Guidelines For Living Devotional

Investing in Intangibles

"Do you have investments?" a businessman asked me, "and what do you invest in?" I explained that I had some rather large investments, but they were not subject to the whims of markets and a capricious economy. I told them that I had invested my life in the kingdom of God--in people around the world, which included my children and family. From the look that I got as I explained what was important in my life, I recognized that we were on different pages when it came to what we consider important.

Your Investments

If you were asked, "What do you invest in?" I suspect that you would mention stocks, bonds, real estate, or perhaps precious metals. Or you might say, "You've got to be kidding.  We're fortunate to have enough to buy rice and fish for dinner tonight!"
            In answering that question about what you invest in, almost always the focus is on tangibles--money.  And I freely acknowledge that in a time of economic flux, knowing where to put your extra cash, if you are fortunate enough to have any, is a challenge. Yet money is only a small part of what you invest. I put it under the heading of resources which God has placed in your hands, and you have to do something with them; however, that's only part of what you invest.

Help by Not Helping

There are times when you can help a person the most by not helping that person at all.  Sounds contradictory?  Let me illustrate.  There's a word which is wafted about quite freely:  codependency.  It's one of those buzzwords among people who are trying to overcome some of the problems they grew up with.
            "A good way to understand codependency," says Rich Buhler in his book New Choices, New Boundaries, "is to picture the twenty-six-year-old in the high chair.  When we carry responsibility for another person, which that person ought to be carrying personally.  We are involved in a smothering, binding, unhealthy relationship with that person, which prevents him or her from carrying the responsibility to deal with life."

Jesus: Washer of Feet

A brilliant young Oxford don, H.A. Hodges, was an agnostic, and felt that it was not intellectually honest to profess a belief in God, since he was certain that nobody could really prove His existence.  But of course he also acknowledged that the existence of God could not be disproven.  He just wasn't sure and decided to remain neutral.  One day, however, he strolled down Oxford's main thoroughfare and stopped before a store window.  His interest was captured by a painting, a rather simple one done by a Christian artist.  The subject:  Jesus washing the feet of the disciples.  Hodges, however, was gripped by the scene, and he said, "If God is like that then that God shall be my God!"  Conversions take place in strange ways, and that painting was part of the circumstances which resulted in his conversion to Christianity.

Responding to the Pain of the Suffering

Whenever I go overseas on a mission’s ministry, someone always says, “Hey, can’t you find enough hurting people where you are without going to the trouble and expense of traveling?”
             Honestly, since terrorism raised its ugly head in the world, traveling doesn’t get any easier. Being challenged because you left your nail clippers in your hand carry, isn’t always terribly exciting, nor is jet lag, eating food which isn’t what you prefer, and sleeping, at times, only God knows where.

Options for Dealing with Difficult People

When you have a difficult person in your life—and who doesn’t?—you have four basic options—much the same as how you would deal with a pair of shoes that hurt your feet because a nail has worked its way through the sole.  You can walk away from him, ignore him — perhaps getting calloused to his difficult personality, put some space between you and him (which allows you to live with the situation) or respond to the difficult person, which allows you to cope.  Usually this is the most positive and most satisfactory course of action when a difficult person really begins to get to you.

Four Hugs a Day

Dr. Harold Voth, who served as senior psychiatrist at the Menninger Clinic for many years, was one of the leading voices in the 20th century for health care and mental illness.  Dr.  Voth used to say, "Hugging is an excellent tonic."  He contended that it has been scientifically demonstrated that people who are mentally run‑down and depressed are far more prone to sickness than those who are not.  Hugging, he says, can lift depression, enabling a body's immune system to become toned up.  He says that hugging breathes new life into your tired body and makes you feel younger and more vibrant.

Knowing When to Quit

How do you know when to say, “when!”  How do you know when it’s time to hang it up and quit?  Do you grit your teeth and say, “They will have to take me out feet first,” or do you see the handwriting on the wall, and you know it’s time to say, “when?”  Do you grasp the golden parachute, as they call a good retirement in business, or do you wait until they give you ten minutes to clean out your desk and a security guard walks you to the door and you are history?

Praying When Life Unravels

How do you pray when your world is falling apart?  Or do you stop praying and decide that God has ignored you or forgotten that you exist?  I've been thinking about that very issue as I've answered some of the messages which have come to our office from people who are really hurting, but more than that, they have all but given up on God because they prayed for something, like winning the lottery, and it didn't happen.  Some have even contemplated suicide because the financial blessing they asked for didn't materialize, or the burden of poor health wasn't lifted.

A Waste of Suffering

In his book, Why Us? Warren Wiersbe tells of visiting a dear friend whose world had come apart.  Her husband had gone blind, and then her health failed.  As she struggled with an incurable disease, followed by a stroke that caused her to give up employment, she was forced to remain at home caring for her husband when she actually needed care herself.