Steve May, Author at Steve May

The Eagle and the Hippo

Carl Sandburg said, “There is an eagle in me that wants to soar, and there is a hippopotamus in me that wants to wallow in the mud.”

He may not have known it, but he was describing the Christian life. It’s our dual nature, as Paul talked about…

I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another law at work in me that is at war with my mind. This law wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. (Romans 7:22-23)

Everyday you must choose: Will I live according to the new nature, or the old? Will I soar with the eagles, or wallow in the mud?

Your decision determines everything: How you greet the day. How you direct your thoughts. How you talk to — or talk about — your co-workers. How you spend your spare change and how you spend your spare time. And on and on.

Every day — every moment of every day — you have the power to choose your environment: the clear blue sky or the local hippo hangout.

You have a key to both places, and access is unrestricted. It just depends on where you prefer to be.

Remember today that God is calling you upward.

From an ‘A’ to an ‘A-Plus’

In 1 Thessalonians 4, Paul urges the church to lead holy lives. He commends them on the great love they have for others, and then he says…

Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more. (1 Thessalonians 4:10)

He’s saying, in effect, “This is an area where you’re making an A. Good job. See if you can bump it up to an A-Plus.”

He’s reminding us to strengthen our strengths.

Too often our focus is limited to those things we don’t do well. We spend so much time and effort covering up our weaknesses, we neglect the task of building our strengths. We should never be content with any aspect of our personal growth; there’s room for improvement in every area.

Which things do you do well? If Paul were writing to you, or to your church, consider in which area he might say, “Way to go. Keep it up. Reach higher.”

If you, like the Thessalonians, excel in love, make it your aim to excel all the more. If you’re gifted in leadership, continue to refine your leadership skills.

And for those whose ministry is preaching and teaching, we should always be looking for ways to take our communication skills to the next level.

Excellence covers all aspects of the Christian life. Weak areas need to be made strong, to be sure. But let’s not forget that the strong areas need to be made stronger.

Today, consider what you do well, and give thought to how you may “do so more and more.” See if you can turn that A into an A-Plus.

Legend or Critic?

Legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden was once asked his opinion of former Indiana coach Bobby Knight. Wooden would only respond…

“I think Bob Knight is an outstanding teacher of the game of basketball, but I don’t approve of his methods. But I’m not a judge, and I’m not judging Bob Knight. There is so much bad in the best of us and so much good in the worst of us, it hardly behooves me to talk about the rest of us.”

I think he understood what Henry Kaiser once said, “When your work speaks for itself, don’t interrupt.”

Wooden, who passed away in 2010 at the age of 99, has shown us what a legend looks like.

He was not only a gentlemen on the court, he also set records that may never be broken. His 10 national championships, his 88 game winning streak, his phenomenal winning percentage, the players he groomed for stardom in the NBA — this is his legacy; he had no reason to add the title of “outspoken critic” to the list.

NO TIME FOR TALK

In your life and mine, in your work and mine, there are a number of potential (even so-called “valid”) targets of our own outspoken criticism.

If we’re not careful, they can take up all of our time and attention.

And if we’re not careful, we can be sidetracked into thinking that our opinions are more important than our actions.

It’s what you do that ultimately makes a difference. Talk isn’t enough. Opinions aren’t enough. Criticism, no matter how on-target or how well-articulated, is never enough.

You prove who you are by the way that you live.

Paul asked…

So why do you condemn another Christian? Why do you look down on another Christian? Remember, each of us will stand personally before the judgment seat of God. (Romans 14:10)

Let’s strive, then, toward leaving a legacy built not upon our estimation of others, but upon our own measurable accomplishments.

Criticize less, do more.

That’s what a legend looks like.

Who Needs Encouragement

Truett Cathy (founder of Chic-fil-A) once said, “How do you identify someone who needs encouragement? Answer: That person is breathing.”

You can be sure that every person you encounter today will benefit from a good word. You may not be able to solve their problems, but you can give them a little extra fuel for their journey.

How do you offer encouragement? Here are a handful of suggestions.

Remember that you can’t give encouragement when you’re talking about yourself. Especially when you’re talking about your problems. Sometimes we try to give others a little perspective on their problems by telling them how bad ours are. It doesn’t help.

Point out what they’re doing right. They probably already know what isn’t working, and they probably already know what they’re doing wrong. Tell them what is working. Tell them something good about themselves. Don’t worry, they won’t get big-headed about it.

