Friendship That Brightens

Proverbs 27:17 (MSG) You use steel to sharpen steel, and one friend sharpens another.

• (CEV)  Just as iron sharpens iron, friends sharpen the minds of each other.


• (DARBY and KJV) Iron is sharpened by iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.


• Proverbs 27:19 Just as water mirrors your face, so your face mirrors your heart.


• Proverbs 27:6 Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.


• Proverbs 27:9 Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of one's friend springs from his earnest counsel.


• Proverbs 27:10 Do not forsake your friend and the friend of your father.

The celebrations of the Christmas season revolve around family and friends. Family you are born with:  friends you choose.  What then is this thing we call friendship? One pundit says that "friends are people who see through you and still like the view." A lot to be said for that point of view. Aristotle suggested that a friend was "A single soul in two bodies." Emerson commented, "A friend is a person with whom I may be sincere. Before him I may think aloud."

A very old rendering of this verse gives us an insight into the complex meaning of the Hebrew:  "as iron delights in iron, so a man rejoices the countenance of his friend." The various translations above demonstrate the richness of meaning in this simple verse.

The "sharpening" is a stimulating activity and there is meaning that is beyond simply helping a friend "think through" something:  there is this idea that a friend can "read" the body language and get right to the real issues - the heart issues - Real issues between real friends.

The sharpening of the mind suggests the concept of conversation as a way of not only building exemplary thought, but also "lightening the load" or the changing of the countenance of a friend. There is in this idiomatic Hebrew language the picture of a file achieving its purpose by making the piece of metal being filed bright as a result of the filing. The brightness will not be revealed until the file is applied, the sharpening begins and the sparks cleanse the metal. Friends are like that. Or they should be. But, there is even more here in this word picture.

This verse is not about superficiality. It is about "depth" as vs. 19 makes clear (see above). The countenance of a friend can be bright because the conversation has penetrated the heart of the other. Conversation promotes “intelligence” that the face exhibits. Real issues are discussed. The underlying question is: What's really going on in your heart?

Some of us are great at wearing masks: some not. The friend spoken of here removes the mask and helps his/her friend deal with the heart issue. This can happen because from a friend like this, no matter what is revealed behind the mask, a "friend loves at all times" (Pr 17:17). Friends work to sharpen the dull thinking, sharpen the lens used to look at the world, and, for Believers, sharpen ones understanding of the faithfulness of God.

Contrast the supposed friends of  Job who, wrapped in their conceit and did not look to God for answers for Job, but pontificated out of their ignorance and arrogance. As Christians,  we want to be friends who are first in tune with the Spirit so that we might provide just the right touch to the sharpening effects of our file. File marks leave patterns- and our patterns must be a balance mixture of grace and truth. That’s what Jesus called us to, and so, in confidence, in love, and in tune with the Spirit, each can offer the other advice the goes beyond solving a business problem, a personal problem, a living problem. We can offer advice that sometimes goes behind the problem and directly to the heart. That's what friends are for – speaking directly to the heart.

Do you have friends like this you can count on? Maybe a better question is: Are you a friend that will “brighten” your friends with the balanced mix of grace and truth?

Copyright (c) 2005 by P. Griffith Lindell     

Got a Light?

Proverbs 20: 5, 27 (AMP) 5Counsel in the heart of man is like water in a deep well, but a man of understanding draws it out.   27The spirit of man [that factor in human personality which proceeds immediately from God] is the lamp of the Lord, searching all his innermost parts.

In John Kotter's 1990 article What Leaders Really Do he observed that:  "Well-led businesses tend to recognize and reward people who successfully develop leaders." I would posit that developing leaders is not the result of "proud hearts" and "haughty eyes" (the NIV rendering of the first phrase). Developing and nurturing others to lead takes, at least, an attitude that they can have something to offer, too. The burning question is, "Why would anyone want to be led by you?" That question and "What business are you really in?” have fueled the longest, deepest and hardest discussions in my consulting career.

In fact, I discovered that Goffee and Jones had asked this very question in a ten-year study and the results published in the Sept-Oct 2000 HBR, Why Should Anyone Be Lead by You?. They discovered four "unexpected" traits of "inspirational" leaders and the first is that these kinds of leaders "reveal their weaknesses." Proud people would shun away from that kind of leading. Their only "light" for their path is themselves. No one else can do it better, think in through better or explain it better. It is all about them. As Coffee and Jones point out, people who try to communicate that "there will be no need for anyone to help them with anything...signal that they can do it themselves." That is not leading: preening, maybe. Leading no! Vision is needed. Sense of command is important. Passion. Strategic thinking vital. But as important as these traits are to leaders, they will fail to lead if they try to from a position of pride.

