kenlassblog

It is late Sunday morning and I just got home from church. I’m always in a good mood after church. Not exactly sure why. Probably because it’s just such a positive environment to be part of. Everyone is trying their hardest to be the best version of themselves.

I have cynical friends who claim that church is just full of hypocrites who only pretend to be nice on Sunday morning. I have not found this to be true. I have met countless folks who are earnestly trying to live godly lives, and to reflect that effort in the way they treat people. It’s not easy to walk a consistent spiritual path in these days of rampant temptation and moral indifference, and many of us, myself in particular, often fail. Maybe that’s where the cynicism comes from.

But hope is out there, and I firmly believe church is the best place to find it.

Every day we bring the mail into the house and sift through all the junk mail and solicitations. And of course, there are bills. Seems a different one every day. Gas, heating and air, electricity, internet, TV service, health and auto insurance, internet apps and more. I guess we just don’t realize how many services and products we use until the bills come. We enjoy the comforts and conveniences, but sooner or later, there is an accounting. You have to pay up, or lose the benefit.

True at the end of our time as well. We are blessed with the incredible privilege of life. We enjoy its pleasures and rewards. But there will be an accounting for the paths we have taken. That’s why it’s so important to make sure you have settled up with God. That you are right with Him in the decisions you are making now.

His bill is one you can’t afford to let slide.

Many of you take a moment to comment on these blogs. I invite and encourage that whenever you have a thought. I read every one of them and often answer them. I always like to learn a little something from every one of your comments. I spent more than forty years as a television news and sports anchor. Over that span, I received many comments, both good and bad. I always tried never to take them personally.

I always felt there is some nugget of wisdom one can gain from even the most hateful feedback. Taking criticism is not pleasant for anybody. But if you think about it, it may be an effective way you can learn to be better. Compliments make you feel good, but you won’t learn as much from them.

It’s worth the effort to try to take criticism better. It can be constructive, even if it wasn’t meant to be.

Disobedience is hard to deal with. If your child or grandchild is doing something naughty, and you tell them to stop, they may just ignore you and continue. What to do then? Do you raise your voice and yell at them? Do you send them to their room? Deny them a toy or a privilege? Spank them? It’s not an easy call because you love them so much, but you can’t tolerate their defiance.

Kind of like God’s relationship with us, isn’t it? He wants us to do our best to avoid sin, but sometimes we ignore Him and make bad choices anyway. God doesn’t want to punish you. He created you and loves you like His own child, which you are. That’s why He sent a savior to clear a path for you to one day join Him. But he can’t tolerate your disobedience forever. At some point there has to be a reckoning.

And you don’t know when that point is coming.

People of a certain age will remember the great Yogi Berra. The legendary New York Yankees catcher and manager was even more famous for his many paradoxical quotes, such as “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded,” and “It gets late early out there”.

One of my favorite Yogi-isms is “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” Somehow, I understand exactly what he was trying to say. Life will bring you to many critical decisions, usually between right and wrong. You can’t just remain at the fork. You must choose. Live a righteous life, or a less disciplined one. At these times we must be bold. We must take action with courage of conviction.

You will face decisions like this every day. As Yogi would say, it will be “deja vu all over again”.

Professional boxers step into a ring and, when the bell sounds, proceed to try to punch each other into submission. If one of the fighters is knocked to the floor and can’t get up, it’s a knockout. But often a participant can be beaten and battered and still, somehow, will himself not to go down. It is then up to the referee to determine when the fighter can no longer defend himself, and declare the competition over by “technical” knockout.

God declared us the victims of a technical knockout early on. He knew the temptations of this world would beat us down. He knew all of us would sin. That we would be battered and bruised by greed, pride, disease, worry, hatred, envy, ignorance, over confidence and carelessness. He declared the fight against the devil over before we were born.

That’s why He provided a savior. Jesus revives us, picks us up from the canvas. You can be sure he is always in your corner.

Many people are reluctant to try something new and challenging because they are afraid to fail. Yet I find that most successful and happy folks have failed at least once in their endeavors. It happens to athletes, to business entrepreneurs, to show business celebrities, and just average folks.

Failure can be public and embarrassing. People like to look down on those who have failed because it makes them feel better about themselves. But very few things ever get better without effort. If you want improvement in your relationships, your work, your finances, whatever it might be, try something new. Or commit to do what you’re doing better.

You may fail. Millions of us fail every day. You’ll survive. You’ll learn something. And you’ll be a step closer to succeeding.

People who achieve bountiful success in their line of work often retire and become consultants. They will share their knowledge and insights for a fee. Governments and large businesses will pay them hundreds of thousands of dollars just to get their advice.

It makes me appreciate that the greatest consultant offers His services absolutely free. The others guide you to ways of making money, running a city and growing industry. That’s all well and good, but none of it matters much if you don’t have inner peace and joy in your life. Most of us need help with that as well.

Make God your life coach and consultant. His handbook is readily available, and you can’t beat the price.

Recently I came down with a nasty cold. I had body ache, sore throat, stuffy nose, the whole mess. I was pretty miserable for a few days. My wife Sharon went over to our daughter’s house to babysit grandkids. When she came home, she handed me four pages of folded paper.

Each of our grands had made me a get well card. They drew pictures of themselves with me (mostly stick figures) and did their best to print “I love you grampa” underneath. Immediately, my mood brightened and, somehow, I felt much better. Oh, I was still sick, but I was no longer depressed and grumpy. Their little homemade cards made my day.

There is so much power in little acts of kindness. Try one today.

I’ve always heard that it is not possible to “spot reduce” specific parts of your body. For example, you can’t just reduce belly fat by doing abdominal exercises. You have to lose weight overall through diet and workouts, and your tummy will recede in proportion to the rest of you.

I can only imagine the same holds true for your moral weaknesses. If you struggle with something specific, such as addiction, or profanity, or lust, it takes an overall change to heal. Making godly decisions in all aspects of life will help you eliminate, or at least reduce, your particular problem as well.

We can’t do it alone. We’re not strong enough. Get connected spiritually. The belly fat of temptation won’t hang around.