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A New Phronesis

There were many requests for the above quote from todays talk on overcoming anxiety. As we have been unpacking some powerful truths in the book of Philippians, perhaps the center piece of the book is understanding how to live out of the new “phronesis” or mindset that we have in Christ. Paul reiterates that this new mindset is experienced as a new way to think, feel and act. Our old mindset, or way of thinking, feeling and acting, is so easily overcome with fears, phobias and anxiety, that the joy that Paul talks about experiencing seems impossible. Yet he continues to inspire us towards living in such a way that we can know and taste joy even in the midst of the hardest of circumstances.

Paul rightly understood that we move towards the things that we dwell on…the things that captivate our mind. If we are stuck in an anxiety rut, we move towards more anxiety. But, since we have received a new mindset from Christ, we can begin thinking, feeling and acting differently…and the difference results in an intrinsic joy that flow from the source of Christ Himself, who dwells within you by faith.

God supplies the peace and joy but our job is to redirect our thoughts through prayer, meditation, and choices. In 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 Paul states: “4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

When the defeating thoughts that flow from our old mindset (phronesis) come, Paul calls us to stop, take hold of those thoughts, release them, and then, most importantly, replace them with thoughts from the new mindset (phronesis). In fact he lists some things to replace your negative thoughts with in Philippians 4:8-9:

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

To think about these things is the Christian act of meditation…to ponder…to dwell…to ruminate on those things which move you closer to God. God mysteriously meets us as we choose to think differently, and we are flooded with a sense of peace that defies our current reality…and this unleashes a flood of joy in our soul.

This week…take the negative, limiting thoughts of your old mindset captive…and replace them with thoughts from your new God-infused mindset. As you do, take note on how differently you begin to see things.

Monty

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L’shanah Tovah!

Blessings to you on the first night of Rosh Hashanah! Rosh Hashanah is the celebration of the Jewish new year. Leviticus 16 sets the celebration apart as a yearly fresh start.

…In the seventh month, on the first of the month, there shall be a sabbath for you, a remembrance with shofar blasts, a holy convocation. -Leviticus 16:24

As the Jewish new year begins I hope you’ll enjoy the following video which I loved!

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Alzheimer’s and ethics

You might not know it, but today is  “World Alzheimer’s Day.” This day is spearheaded by an organization called The Global Voice on Dementia. You can check them out at:  http://www.alz.co.uk/  This has become a global concern that even the UN has taken notice of, and this week they are addressing it for the second year in a row.

The most recent stats claim that there are currently 30 million people who suffer from dementia, and there will be an estimated 100 million people by the year 2050.

If Alzheimer’s has not affected you or your family, there is truly no way to adequately communicate how painful, hard and devastating it is on the whole family. As the days go by, there seems to be less and less of the person you knew and loved “at home” in their body. To live through the deterioration causes you to ask God some serious questions. Walking through the effects of Alzheimer’s when it came to visit my family, has left all of us changed…it was a very long and hard journey.

I think that is why I had such an instantaneous reaction to Pat Robertson’s remark about Alzheimer’s this week. A man whose wife had Alz indicated that since his wife was no longer “there” he was moving on with his life, and wondered if it was okay to divorce her since there was not a tangible relationship anymore.

While Pat has made some pretty embarrassing news remarks over the years, which have often given Christianity a black eye, when he said it was okay for this man to divorce his wife since Alzheimer’s is a “kind of death” I was speechless.

When we reduce love and commitment to a formula that says, ” I am only in this as long as my needs are met, we have absolutely missed what it means to follow Christ with our actions and choices.

This kind of ethic-less thinking means that if you are not able to do for me what I want, regardless of a medical diagnosis, then I have no moral or ethical responsibility to stay in a relationship with you. Unfortunately I have actually witnessed couples divorcing months after a marriage began because one spouse got cancer, and the leaving spouse knew his sexual needs wouldn’t get met.

Amazing…bad form…wrong…selfish…ugly…

This reveals how me-centric we have the capacity of being, and how desperately we need God to help transform us into men and women who choose truth and sacrifice over self, ease or comfortability.