Moses led millions. He learned to better manage the process by his father-in-law who immediately saw a managerial flaw early in Moses' career as the leader. Moses listened, set up the system to manage the process. And Numbers 12:3 reminds us that "Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth." Leading from a position of humility works.

Christians should have a natural advantage as business leaders. After all, we have "put off the old" haven't we and now have "the mind of Christ" who is to be ruling in our lives, right? But humility is hard work - and for the driven and successful, very hard work. We are so used to solving problems on the fly, driving action, dynamic presentations, and on top of things, that it is very easy to forget that we are stewards of those gifts of leadership, and we are called to manage ALL that God has given us for His glory. Our flesh is not about humility, rather about what "lights us up!" And God calls this sin.

Lamps whose light source is self, is a dead light. It's a lamp that lights the path to destruction. On the other hand, we are told to "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." Matthew 5:16

It's all about His light. Not ours. Are you shining? Is it your feeble light or His strong light?

Copyright (c) 2005 by P. Griffith Lindell     

Impact of Leadership: Positive or Negative?

Proverbs 19:12 (NLT) The king's anger is like a lion's roar, but his favor is like dew on the grass.

Powerful CEOs expand the influence and authority of those around them by being careful of their personal impact on not only their senior staff, but also team as a whole. Any CEO, however, must be aware of the impact of his demeanor on those around him/her. In fact research has borne out the truth behind the verse above.

Work done by Porter, Lorsch and Nohria, reported in the October 2004 HBR found that seven surprises await the new CEO and Surprise Four is "You Are Always Sending A Message." A leader's anger may not be voiced particularly loudly, but it is heard like a "lion's roar." The leader's favor may be small, but it is experienced like "fresh dew on the grass." Everything is magnified.

I remember one CEO who would wear slacks with one of his Cutter Buck golf shirts to work the first week to see what his staff did. The second week, he would dress to the nines. The third week was usually sweater week - all this for the purpose of gauging impact on the staff. Would his staff wear what they thought appropriate? Would they immediately conform? Would they rebel? (This was the Silicon Valley days when dress codes really became varied).

One senior pastor of a mega church commented to me that he had to choose the type of car he drove very carefully because of the congregation's expectations. He refused to drive a Mercedes Benz, even though one of his members basically "gave" him the car to drive. He felt uncomfortable in his Lexus.

The leader, often subject to misinterpretation, must be aware of the complexities of how different groups within the organization will interpret the same facial expression. The same "news" from the lips of the CEO, perceived differently than from another staff member. The same strategy may be understood differently - and the larger the organization, often the greater degree of confusing signals. The presidential debates suffer from these phenomena also, where the President remains the President and sometimes cannot answer the way he would wish because of things he knows, talks he is having with foreign leaders and the signals he would send.

What’s the answer to the magnifying of the leaders words, facial expressions and actions? The research suggests striving for consistency in the message: a simple clear message. Repeating the message and illustrating with memorable stories. Sounds like our Lord Jesus who told stories to illustrate his message Do you have a process to stay on message; to hone the message; and, keep to a disciplined walk with the Lord? Each will help you be consistent in the non-verbal messages - those messages that reflect your internal "peace."  Knowing that a CEO's behavior is magnified beyond it original intended purpose takes Wisdom and the internationality to be Spirit-directed in all workplace interactions.

Easier said than done. I know. Even as a young manager, I caused myself many problems because I was not aware of the impact I was having in a small group. I did not operate from a base of humility (where I looked for other's needs before my own.) CEOs have a far, far greater responsibility and the solution begins with the humility to recognize the same Lord that allowed everyone to hear Peter's preaching at Pentecost in their own language must govern the impact CEO's might have on staff and the team. Since God can do that, He certainly can manage our interactions with people  - if we allow Him.

We are called to be "fresh dew" on the lives we impact. Nourishment to the thirsty. Hope for the hopeless. We cannot do that if we are roaring.

Copyright (c) 2005 by P. Griffith Lindell     

The Eight Ps of Planning

Proverbs 16:9,25,33 (NLT)     9 We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps.   25 There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.  33 We may throw the dice, but the LORD determines how they fall.

• Psalm 37:23 (NIV) If the LORD delights in a man's way, he makes his steps firm...


