What did you think of Richard Sherman's Interview?

I've never had such anticipation for a Sunday NFL lineup like I was looking forward to last Sunday's Championship games.  Then to my shock Richard Sherman gave what will be a life-long defining rant at the end of the second game.  What was your take?  Millions have recorded their opinions all over social media and in conversations this week.

My take was initial shock but not a lingering shock.  My initial shock was simply the result of being conditioned to always hear palatable and respectful (although not always sincere) sound bytes from players and coaches as they leave the field.  Yet, it didn't take long for me to simply brush Sherman's comments aside remembering that many NFL players representing every team have the same big-time ego with some concealing it better than others.

Here are three important truths I will share with my sons after watching this with them:

1) It's always so much nicer to be able to learn from someone else's mistakes.  I hate to put my foot in my mouth and would much rather learn from someone else doing the same.  The tirade from Richard Sherman couldn't have been better at illustrating how obviously inappropriate it is to have poor sportsmanship after a game.  Lesson #1 - Our kids need to learn in competition that win or lose we do it with humility and respect because it reflects on us, our family, our team, and our God.

2) I've been a part of leading meetings, mission trips, and big events when afterwards I was very "keyed up," "agitated," "frustrated," "tired," you pick it.  I wouldn't have wanted a microphone put in front of me at that point for fear of what I might have said that I would soon after regret.  Lesson #2 - Let's talk about not speaking when we're too emotional and also teach our kids not to be immediately critical of someone else who realizes later he crossed a line in the heat of the moment.


3) This time of year we give a lot of attention to NFL players as the Super Bowl approaches.  I'll also toss in the Grammys and the Oscars which are around the corner.  We state emphatically that "I love Richard Shermon, Frank Gore, Tom Brady Peyton Manning."  Or I "love Matthew McConaughey, Cate Blanchett, Leonardo DiCaprio, Amy Adams" etc.   But then they do something in real life that we don't love.

So what do we mean when we say that we love these celebrities.  Many (most?) of them don't share our faith, our family values, our convictions.  Many are truly and deeply conflicted, insecure and depressed.  In fact we'd all find many of the celebrities we "love" to be very difficult to hang out with because of how self-absorbed they are.  So why should we be shocked when Richard Sherman opens his mouth and reveals that he isn't the poster boy for Jesus' Beatitudes?

Honestly, we "love" celebrities because they impress us with their abilities and performances and our evaluation stops there.  That makes us just as shallow as we accuse them of being.   Lesson #3 - Let's help our children learn to appreciate celebrities who not only impress us physically but also have the attitudes, values, and faith that are so much more important.  I want to point out to my boys when I see: strong work ethic, praise for others, honesty, committed marriages (you can find a few of these,) integrity, generosity, and especially genuine faith in Christ.

Let's demonstrate a willingness to think about celebrities critically without being critical.

Ask your family - Is our faith in God real enough to give Him our money?

If you want to strengthen your home in 2014 be sure to manage your life according to a family budget and above all, be sure to entrust your finances to God so He can bless you!

Discussing finances

Each week I enjoy the opportunity to meet with a number of men from our church for mentoring, coaching, prayer or sometimes just to encourage them.  Recently a couple of my meetings have had discussions revolving around the topic of giving to the church.  I didn't go into the meetings with that on my agenda but it came up anyway.  

I love to help young believers wrestle with this issue because it's directly tied to our discipleship.  Our willingness to worship God/trust God by giving sacrificially is an important step of spiritual growth.  Tied to this is the character formation that God is wanting to do in us that results in becoming people who are truly generous.  I see this as a topic I need to continuously revisit in my own life and also teach to my boys.

Family Bible Study

Would you say that in 2013 your family demonstrated true faith and worship through financial giving to your church?   What about to other mission causes?  

Looking at who you are today vs a year ago would you say you're more generous than you were...that you're growing in this area of your life?  If because of your financial situation or because you're new to your faith, you find that it is difficult to give more (or at least something) to God, that's good!   It's good because God is pleased by offerings that require sacrifice and faith.

This begs another question...because sacrifice and faith are what God wants to see in us, if you faithfully tithed 10% of your income in 2013, was it a sacrifice or simply your "duty?"  10% was the OT instruction to the Jews but with the coming of the Holy Spirit there is no limit to the amount of sacrifice God may instruct us to give.  If you have been giving 10% or 5% or 1% or 20% the issue is still, what does God ask of me?

As a family read 2 Sam 24:18-24.  Why wouldn't David offer something to God that didn't cost him anything?  What have you given to God recently that cost you something?  What amount or percentage of income will you give as an offering to God in 2014 that will require faith and sacrifice?  Do you believe God will bless you for your faith?

There's no perfect church

There is a church on the opposite end of town from my church that has impressed me.  Of what I know of their history and their ministries and their vision, this church has been doing what churches should be doing.

Yesterday, it came out that the pastor was asked to resign because of extra-marital affairs.  We can all imagine what this means for the families involved and the church as a whole.  However, as I've read and watched the way the staff and board have initially responded to this crisis I'm impressed.  None of us can control the decisions of others, but we can control our own decisions and reactions.

I've seen plenty of cases where churches over-reacted and many churches in a similar situation that under-reacted by minimizing the sin.  If you're interested in learning from some brothers and sisters who are in the middle of a spiritual challenge you'll appreciate the sermon given by one of Mission Church's associate pastors.

http://www.mission68.org/mission-blog/statement-regarding-the-lead-pastor-resignation/

Say Hi to 2014 & Legalized Pot

Welcome to 2014!  This year I will be focusing a lot of study and writing on the topic of strengthening the home.  It's apparent that the currents in our country continue to shift, now more than ever, moving forcefully against parents and churches trying to raise healthy and Godly children.  To that point, what a wonderful thing to see one of the New Year's big news headlines being that Colorado has legalized pot.  Here's some excerpts from an article from the Journal of the American Medical Assoc. about the dangers of pot ingestion by children.

Dr. Levy reports that nationwide rates of adolescent marijuana use are climbing rapidly.  “The skyrocketing rates of adolescent marijuana use indicate that we are losing an important public health battle and we have a lot of work to do if we want to reverse these trends. 

“The legalization of recreational marijuana, especially the solid and liquid-infused forms permitted in Washington, will provide children greater access to cookies, candies, brownies, and beverages that contain marijuana,” write William Hurley, M.D., from the University of Washington and Washington Poison Center and Suzan Mazor, M.D., from Seattle Children’s Hospital.

“Ingestion of marijuana results in the absorption of delta-9-tetrahydrocannibinol (THC) and stimulation of cannabinoid receptors in the central nervous system.  This produces stimulation with hallucinations and illusions followed by sedation,” the authors state.    The authors recommend additional training for emergency medicine, pediatric emergency medicine and primary care pediatric physicians to recognize and manage these toxic reactions.

http://media.jamanetwork.com/news-item/increase-in-unintentional-marijuana-ingestion-among-young-children-following-new-drug-laws-in-colorado/