Do you remember the old “Lifeboat” analogy we grew up with…where there was a diverse group of people in a rescue boat, from teachers and lawyers, to disabled and jobless. The Lifeboat dilemma was that the boat was overloaded and some of the people had to go…the question to process through was…which life was truly worth saving. Welcome to ethics 101, and throw in a dash of situation ethics as well.

When we think life can be trimmed down to easy answers and flippantly decide which people deserve our love; which people deserve our unconditional commitment, and what is the loop-hole I can deploy when life get tough, we reduce our humanity to something more animalistic.

The man who Pat gave a get-out-of-marriage free card to, might have felt some relief for a while, but I think soon he will be flooded with other feelings that are not quite so life-giving. I know the weight and burden the loved ones of Alz patients carry is immense, but life isn’t devoid of pain. Instead of running from the pain and the feelings, real life it’s about who we are becoming through the pain.

You see God has placed His own source code into the hearts of us all. While we are good at tricking ourselves, living in denial or avoiding the questions of the soul…when the night spaces come, our heart is crying out the questions unleashed by the divine DNA within us, and we know that there are truths that exist beyond our comfort zones and our ability  to justify.

Every life matters because every life has its genesis in the creative imagination of God. We have the opportunity to most reflect the God-reality within us when we choose love, life, to invest in those considered un-worthy, to love those who seem un-lovable, and to stay committed to those who we made a covenant with and are unable to reciprocate because of something as devastating as Alzheimer’s.

In a very real way, God demonstrates the opposite advice that Pat gave. As God looked at broken humanity that struggled with a complete disconnect from the divine, He could have said, “Well, their sin situation is kind of a death, so I don’t need to stick around.” Fortunately for us He didn’t. In fact in Romans 5:8 we read:

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were       still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Then in chapter 6 verse 23 Paul reminds us: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” So when we were considered “dead” that is when God’s extravagant love went into overdrive, not into a me-centric justification for non-involvement.

The life-giving model we see in the choices of the Father and the Son is to preserve the beauty and sanctity of life…not look for loop holes to disengage.

May we raise our awareness, compassion and love and stay committed to the ones we love, especially those with whom we said, “Til Death do us part.”

Dei Gratia…Monty

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The Most Powerful Quality of a Leader

I just came across this short article on The Most Powerful Quality of a Leader by Artie Davis. His premise is simple but very powerful, and makes a difference when employed. Take a read and let me know what you think…is there another powerful quality that deserves the title of “Most”…Monty

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If you have the heart and passion to really have impact with leaders, you must have influence with them. You need to know what it takes to earn the right to speak into their lives. I have found what seems to be the most powerful endearing quality a leader needs in order to influence other leaders…

Belief

That may sound simple, but those you may influence are desperately seeking someone who really believes in them. It doesn’t matter how successful or green they are, all leaders need affirmation. They don’t want someone who just flatters and looks to use them in their own vision, but rather someone who genuinely listens and cares about their heart and vision.

So if you want to be a leader of leaders, you must believe in others; you have to speak the truth and life into them. Listen to their story and their heart without thinking how it can “fit” into your story. Honor their passion by giving them your full attention. Ask questions and listen intently without being distracted by others around you.

I can really speak to this…Honestly, because that was me. I would listen to another leader’s story and passion, but in the back of my mind, I would be thinking, “Hmmm, this doesn’t fit with what I’m doing…who else can I talk with?” It took being treated that way by someone else to open my eyes to my own self-centeredness and pride- that wasn’t fun!

Another leader wants to see, hear, and feel you genuinely care about them, their heart and passion. If they feel you just want to talk about what you are doing, what your vision is, without taking the time to really know them and hear their heart…You will have NO influence with that leader.

This is the challenge…

Love other leaders deeply from the heart; guard their vision by honoring them and believing in them. Genuinely care and love them. Those who can do that are rare gems! That’s why there aren’t many Leaders of Leaders.

Believe in someone the way you want someone to believe in you!