• Jer. 10:23( NIV) I know, O LORD, that a man's life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps

It was D.D. Eisenhower who said:  “In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.”  Planning. Indispensable. Sometimes, even after all the careful plans, one "throws the dice" to determine a decision since one course of action cannot be weighed effectively against another--the correct one cannot be determined. Mintzberg & Quinn have observed that the planning process plays a key role in strategy formation and a well-structured process will provide a framework for change management. Good planning is vital to an organization's health and growth.

One quote from their work strikes me as important in the context of the verses above:  "Strategy deals with the unknowable, not the uncertain." Business leaders work hard at looking at patterns, factors, trends, research, known and unknown needs - elements, among others that go into plans; but they do not know the future. God does. When success comes from great strategy formulation AND implementation, man often takes the credit - robbing God of his Holiness.

Self-propelled plans produce death. If it is about me or us (as a firm) and not about God, it is worth nothing. Eternity matters, now. Even with planning, nothing happens anywhere without God's involvement - either as a sovereign directed authority of sovereign permission, His sovereignty is so majestic that we don't understand how our freedom, even to commit sin, can be used by Him for His glory. Although He does not author sin, His purposes are so powerful that He allows man's rebellion to achieve His eternal paradigm.

The Christian business leader should use good planning and management techniques to control the business: but s/he does this with the absolute certainty that the LORD determines the outcome. Because God does that, this in no way excuses people from planning, thinking, strategizing. In fact, His Word has much to say about that strength of counselors when formulating plans. A new way of thinking might include this formula:  Plan. Pray. Practice. Perform. Pray. Ponder (what is God saying is this performance about Himself and about my role in His kingdom?) Pray. Perform. (The 8 Ps of Planning). There is a constant here: our Creator cares; His care continually calms our concerns when we practice prayer.

It is Jeremiah's assertion that strikes me as a life-changing realization. His life was by no means, from the Worlds' point of view, enviable. But he understood what God called him to do - and he did it, sometimes kicking and screaming, but always with the resolute understanding that God is sovereign and loving and caring and Holy.

Believers rest in the promise in Psalm 37 - we must first think about what we do as "Lord-delighting-plans" - and then marshal our people to plan - developing the discipline for our managers to look ahead and to be intentional about communicating goal progress, resource allocation and the impact of short-term plans on the vision and mission (the strategy) of the organization, remembering that strategy begins in the heart.

Planning is good. Praying is essential.

Copyright (c) 2005 by P. Griffith Lindell     

Sticks and Stones May Break the Bones, but Words Can Destory.

Proverbs 15:23 (NLT) Everyone enjoys a fitting reply; it is wonderful to say the right thing at the right time!

• Proverbs 12:14a (NIV) A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his words,

• Proverbs 24:14 (NIV) A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.

• See also Proverbs 16:21,23-24

The tongue is a dangerous muscle. Powerful. Words do hurt. Godly leaders are called to offer a distinction to the world by their words. Words that encourage and do not destroy. Insightful words. Communication that motivates and inspires followers. Words that correct without demeaning the hearer. Words appropriate to the occasion.

Saying the right thing at the right time is scripted in movies, but it is not in real life. The witting rejoinder, the pithy comment, the quick insight seem to travel so swiftly off the tongue of actors, that viewers are sometimes wishing they could be that quick. It is not real, for the Evil One even counterfeits God's way of appropriate speech - of attractive communication. Sure, non-Believers can, at times, exhibit gracious speech: but the truth emerges when life gets ugly.

How does a fitting reply, words aptly spoken become part and parcel of a Believers speech? I'm not thinking here of the witty rejoinder that flows out of a personality type. I'm thinking here about words that bear fruit. Good fruit.

Both Nehemiah and Joshua are examples of "apt" speech in trying situations. Nehemiah before the king; Joshua before the people he is now leading. In both stories, prayer preceded their proclamations. And interestingly enough, both were "afraid." But it was their relationship with God that made the difference. They communicated to Him first and then they were better able to communicate to the king (Nehemiah) and the people (Joshua). Nehemiah's words to those at Jerusalem were filled with the leader's language of intrinsic motivation. He chooses words that touched the heart that rang of truth and that were painted with the brush of authenticity.

Observation certainly supports the theory that extrinsic motivation (most generally the If...Then approach) does produce results; but that motivation proves to be prone to pandering to the flesh. Think about it:  the first source (The Evil One used this approach with Eve) in Scripture demonstrates both the power and the potential destructive nature of extrinsic motivation. There are times it must be used – but do so wisely.

