Joel Stiff's Adventure

There is always a price to pay.

If I spend my money without care or thought, I will pay the price of being broke.

If I pay the price of refusing immediate gratification, I enjoy the benefit of accumulating resources.

If I ignore my caloric intake, I will pay the price of weight gain and poor health.

If I pay the price of a proper diet and exercise, I enjoy the benefit of good health and ease of movement.

If I find pleasure in being the good guy with my children and refusing to enforce discipline, I will pay the price of disappointment and heartache.

If I pay the price of working hard to train my children, I enjoy the benefit of children who become productive, pleasant adults.

Pay me now or pay me later.

Jesus told us that you cannot put a price on a human soul.

With almost seven billion of us running around, we sure do get on each other’s nerves sometimes.  And since some people do not see our lives as valuable, it is easy to get calloused.

A few quick thoughts on valuing people.

You do not have to be exactly like me for me to value you.

You do not have to agree with me on everything for me to value you.

You do not have to look like me for me to value you.

You do not have to talk like me for me to value you.

It is important that I realize that others have merit and value worth far more than the insignificant issues that would keep me from valuing them.

In Luke 15, Jesus tells three stories back to back.

In the first, a shepherd loses one of his one hundred sheep.  He leaves the ninety-nine to find the one lost.

In the second, a lady loses one of ten coins.  She searched her home top to bottom in an effort to find it.

In the third, a man has two sons.  One rebels and leaves home with his inheritance prematurely.

Nobody goes after him.

Sheep and coins apparently matter more.

We have two cats, Jack and Charlie.  We also have a laser pointer.

We’ve spent the last couple of evenings watching the cats chase the laser around the room.  They are relentless.  As long as you want to shine the laser, the cats will chase after it.  Occasionally, they will actually catch it.

Except it’s nothing.  So they get nothing.

There are things in life just like the laser.  They look interesting.  They are tempting to chase.  But if you ever catch it, you find out you get nothing.

And yet some people chase after it as long as it shines.

Boy, is it ever easy to get distracted.

There is so much media waiting to be consumed.  So many screens blinking for our attention.  So many people dinging in.

We could spend several lifetimes doing nothing but keeping up with and responding to the incoming.

The winners will be those who can ignore the screaming voices and make their own choices.

A choice, not to consume, but to produce instead.

It’s resolution season.

Many people are trying to decide what to give up,  what to start doing,  or what to improve.

May I suggest stop being so mad.

We seem to be quite angry these days.  Between presidential primaries, possible cheating scandals in the NFL and Miley Cyrus’ poor behavior, everyone has an ax to grind.

I admit that I fall prey to it as well.  I ask myself how someone can be so invested in a sports team that they are willing to call into a radio talk show and risk bursting a blood vessel as they defend their team, all the while I am glaring at the driver moving too slow for my taste as I aggressively whiz past.

Much of what has our blood pressure so elevated is comprised of things that do not matter.  I remember reading some good advice a few years ago about the shelf life of problems.  Will this matter in 10 minutes?  How about 10 months?  How about 10 years?  It seems to me that we get 10 years angry over 10 minute problems.

This year I’ve decided to follow the advice of Queen Elsa.

In case you’re ever interested in being a help or encouragement to someone, the first question to ask yourself is, “How can I help?”

The answer to that question lies within yourself.

What are your needs?  What are your inadequacies?  What encourages you?  When do you need encouragement most?  When do you need the care of others?

People are people.

When you can recognize the need in your own life, you will be able to recognize the need in others.

They will be the same.

Children are good at spotting nonsense.

If you tell a kid that she never stops talking, she will remain quiet for a moment and then ask, “Was the last minute part of never?”

We use them frequently.  Always and never usually do not mean always and never.  “You never pick up after yourself.” “You always drive like a maniac.”  Neither of those things is likely true.

I hear people say that Donald Trump is a loser who doesn’t have the ability to lead the country because his employees have to obey the boss.  He wouldn’t know how to compromise with congress.  Besides, they add, he was given his first million dollars.

I would argue that losers aren’t capable of turning one million dollars into ten billion and if you think that leading employees is simply a matter of telling someone what to do, I can tell you’ve never managed anyone.  (Oops, did I just make a sweeping generality?)

Likewise, I have heard Donald Trump call some pretty successful and accomplished people “losers” as well.  We are all prone to it.

It’s intellectually lazy to paint a person or a situation with a broad brush.

Part of what makes life interesting and engaging are the nuances.

It’s best if we don’t sweep over them.

A marriage where no ones cares dies.

Children who have no one who cares don’t turn out right.

Businesses that do not care go bankrupt.

Churches with members who do not care die.

Parents without children who care die lonely and alone.

Friends who stop caring lose their friendship.

A good resolution in 2016 is to care.

June 11, 1997 was game five of the NBA finals.  The Bulls were playing the Jazz and Michael Jordan had the flu or at least something as detrimental to an NBA player.

In spite of being sick as a dog, he scored thirty-eight points and helped bring the Bulls to victory.

Sometimes, you just don’t have it.

But it is there if you look hard enough for it.