I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
~ Jesus, King of the Universe
01: People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.
02: If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.
03: If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
04: The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
05: Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.
06: The biggest men with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.
07: People favor underdogs, but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
08: What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.
09: People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.
10: Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.
~Kent M. Keith, the “Paradoxical Commandments of Leadership”
Love them anyway.
02: If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.
03: If you are successful, you win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.
04: The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.
05: Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway.
06: The biggest men with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men with the smallest minds.
Think big anyway.
07: People favor underdogs, but follow only top dogs.
Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
08: What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.
Build anyway.
09: People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.
10: Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway.
~Kent M. Keith, the “Paradoxical Commandments of Leadership”
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
~ Jesus, King of the Universe
Make zero mistake beloved. If we make ourselves available to other people, we make ourselves vulnerable.
If we are ministers of His Grace, we will be misunderstood.
If we are consistently compassionate, people will call us obsessed.
So, why keep going? Isn’t this like insanity? You know, isn’t this like banging one’s head against the wall, expecting different results? In a word, No.
Because all of this is not about us.
Oh yeah, we may try to do some good things – and screw up in the attempt. Anything we do is really just some sort of ham-fisted attempt to do the right thing. It is kinda like a toddler trying to do brain surgery wearing boxing gloves. And, in the doing, our merciful Father looks on like the Good Father He is – and pities us.
And when people reject our efforts to be good, or to do good things toward them, we are instantly tempted to reach for the things that used to ‘work’ for us in the past. This writer, when he gets stung is ever so tempted to reach for something to comfort him… even hurt. I fall into it sometimes, even though that is totally unnecessary.
Because, here is the truth. There is a Kingdom being built. And this Kingdom is built on the same foundation that bears the very throne of G_d: Righteousness. And the other two main aspects of that same Kingdom are peace and joy. All of these things are brought about in this world through the power of the Holy Spirit. And further, we are the living stones He is using to build this kingdom.
So, life is really not about us, and people liking us, or making us feel good.
Life is about Him.
Life is about making Him look good.
Life is about Him using us to build His Kingdom.
Life is about relying on Him alone to make the next right choice and do the next right thing – and in the doing – rely on His source of strength (joy), and do it all in intimate communion with Him (peace).
Life is about making Him look good.
Life is about Him using us to build His Kingdom.
Life is about relying on Him alone to make the next right choice and do the next right thing – and in the doing – rely on His source of strength (joy), and do it all in intimate communion with Him (peace).
So further, when we are misunderstood, perhaps this is simply an indicator that we are moving in the right direction. Yeah, sometimes we’re doing the wrong stuff the wrong way. But sometimes we are just doing the next right thing. So even further, when this happens, instead of getting tempted to be hurt in the moment, maybe we can superimpose a picture of the future joy of the Kingdom that is moving forward even now. And in seeing this Blessed Hope as real, we can rejoice that that Kingdom is indeed coming!
Choose to love—rather than hate
Choose to smile—rather than frown
Choose to build—rather than destroy
Choose to persevere—rather than quit
Choose to praise—rather than gossip
Choose to heal—rather than wound
Choose to give—rather than grasp
Choose to act—rather than delay
Choose to forgive—rather than curse
Choose to pray—rather than despair.
God always gives his very best
to those who leave the choice with him.
~James Hudson Taylor (1832-1905)