Christian leaders must be different in this area of speaking to others - so different that the world would notice. Christian employees and employers must bring their heart to the workplace - a heart that is cleansed by the Holy Spirit:  a heart given over to God. The result will be "apt words" for the fruit of the Spirit would be borne in our speech.

In Ecclesiastes 10:12 Solomon observed, "Words from a wise man's mouth are gracious, but a fool is consumed by his own lips." Graduate school can well prepare the mind for leadership:  it is only God who can prepare the heart. We are warned that out of the mouth comes what the heart intends. Leadership is a heart thing. It begins there. It lives there. It ends there.

Christian business people, who make a difference in the marketplace, have dealt with the issues of the heart. Have you?


Copyright (c) 2005 by P. Griffith Lindell     

Seeking Love in All the Right Places

Proverbs 8:17 (MSG) I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me. [18Wealth and Glory accompany me--also substantial Honor and a Good Name. 19My benefits are worth more than a big salary, even a very big salary; the returns on me exceed any imaginable bonus.]

• (NIV) 17 I love everyone who loves me, and I will be found by all who honestly search


• Psalm 40:4 (NIV) Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.


• Psalm 40:16 (NIV) But may all who seek you [God] rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation always say, "The LORD be exalted!"


• Psalm 37:30-31 (NLV) The mouth of the man who is right with God speaks wisdom. And his tongue speaks what is fair and right. The Law of his God is in his heart. His steps do not leave it.

Although Wisdom is speaking, our eternal destiny begins in the heart, not the head. Driven from the beginning, not by us, but by God's love for us.

And we, we are to love, to seek.  The consequence will be that we will find in God Himself true love. Verses 18 and 19 are consequences of this verse - and not a goal.

Love is used twice in this verse and what I found interesting is that in the Latin and Greek translations of this passage, the first love is rendered as "agapao" love and the second as "phileo" love. The word "love" in Hebrew is the same word but in different voices. The first love is in the voice that drives the future - that love is on-going - in the hear-and-now and forever. The second "love," written as a participle, might be translated "lovely" and describes how we might look at God - thus the rendering of the Latin and Greek translations. God's love for us is without height, depth, or width - it is all encompassing.

All he wants from us is a love that drives action - not an observational love (I love sunsets when I happen to see them); it is a love that includes the willingness to always look for sunsets, putting myself in a position to see them and to manage my time to be available for them. It includes sacrifice of inconvenience (its foggy where I am so I'll drive to where it is just to see the sunset! - as an exaggerated metaphor). Psalm 40 cements this idea of obedience and trust. We who love the Lord do not look to the world (false gods) for our guidance.

This meaning of love is reinforced with the word "seek" -- a constant process of learning, study and prayer. It's not a casual glance at Scripture nor is it a quick prayer. It not the "seek" of hide-and-go-seek, where a well-hidden child could cause the other players to give up and play another game. This is the "seek" of an adventurer, a pioneer, an archeologist. It is seeking that results not in the seeker being praised but by the LORD being exalted. The more I learn and pray the greater the Wisdom - for it is found only in God.

When God is really found, everybody around you will know exactly what it is you have found - see Psalm 37. God will be exalted in our lives and our businesses. What we say (speaking Wisdom) and how we do what we do (law of God in heart) will reflect God in us - and not us.

Who do I (you) love? What am I (are you) seeking?


Copyright (c) 2005 by P. Griffith Lindell     

What Seduces You?

Proverbs 7: 1-4 (NLT) Follow my advice, my son; always treasure my commands. Obey them and live! Guard my teachings as your most precious possession. [as the apple of your eye.]  Tie them on your fingers as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart. Love wisdom like a sister; make insight a beloved member of your family.

• * Luke 10:27 (NIV) 27He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'[a] ; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'[b]"    [a. Deut. 6:5   b. Lev. 19:18]


• John 14: 15, 21, 23 (NIV) 15 - If you love me, you will obey what I command; 21 -Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him  23- Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.


• Rom 6:16 (MSG) You know well enough from your own experience that there are some acts of so-called freedom that destroy freedom. Offer yourselves to sin, for instance, and it's your last free act. But offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits. All your lives you've let sin tell you what to do.

Obey me; the father admonishes the son (the metaphor used in this book). And what follows in this Chapter 7 rings the clarion call to live a life of sexual purity for the hormone-driven young son. Important? Yes. Vital? Yes.  Is there more to it than just some esoteric guideline from God? