While I was enjoying some leisure time doing my taxes the other day, my son asked if he could color with the crayons. So I got them out and gave him a blank piece of paper to work on. After a few minutes, he asked for my help again because the white and yellow crayons weren’t working properly. They were dirty because he had used them on top of the darker colors.
I showed him that he could just wipe it off by coloring on a clean patch of paper, and I explained to him that this would happen again any time he colored over dark colors with lighter ones. Not sure whether my strange advice could be trusted, he nevertheless went back to work. And that’s when it struck me how this illustrates our own character. When we’re born again, we’re cleansed by Jesus and made like the white crayon. But if we color back over the sins of our past, we become tainted again and need recleaning with something that will take our new stain away.
I think this is why Jesus used the illustration of looking at the bronze serpent when he spoke about our dependence on Him in John 3:14-15, the verses before the verse that everybody knows.
TOD 04.08.08
Part of my contract as a talk show host requires that I give my employer a percentage of any money I make from my position, such as speaking fees. I must admit that I despise this fact. It always feels a little like they’re stealing from me. Nonetheless, every time I’m paid for a speech, I give my boss a check for the correct portion, and he is always slightly surprised by it.
See, I’m the only one who knows that I got paid and how much it was, and it would be the easiest thing in the world to just keep it all; all the more tempting because I loathe the requirement. But I don’t. Why not? Because I signed a contract. So, in reality it would be stealing for me to keep them money, and the lack of oversight doesn’t change this fact. Although giving it over makes me unhappy, honoring my obligation to do so makes me proud.
Yes, the money matters more to me than it does to the company, but my word and my character matter far more to me than the money. And with the proximity of tax day next week, I hope I’m not the only one who sees things this way.
See, I’m the only one who knows that I got paid and how much it was, and it would be the easiest thing in the world to just keep it all; all the more tempting because I loathe the requirement. But I don’t. Why not? Because I signed a contract. So, in reality it would be stealing for me to keep them money, and the lack of oversight doesn’t change this fact. Although giving it over makes me unhappy, honoring my obligation to do so makes me proud.
Yes, the money matters more to me than it does to the company, but my word and my character matter far more to me than the money. And with the proximity of tax day next week, I hope I’m not the only one who sees things this way.
TOD 04.07.08
Is there such a thing as unintentional sin? You might initially say not, because sin is such a serious thing that it seems to require premeditation. Besides, we know that knowing something is wrong and still doing it is much worse than just doing the wrong thing. So it seems strange to use one label for things of such different degree. But this is precisely what Jesus taught.
Lust doesn’t seem like adultery, but it is. Coveting doesn’t seem like theft, but it is. Hatred doesn’t seem like murder, but it is. And the most common kind of idolatry, though He didn’t give the example, is inadvertent. It’s allowing yourself to act as if you are worshipping something other than God with your time, talent, and treasure. Perhaps the biggest problem people in this generation have is not that they sin. It’s that they don’t even know they do.
And how can someone recognize his need for a Savior to cure him of an illness that everyone around him claims he doesn’t even have? And even if he is persuaded to take the medicine, how much love can be expected from him who thinks he is only forgiven for little?
Lust doesn’t seem like adultery, but it is. Coveting doesn’t seem like theft, but it is. Hatred doesn’t seem like murder, but it is. And the most common kind of idolatry, though He didn’t give the example, is inadvertent. It’s allowing yourself to act as if you are worshipping something other than God with your time, talent, and treasure. Perhaps the biggest problem people in this generation have is not that they sin. It’s that they don’t even know they do.
And how can someone recognize his need for a Savior to cure him of an illness that everyone around him claims he doesn’t even have? And even if he is persuaded to take the medicine, how much love can be expected from him who thinks he is only forgiven for little?
TOD 04.04.08
My good friend Dwayne Hoskins just went home after staying with us for a week, and it was such a blessing to have him around. We ate. We golfed. We talked. We ate. We drank coffee. We did the radio show together. Did I mention that we ate? But what I most valued about having him around was seeing him interact with my children, especially when they weren’t being little angels.
Because Dwayne’s parents had four of their own, adopted eight, and had over 80 foster kids, he really knows a lot about interacting with children. Now, obviously I learned from his example, but I noticed something else as well. Having him around made me try harder with my kids. I wanted to impress him, and the presence of a coach made me feel that much more accountable.
This wasn’t an oppressive thing. It was a blessing because I know how much he loves me and wants me to succeed. Now I just need to remind myself that an even wiser expert is always with me…one who loves me even more than my closest friends do.
Because Dwayne’s parents had four of their own, adopted eight, and had over 80 foster kids, he really knows a lot about interacting with children. Now, obviously I learned from his example, but I noticed something else as well. Having him around made me try harder with my kids. I wanted to impress him, and the presence of a coach made me feel that much more accountable.
This wasn’t an oppressive thing. It was a blessing because I know how much he loves me and wants me to succeed. Now I just need to remind myself that an even wiser expert is always with me…one who loves me even more than my closest friends do.
TOD 04.02.08
My children are always trying to help me do things. Spencer loves to help with the dishes, which means that I set aside all the silverware for him to rinse before it goes in the dishwasher. Doing it this way takes more time and uses more water, but he really enjoys being part of the process.
Ethan likes to help unload the dishwasher after everything’s clean. He does this by grabbing a plate or a bowl or a cup and waddling it over to me as fast as he can. Normally, I would say that this also doesn’t actually help very much, but it does. Precisely because I’m so concerned that he’ll drop something on the floor, I try to make it so he handles as few items as possible. I do this by racing to unload as much of it myself while he’s shuttling items to me. Thus in the end not only does he wind up helping me, but I do it in about two thirds the time because I’m trying to work so quickly.
Efficiency is never the main value in parenting, but occasionally it’s a fringe benefit…very occasionally.
Ethan likes to help unload the dishwasher after everything’s clean. He does this by grabbing a plate or a bowl or a cup and waddling it over to me as fast as he can. Normally, I would say that this also doesn’t actually help very much, but it does. Precisely because I’m so concerned that he’ll drop something on the floor, I try to make it so he handles as few items as possible. I do this by racing to unload as much of it myself while he’s shuttling items to me. Thus in the end not only does he wind up helping me, but I do it in about two thirds the time because I’m trying to work so quickly.
Efficiency is never the main value in parenting, but occasionally it’s a fringe benefit…very occasionally.
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