Let
me give you a challenge – try patting your head and rubbing your tummy at the
same time (don’t try this while driving or in any other public place!). As
simple as it seems that would be to do, it is not for most people! The reason
why gets into the complexity of the human brain and the way it coordinates our
muscles and movements. This simple and kind of silly little exercise reminds us
that so-called "multi-tasking" is not all that easy to do. Our brains
are not wired to concentrate on and do very many things well at the same time.
Attention focused on one thing is necessarily depleting attention away from
other things. That’s why multitasking can be dangerous and destructive. Just
ask Nicholas Sparks. An AP article (August 2009) reported that Sparks, who
lived near Buffalo, New York, worked for Adams Towing Service. Sparks garnered
his employer lots of unwanted press when his tow truck was pictured in
newspapers all over the country, damaged and partially submerged in an
under-ground backyard swimming pool with another vehicle in tow. Sparks
admitted to law enforcement officials he had been texting on one cell phone
talking on another when the accident occurred. After hitting a car driven by a
68 year-old woman, he crashed through a fence, sideswiped a house, and came to
a sudden stop when his tow-truck pitched half- way into the pool. Interestingly
enough, that same month Stanford University released their research on
multitasking. In their report, Professor Clifford Nass noted that the
prevailing thought is that multitaskers are geniuses. Nass reached a very
different conclusion. "Instead," he stated, "they’re lousy at
what they’re doing" much of the time. You can pat your head or rub your
tummy – but it’s hard to do both well at the same time!
Through
the ages, down to this very fast-paced, multi-tasking, distracted one we live
in, the Bible has been urging anyone who will listen of the need for an
all-encompassing, singular focus when it comes to our spiritual health and the
safety and well-being of our souls. King Solomon wrote about it three thousand
years ago in Ecclesiastes 12:13 – "Let us hear the conclusion of
the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s
all." Jesus reminds His disciples multitasking exposes the soul to great
danger and destruction in Matthew 16:26 – "For what profit is it to
a man if he gains the whole world, and loses His own soul? Or what will a
person give in exchange for his soul? The apostle Paul described his top
priority and single-minded focus in life in these words in Philippians
3:13-14 – "... one thing I do, forgetting those things which are
behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the
goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." The same apostle
directed Christians to have a singular focus in Colossians 3:1-2 – If
then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where
Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not
on things on earth." Genuine disciples of Jesus are people who are fixed
on seeking things above. They do so with the single- minded intensity of a
hound dog hot on the trial! Going to Heaven to be with Christ saturates their
minds, dominates their thoughts, determines their priorities, and guides the
way they live here on earth. Danger threatens if we become preoccupied with
things on earth to the point we are distracted from things above. Take it from
Nicholas Sparks – there’s a lot to be said for having a singular focus. Is Heaven
on your mind?
by: Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN
A little girl asked her mother, "Mommy, if Santa Claus
brings us our presents, and God gives us our daily bread, and Uncle Sam gives
us Social Security, why does Daddy matter?" Let us consider why we should
keep Daddy around. "Anyone can father a child, but being a dad takes a
lifetime. Fathers play a role in every child’s life that cannot be filled by
others." Those are the first two sentences in an article entitled
"The Importance of a Father in a Child’s Life" found online at
pediatricsoffranklin.com. The article went on to say, "Fathers, like
mothers, are pillars in the development of a child’s emotional well-being.
Children look to their fathers to lay down the rules and enforce them. They
also look to their fathers to provide a sense of security, both physical and
emotional." Fathers matter just as much as mothers, albeit in some
different ways. Scripture summarizes the unique and vital work God calls
fathers to do in Ephesians 6:4 – "And you, fathers, do not provoke
your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the
Lord" (New King James Version). The New Living Translation
says "bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from
the Lord." Does Daddy matter? George Herbert said, "One father is
worth a hundred schoolmasters." Daddy, God calls you to be a parent, a
provider, a protector, a policeman, a guide, a goad, a teacher, and a trainer –
and when necessary, a judge and a disciplinarian.
