

Initially I made a brief post on social media and wrote a personal daily reflection on a Psalm following the same numerical progression.

Later on in the 100 days I began to also reflect on other scriptures and combine those into my public post

These thoughts from Psalms earlier in the journey have not been made public  until now as I was writing primarily for my own benefit. I have been encouraged to share these now.

Since writing about Andrew Walls I was reminded about these thoughts again more recently when I had the privilege of attending the funeral of Don Lewis who had taught at Regent College in Vancouver for 40 years.

These men were born more than 20 years apart and made their homes on different continents. As well as both studying at Oxford they had many other things in common.

There was no self importance in either of these men. No sense of their time being more valuable and them having to allocate it strategically.

They both had a global influence through writing and teaching. But you wouldn’t know that when Andrew would make you a cup of tea or Don would pray with you on his sofa. They made time and space for people.

A few footnotes in honour of these professors 

1. I only really thought of this title after I had finished the recording 

2. 1 A “Don” is a term for a University teacher or a senior fellow at Oxford or Cambridge.

2.2 Although only one of these academics  was named Don they were both Dons.

3.1 In addition Andrew Wallis spent a good chunk of life in Aberdeen which is between the Dee and the Don river 

3.2 A former student from Australia talks about calling Don Lewis “The Don”, less because of his given name and more as a mark of respect in their culture for their greatest sporting hero Don “The Don” Bradman.

What started as a humorous photo opportunity when I spotted a book titled “Leading with a Limp” in the thrift store turned into much more when I began to read what was inside. It is challenging and helpful call to leading out of brokenness,

“To admit we are foolish, weak, and in need of repentance gives the vindictive and self-righteous camp plenty of ammunition to turn against us and to turn others against our leadership. But the alternatives to living in and living out truth are far worse: we either hide from truth or we choose to spin our sin and our story.”

“To the degree you face and name and deal with your failures as a leader, to that same extent you will create an environment conducive to growing and retaining productive and committed colleagues”

“This is the strange paradox of leading; to the degree you attempt to hide or dissemble your weaknesses, the more you will need to control those you lead, the more insecure you will become and the more rigidity you will impose - prompting the ultimate departure of your best people”

This is number forty two of a series that began life as a commitment to Counting my Blessings every day after ankle surgery on July 2nd 2021.

Initially I made a brief post on social media and wrote a personal daily reflection on a Psalm following the same numerical progression.

Later on in the 100 days I began to also reflect on other scriptures and combine those into my public post

These thoughts from Psalms earlier in the journey have not been made public  until now as I was writing primarily for my own benefit. I have been encouraged to share these now.

By and large society pays more attention to the strong. Leaders especially are prone to value judgements about the ability and capacity of those in their charge. I find myself thinking more about the folly of this as I look at many who do not fit the bill but are having a significant influence. 

A high cost, high commitment, high performance model of leadership will not succeed if the behaviours of the senior leadership are orientated around personal power, promoting those who have the strengths that fit the mould they have constructed and pushing out those who are deemed to be weak.

The Bible consistently promotes an upside down model of leadership which challenges cultural norms.

 You might expect a king to say blessed are those who invest in the strong, their might and influence will multiply. But David starts this psalm by highlighting the importance of a concern for the weak.

This is number forty one of a series that began life as a commitment to Counting my Blessings every day after ankle surgery on July 2nd 2021.

Initially I made a brief post on social media and wrote a personal daily reflection on a Psalm following the same numerical progression.

Later on in the 100 days I began to also reflect on other scriptures and combine those into my public post

These thoughts from Psalms earlier in the journey have not been made public  until now as I was writing primarily for my own benefit. I have been encouraged to share these now.

How do confidence and vulnerability relate to each other?  If we acknowledge failure and weakness does that indicate that we lack confidence or that others should lose confidence in us? If we are self assured and capable does that mean we should not show any frailty or deficiency?

I am slowly coming to the conclusion that if my confidence is in the Lord and what he has done, I am more aware of my own inadequacy and more willing to face it.

But if my confidence is in my own strengths and abilities I will rather tend to become more focussed on other peoples shortcomings and be less able to live with them.

Vulnerability grounded in grace will be resilient

Confidence based on performance will be brittle.

This is number forty of a series that began life as a commitment to Counting my Blessings every day after ankle surgery on July 2nd 2021.

Initially I made a brief post on social media and wrote a personal daily reflection on a Psalm following the same numerical progression.

Later on in the 100 days I began to also reflect on other scriptures and combine those into my public post

These thoughts from Psalms earlier in the journey have not been made public  until now as I was writing primarily for my own benefit. I have been encouraged to share these now.