Try It. You Might Like It.

(Photo courtesy of Mommy B Knows Best)

You should try it.

You might like it! 

Try it. You’ll like it.

Try it. You’ll like it.

Try it. You’ll like it.

Try it. You’re gonna like it. 

I know it’s new, and you’ve never tasted it.

You’ll just have to trust in me.

Just give it a try.

The lyrics above are from the song "Try It, You'll Like It", which comes from the TV show, Yo Gabba Gabba.  For those of you who have kids and watch Nick Jr., the song and the characters in the above photo will be quite familiar to you.  For those who are not familiar, the song is a way to teach kids to try new food in which they have never tasted.  What better way to engage kids in trying something new than with education through music?!

You know how kids, as well as some adults, can be.  We are quick to look at something we've never eaten before and say we don't like it.  It's easy to do, especially if it is not appealing from the outside.  After all, appearance is what gives us our first impressions.   It is this same appearance and feeling that people get when they view followers of Christ.  With so much going on in the world and with the actions from those who supposedly love the Lord, it is no wonder why someone else would not want to believe on Him.  I know because I was one of those people who judged for myself that being a Christian was  not for me because of what I observed of those who claimed to be Christians.  I can admit, for me the appearance was not looking good, but as with everything a couple of bad apples can seemingly spoil it for a bunch.

"O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him" (Psalm 34:8). You have to get past the display to give it a try for yourself.  Until you get to that point, you can never claim to have formulated a decision based off of own experience of "taste".   You have to be curious enough to want to try Him for yourself, despite what you see around you.  "I know it's new, and you've never tasted it", but you will just have to give it a try it.  "You might like it!"

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Natural Visionaries

Have you ever noticed the design of the human body?  Have you ever noticed the placement of the eyes on our faces?  I know this sounds pretty ridiculous because you are probably thinking, "Duh, yes I do know that our eyes are in our head and on our face." That's fine, but what I am more interested in is where on our head our eyes are placed and in which direction they allow us to see.

Our eyes are not on the side, top, or back of our heads.  They are placed on the front of our face almost most at the highest point of our body.  They allow us to see forward. Yes, they allow us to see from side to side as well as up and down, but the main line of vision is still with a forward focus. Without the movement of your neck, you may look up, but the direction is primarily forward and I believe this is for a reason.

We are designed with a forward thinking focus in mind.  We can see in front of us.  We cannot see behind us (without turning around) and that ability helps us to have forward thinking focus!  I am talking about vision, where someone wants to make something happen because of a God given purpose and/or the desire to address a needed changed.  When was the last time you knew of someone to have a vision that focused on going backwards?  The answer is probably and most likely, never. "Vision is a clear mental picture of what could be, fueled by the conviction that it should be"¹.  If you are focused on what "could be" and "should be" then you are talking about something that has not happened yet, but you can "see it".  It is looking forward.

Time moves forward. We face forward.  We walk forward.  Even to someone who does not have the physical abilities of sight, their other senses (hearing, touch, smell, & taste) are extra sensitive in assisting them to move forward in and through life.  It is not natural to move backwards or to dwell on the past because no matter where you choose to place your focus, life is still moving forward.  You might as well look to the future with your natural expectancy and envision where you could and should be going.  The question is now, where are you going?


¹Stanley, Andy. "Visioneering: God's Blueprint for Developing and Maintaining Personal Vision". Pg 18. 2005.

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The Dangerous Feeling of Entitlement

2 Thessalonians 3:6-10   (6) In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching[a] you received from us. (7) For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, (8) nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. (9) We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate. (10) For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat."

I typically do not lead directly with a scripture, but this feels a little different.  I felt led to reference this scripture before I started to write.   The scripture above is from one of two letters from Paul to the Thessalonians and this passage is a warning against idleness.  I know and realize that the word "entitlement" is a touchy topic these days especially in the political realm, however, it is something that must be addressed.   I say this because the very idleness that Paul speaks of can carry over into a feeling being owed something, especially if you never have to bare a burden to get it.

We know there is a big debate in Washington between politicians on which government programs should be trimmed back, reformed, or cut completely. There is a feeling that people who benefit from these programs feel that they deserve them (or entitled to them).  You have programs like Welfare, Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid to name a few, but rather than focus on the "buzz words" of political infighting I want to focus on us as a people.  Let's leave the politics out of it and talk about on a main street level and from a personal point of view.