What is a Dad, anyway? Someone anonymously said, "Dad
is a mender of toys and leader of boys / A change of fuses and kisser of
bruises / A mover of couches and soother of ouches / A pounder of nails and a
teller of tales / A hanger of screens and counselor of teens / A fixer of bikes
and a chastiser of tykes / A raker of leaves and cleaner of eaves / A dryer of
dishes and fulfiller of wishes / A loosener of lids and a lover of his
kids." A mother goes through something called labor to bear a child – and
from there her work never really ends. And as Paul Harvey said about fathers:
"A father is a thing that is forced to endure childhood without
anesthesia." No one impacts a child in quite the same way as a loving,
nurturing mom – but the same is true of a loving, nurturing dad! Research
reveals fathers tend to be more arousing and unpredictable with kids than their
mother. Moms and dads rock the baby, but dads roll around with them on the
floor to play. It sometimes annoys mom, but dads toss their toddlers up in the
air – and catch them when they come down – and the kids love it! When dad
playfully wrestles with his son, its about affection – not aggression. Babies
as young as eight weeks old notice the difference between a mom’s
protectiveness and a dad’s stimulation. Research also reveals that kids pick
fathers over mothers for fun and action more than two-thirds of the time.
Mothers sometimes spoil the fun with concerns about sleep, safety, cleanliness,
order, and etiquette! Actor and comedian Louis C. K. challenges every father:
"Be a dad. Don’t be a ‘Mom’s Assistant.’ Be a man. Fathers have skills
they never use at home. You run a landscaping business and can’t dress and feed
a four- year-old? Take it on. Spend time with your kids. It won’t take away
your manhood, it will give it to you." God is the only perfect parent
there is. Every other dad who ever lived has been flawed. But flawed dads can
be faithful to God – and to their children. And when they are, they matter.
Always have, and always will.
by: Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN
Two
friends at work were discussing an irritable, short-tempered co-worker. One of
them said, "Yeah – he’s like a porcupine. He’s got a lot of fine points,
but he’s hard to get close to." Do you have somebody like that in your
life? I feel certain most of us would say we do! Practically the whole world
knows Jesus preached "love your enemies" and "love your neighbor
as yourself" (Matthew 5:44a * Matthew 22:39). We also know He said,
"God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son ..." (John
3:16a). When it comes to love as a subject, Christian folk talk and discuss
and think and sing about it a lot. And rightly so because the Scriptures
already cited (and a truckload of others we could cite) talk about it a lot.
The subject of "love" gets a lot of ink in the Bible and so it ought
to play large in our writing and preaching and singing and daily living in the
church. The Bible is saturated with teaching about God’s love for mankind and
about His will that we love each other. After declaring that God manifested His
love for us through both the incarnation and crucifixion of His Son (1 John
4:9-10), the apostle John rushes on to declare in 1 John 4:11,
"Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." The
apostle Paul proclaimed a similar idea in Romans 5:8 – God
"demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were sinners,
Christ died for us." Two verses earlier at verse 6, Paul describes
those for whom Christ died (read you, me and everybody) as "ungodly."
Further, at verse 10 in the same chapter the apostle makes reference to
Christ dying for us "when we were enemies" (think of it – we were
"enemies" of God). Now, I don’t like to think of myself as a
"sinner" or "ungodly" or as one of God’s
"enemies" any more than you do. But God didn’t ask us whether we like
it or not. He just had an inspired man write it down as a spiritual fact and
reality. And so it stands written. Sin made it difficult for God to get close
to me (and to you). And in so far as deserving God’s love and the gift of His
Son, I not only didn’t have a lot of fine points, I didn’t have any (and
neither did you). But He loved me – me the sinner, the ungodly, the enemy! And
loving us He has "given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God
for a sweet smelling aroma" (Ephesians 5:2). All of that is behind the
Bible’s statement at 1 John 4:11 – "If God so loved us, we also
ought to love one another."
Add
to all these Bible statements this one from Hebrews 13:1 –"Let
brotherly love continue." It’s not enough to begin to love or love someone
when loving is easy to do. If our love is to please God and make us more like
Him, love must be more, so much more, than a topic for Bible study or a song we
sing on Sunday! Hebrews 13:1 in the The Amplified Bible lays it
out in clear terms – "Let love for your fellow believers continue and be a
fixed practice with you – never let it fail." Sometimes our Christian love
needs a shot of adrenaline. We worship a God whose love caused Him to send His
Son to die the most shameful, torturous death imaginable. We hear Jesus
demanding that we love and do good to our enemies (Matthew 5:44).
Meanwhile, we struggle to muster enough love to be civil and kind and to speak
and do good to our mate or our neighbor or someone on the other side of the
church building! We may be guilty of eating at the Lord’s Table with someone we
won’t speak to in the foyer. When that’s the case, our Christian love needs
fixing! God’s love toward us is a fixed practice. Is your brotherly love
broken? If so, why not let God help you fix it?
by: Dan Gulley, Smithville, TN
