A Non-Janus January

It's the New Year once again!  A time of celebration, commemoration and hopefully, consecration.  The New Year brings a sense of promise and renewal like no other time.  We should do our very best to make sure that we are moving forward with every year.  It would certainly be a shame to get older and not better.

January.  The first month of the year is named after the false god Janus.  He was considered to be the god of beginnings, endings, doorways and entrances.  He is depicted as having two faces looking in opposite directions.

This is the problem.  January, the first month of a new year, a time of renewed determination and clear intent, deserves singular focus not divided attention.  We do not need to have a two-faced approach to the New Year.

This is not a call for extremity.  Looking back is necessary and helpful in making wise decisions. This is an emphasis issue.  You cannot be so focused on the past that you are divided in your attention over the future.  That's why the rearview mirror of a car is so small in comparison to the windshield.  Whether last year was filled with tragedies or treasures, you can't make good forward progress with a backwards positioning.

Jesus says, "No man having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom."  Luke 9:62.

James says, "A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways." James 1:8

Paul says, "... forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things before, I press towards the mark for the prize..."  Phil. 3:12

What do you say?

Celebrate a new beginning.  Blow the horns and spin the noisemakers.  Throw confetti and eat some black-eyed peas.  But after the party is over and the dust settles, face forward and get serious about 2012.  And don't wait for February!!

Kim Jong-il's Leadership No-no

The death of Kim Jong-il caused a ripple of anxiety throughout the arena of world politics.  Actually, Kim has always been a source of concern for enemies and allies alike.  Wielding absolute power, cruel ambition and maniacal tendencies, Kim has often snubbed his nose at the world stage, in a parade of quickly marching armies.  Now with his death and his son, Kim Jong-un's succession, anxiety over North Korea's political posture has grown. 


While it is beyond my scope of experience and preparation to give clear insight into the multiplicity of political ramifications of these events, I do see a clear lesson in leadership - The effects of non-transparency.  


North Korea is called the 'Hermit Kingdom' because of its detachment from the rest of the world.  It is easily presumed that this is done for control purposes.  Keeping a people ignorant makes it easier to keep them controlled.  So when international visitors come in, and I stress when, their phones are confiscated and photos censored.  Media is told what to see and when they can see it.  

This came to mind when they released the footage of people weeping for their deceased leader.  It was too perfect.  Too controlled.  One person was weeping inconsolably while the others were otherwise engaged in the background. It just seems staged, insincere. 


That may be judgmental, but that's exactly what happens with non-transparency - distrust.  That's a leadership lesson.  While you don't have to put top-secret files on display, you certainly don't have to confiscate phones and pictures.  It makes people wonder what are you hiding?  


A leader's currency is trust.  People will trust you in accordance with how they know you.  Yes, limitations are necessary but balance is essential.  Talk to people.  Allow pictures.  Open up your life.  Be transparent. 


Jesus thought this way - "I'm no longer calling you servants because servants don't understand what their master is thinking and planning.  No, I've named you friends because I've let you in on everything I've heard from the Father." - (John 15:15 Msg.)

Elevating Excellence

Incompetence strikes again.  So much pain and sorrow in the world is due to people not doing their jobs with attention to detail.  Our condolences go out to the family of Suzanne Hart, a 41 year old executive, crushed and torn by a malfunctioning elevator.  At first glance this traumatic scene seems to be a freak accident, but a closer look sees something more - human error.  "City Buildings Department records show that the 13 elevators operating at 285 Madison Avenue have piled up an astonishing 56 violations between them since 1999, 34 of which were for "failure to maintain elevators." http://uk.ibtimes.com/articles/267910/20111215/285-madison-avenue-suzanne-hart-elevator-accident.htm

Poor workmanship is a blight on our society.  From mishandled luggage, to messed up orders and misdiagnosed treatments - mistakes and missteps abound.  Whatever happened to workmanship?  Personal best?  Do we not know that how we work says something about who we are?  "Ooops" or "My bad!"  just doesn't cut it.  In this case it cost someone their life.

Excellence is the thing.  Sure it is harder, more tedious, more engaging and involved, but it's excellence!  It is the best.  It says that I do what I do to the highest point of my ability.  What else should we say?  For the child of God there should be no alternative.

"And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." (Col. 3:17) 

"Do you see any truly competent workers? They will serve kings rather than working for ordinary people."  (Pr. 22:29)

Yes every one makes mistakes ,but that should be contrary to one's character not the consistency of one's character.  Excellence does not mean perfection, it means that one is striving for perfection, determined to hit the mark.  A reputation is made when you have a consistent focus on detail or whether you seem like you could care less.

The world is filled with Careless Incompetents.  A child of God must not be one.

The Nazareth

John 1:46

Can anything good or just
Can one faithful and true
One we trust
Come out of Nazareth?

Nazareth
The low parts of Palestine
A ghetto of Galilee on Beulah’s backside
Unmentionable, unintentional
Most forgettable and avoidable
Nazareth.

No King had risen
No Prophet resided
In this hamlet of dusty farmers
Muddy potters, lowly shepherds
And occasional carpenters.

No wonder one would wonder
Stumbling at the word
That honor had risen with power
From the poor and quiet folk
Of Nazareth.

It’s this muddied thinking of our mannish minds
That often blinds us
And binds us
To handicapped reasons
And asinine assumptions
That great people only come from great situations.

And so we miss it
And dismiss it
Looking for God in the light on the left
We fail to see His hand on the right in the dark
Forgetting that He often grows lilies of the valley
In ghetto alleys and slum cities
Like Nazareth

But there rose one like a bright sun.
God’s Son.
Breaking the darkness like a cloudless dawn
Divinity in flesh came the Nazareth
His likeness unmistakably, undeniably God.

A carpenter’s son cutting hearts of men
Fashioning faith from foolish failure
The Creator and Orchestrator
He built a church on the strength of His name
And now fame is known
By Nazareth.

Now the ghettos sing glory
As they follow the grand story
Of the Nazareth
Who fought death
Rising from the hood and the grave
Overcoming poverty, obscurity and iniquity
Reigning at the right of absolute majesty.

The lowly shudder in the throes of hope’s dope
The forgotten remember their redeemer who delivered them
From Ghetthoic grieving
Seeing and believing that troubles are not binding
No concrete confining
Or circumstances continuing
When you think like the Nazareth
Ignoring what the rest expect
Pleasing God rather than man

His life is their proof
His existence our evidence
That the Most High
Comes to low places
Taking residence
Lifting low spaces to great heights
Blessed be the Nazareth
And Nazarites.


David Wilson

Happy Birthday Dyahnah!!

She's 13 and she knows it!

Congrats on a milestone!