Tell them what you see for them in the future. Tell them how things can be. Remind them of what God can do, how he can transform any situation for his glory, how he can transform any person into the image of Christ, how he can use anyone to accomplish his purpose.

Give them an example. An example other than yourself, that is. Tell them about a friend who had a similar problem and was able to overcome it. Or how a business leader dealt with adversity. Or how another Christian’s perseverance ultimately paid off. Tell them a story that will give them hope.

Offer to help them fine-tune their strategy. When you say, “If you ever want feedback on anything, I’m here to give it,” they will probably come to you for feedback — if they sense your sincerity. It is then that you can ever-so-gently point out the things they’re doing wrong. It is then that you can help them improve their approach and correct their mistakes.

Just remember: first, they need encouragement.

Isaiah said…

Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble. Say to those with an anxious heart, “Take courage, fear not. Behold your God will come with vengeance; the recompense of God will come, but he will save you.” (Isaiah 35:3-4)

Loud and Clear

When it comes to living a life of wisdom, no one can use the excuse, “I didn’t know, I didn’t hear, I was left out of the loop.”

Wisdom isn’t a whisper in the distance; her voice booms in the present tense — from the street where you live — louder, even, than all surrounding noise.

Wisdom is there to be heard for those who will hear.

The problem is not that we are unable to hear what wisdom says. It’s that we are, too often, unwilling to do what wisdom would have us do. That’s what is holding us back.

Wisdom shouts in the streets. She cries out in the public square.

She calls to the crowds along the main street, to those gathered in front of the city gate:

“How long, you simpletons, will you insist on being simpleminded? How long will you mockers relish your mocking? How long will you fools hate knowledge?

Come and listen to my counsel. I’ll share my heart with you and make you wise.” (Proverbs 1:20-23 NLT)

The Restless Heart

American author once Iving Kristol said, “Being frustrated is disagreeable, but the real disasters of life begin when you get what you want.”

This is because what we want — or what we think we want — is often not what we really need to lead a fulfilled, meaningful life.

Eventually, the time comes when we realize that the trinket we worked so hard to acquire — or even the goal we sacrificed to reach — doesn’t bring the satisfaction we expected it could.

We then find ourselves asking, as so many have asked, “Is that all there is? Is this as good as it gets?”

Goals will always have a place in our lives, and accumulating possessions will always be part of the human experience, but we serve ourselves best the sooner we understand that these things will never be enough.

We serve ourselves best when we learn to say, as Augustine said, “O Lord, our heart is restless, until it finds its rest in thee.”

Where are you seeking your rest today? In a paycheck? In a relationship? In something you possess?

These may not be bad in and of themselves, but we must also remember that neither are they the finish line. There’s something better, something greater, something more meaningful to seek.

If your heart is restless today, take a moment to re-evaluate what you really want.

Strive today to say as David said, “My soul finds rest in God alone.” (Psalm 62:1)

The Art of Finishing

In 1912, marathon runner Shizo Kanakuri was chosen to represent Japan in the Summer Olympics at Stockholm.

He began the race with the rest of the runners, but along the way was overcome with heat. He stopped at a garden party for some refreshment, but he stayed a little too long — more than an hour.

It was now, he thought, too late to get back in the race. He took a train to his hotel and caught a boat back home, too ashamed to tell anyone he was leaving.

For more than 50 years Shizo was listed as a missing person in Sweden, until a journalist finally found him; he had spent the last several decades living a quiet life in southern Japan.

In 1966 the Swedish Public Television network called him with an offer: Would you like to finish your run?

The 85 year old Kanakuri accepted, and he traveled to Stockholm to finish the race he had started so many years before. This time he crossed the finish line; his final time was 54 years, 8 months, 6 days, 8 hours, 32 minutes and 20.3 seconds.

Let’s remember that our reward is not for starting the race, it’s for finishing it. As Paul said in his farewell…

“I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me…” (Acts 20:24)

It’s never too late to get back in the race.

You can start running again today. The finish line is still where it used to be.

An Early Morning Traffic Jam

[This post is from December 2005 / Rio de Janeiro]

There’s a traffic jam on the street below my apartment. From six floors above I can see what’s causing it. There’s a moving van half way up the street, almost jackknifed. Behind it is a VW that looks something like an accordion. Apparently the truck driver attempted to back into a parking garage and missed.

Behind that, I see about a dozen cars trapped on this narrow one-lane, one-way street. Most of them can’t see the cause of the delay — they just know they’re not moving. And they’re expressing their frustration in the most predictable way: Laying on their horns and shouting as loud as they can.