See, when I was growing up, I was raised that if I worked hard, I can earn what wanted.  It's practical and makes sense.  If you go to work, you get paid.  Simple, so I thought.  I know that I talked about this before, but I remember when I graduated from college and I felt that the world owed me a job.  After all, I was a Computer Engineer from NC State University.  I had conquered one of the toughest engineering schools in the country, but alas, there was that feel of entitlement.  I had thought that flashing my credentials would punch my ticket to any position that I wanted, because I had did all the work up front and I figured I could rest now.  To make a long story short, I ended up settling for my first job making nearly $10,000 less than what I felt I deserved!  Surprise, surprise!  I've been in my field for nearly 12 years and it has taken dedication, perseverance, and hard work to make it to levels I thought I would be a long time ago.

So, let's go over a couple of lessons learned:

1. Nothing is free.  Everything has a cost.  Notice I didn't say a price because a price is just the monetary value that someone is willing to pay for something .  The cost is what it takes in time, energy, resources, dollars, sacrifice etc. to create something.  Even if you receive something for free, there was a cost involved to someone else to get it to you for free.
   
2. Free things aren't appreciated.  If you think about it, whenever someone has given you something for free, you never really cared about it as much.   The reason for this is because you had no skin in the game.  You did not have to pay for anything.  There was not lost to you from paying the cost. For example, if I gave you a house for free, you would verbally appreciate it, but if something were to happen to it, you would not care as much.  You'd probably say something like, "well it didn't cost me nothing any way".  BUT, if you purpose your own home with your own hard work, sacrifice, and saving, you will take much care of your home.  The difference is you gave up something to get something.

At the end of the day, the last sentence of lesson #2 sums it all up.  If you never give up something to get something, you will never appreciate that something that you got.  If you always receive something for free, you will never feel the pain of having to go work for it and get it.  Even if you do some work, there is no guarantee that you will get what you think you deserve (ask the people dealing with Social Security).  You always have to be willing to go the extra mile and not be complacent or idle in your thinking, because the most dangerous assumption is to believe that you will always get "B" because you did "A".  It may be that way for a while, but things change with time and time continues to infinity.

Be blessed folks.

Antoine

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This Life Was Never Promised to be Easy

Life can be one of the most interesting puzzles out there.  Believe me, I can speak from experience.  However, one thing that we tend to fall victim into believing is that life is suppose to be easy.  Some how, we have come to believe the notion, that life is suppose to always be full of prosperity but I beg to differ.  Last week, I received a devotional from Chuck Swindoll that spoke on this very same topic and I want to share from my perspective as well.

In this world (well at least in America), we enjoy believing that life should have a plan.  Within this plan, there is a overall goal and at the end of that goal it has something to do with living prosperous.  For example, when I was growing up, I was told that if I went to school, studied hard, and went to college I would get a good job.  In addition, I believed that life would go nothing but up without major bumps in the road.  For example, I would marry, have kids, get a nice house with pretty green grass, grow old, retire, and live on a beach somewhere for the remainder of my days.   Well that's all well and good but God never promised such a life to us.

As a matter of fact we see evidence of this with Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:6-9.  In there it says,

(6) Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, (7) or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. (8) Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. (9) But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

Paul was one of the most influential Apostles for the Kingdom of God, but look what the Lord tells him in verse nine.  He say's that, "My grace is sufficient for you....".  Say what?!  You mean to tell me that after all that Paul had done, this is the response he got from the Lord?  Survey Says:  Yes.  That's all he got.

Where we go wrong is that we fail to understand the ways of the Man upstairs.  We have a plan in our brain but fail to consider that God's plans may be different from our own.  For years, people have suffered pain and heartache and that's what we don't get.  We wonder things like "If He's so omnipotent, why would he allow such evil and not give us the perfect life?"  Well if He did, then just like any other free thing, we wouldn't appreciate it.  After all, we are not in control.  He is in control and until we learn to submit to His will, we will always struggle to understand why the things happen to us that make life difficult.

You cannot see it now, but just know that His "power is made perfect in weakness" and your struggle today is a teaching moment for your future.

Be Blessed

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