This has been going for awhile. Horns, angry words, more horns. Obviously the honking strategy isn’t working. Neither is the yelling. Rather than dying down, though, it’s getting louder. I’m not sure what the solution is, but, clearly, increasing the volume isn’t it.

This reminds me of some people I know. (Like me.) I have a tendency to make a lot of noise when things stall up ahead and I can’t see what’s going on. And just like today’s traffic jam, my honking never makes things better. It only adds to the confusion.

I have found something that works, though. It doesn’t change the situation; it changes me. It’s the words of King Solomon…

Trust God from the bottom of your heart, don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go, he’s the one who will keep you on track. (Proverbs 3:5-6, The Message)

In the time it’s taken to write this — about a half-hour, between cups of coffee, emails, and staring at the street — the traffic jam has cleared up and everyone has moved on. No real damage done, except to the VW.

Unfortunately, though, for those who were caught up in it, this morning’s mishap may set the tone for the rest of their day. Maybe even their week.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.

We need to remember that most of life’s traffic jams clear up eventually. And while we’re stuck, waiting, unable to see what’s happening further up the road, we need to remember that honking doesn’t really help.

Trusting God does, though. Placing yourself in his care and listening for his voice is a strategy that works. Especially when you have no idea what’s causing the holdup. He knows, and he’s the one who can get you through it.

I encourage you to begin this day by deliberately putting yourself in God’s care, trusting him to make your paths straight.

That’s what I aim to do.

To Increase in Learning

Some listen only to criticize, to find fault, and to pick apart — as in, “How I can use your words to make myself look smarter, better, and more insightful than you?” This explains the old saying: Any fool can criticize, and most fools do.

The wise, however, listen with a different intent, netting a different result. They listen to hear, to understand, and to learn.

Where others may only find fault, the wise have the capacity to pick out the empowering truth and put it to work in their daily lives.

A wise man will hear and increase in learning. (Proverbs 1:5 NASB)

Noisy Problems

There’s a story about a farmer who called a restaurant owner, asking if he was interested in making a deal on some frog legs.

“I can bring you hundreds,” he said. “There’s a creek behind my house that’s full of them. They drive me crazy night and day.”

They negotiated a price for a hundred frogs, and the farmer went home.

A few days later he called the restaurant owner and cancelled the contract.

“Turns out there weren’t hundreds of frogs in that pond. There were just two. But those two frogs sure were making a lot of noise.”

The same can be said about our problems.

And our critics, too.

There may not be that many of them, but they sure are loud.

Successful leaders learn to ignore the croaking of the critics. They also learn to ignore the derisive ribits of this problem and that.

They learn, instead, to focus on the promises of God:

“Lo, I am with you always…No weapon that is formed against you will prosper…though I walk through the shadow of the valley death, I fear no evil, for thou art with me.”

If you’ll listen, you’ll find that God’s promises — the ones spoken in his still, small voice — can ultimately drown out the noise generated by the cares and concerns of this world.

Inspirational Leadership

We tend to equate leadership with authority. We measure the extent of our leadership by the number of people we can tell what to do.

Leadership is more than this. It’s not about hierarchy, it’s about influence. For this reason, you can be a leader no matter which rung of the ladder you’re currently standing on.

John Quincy Adams said, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

Today as you deal with those in your organization above you and below you, remember that your challenge as a leader is, through your words and your example, to inspire others to take another step toward excellence in their work and in their spiritual lives.

Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:1)

Lifting the Lighter Weight

Jim Rohn said, “We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. Discipline weighs ounces — regret weighs tons.”

Rohn’s quote resonates because many of our regrets stem from lack of discipline: If only I had been more diligent. If only I had been more consistent. If only I had been more persistent. If only I had been more determined. And on and on.

Regret weighs tons, but it’s foolish to bear this burden of regret longer than necessary.

Know how to get out from under it?

It’s in the first half of Rohn’s equation: Take another tug at the lighter weight of discipline.

Ask yourself: What good thing … what necessary thing … must I start doing today — and every day — if I feel like it or not?

Whether it’s a walk around the block or more time in the Word or cancelling a golf game to spend the afternoon with your kids, the short-lived pang of making a decision that doesn’t come easily is nothing compared to the relief it brings from the dread of regret — in fact, these tough decisions result in immeasurable joy.

There’s a verse in Hebrews that refers to discipline. The writer is speaking here about the discipline (correction) that God sometimes works in us, but these words also apply to the discipline we have the power to exact on ourselves.

No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. (Hebrews 12:15)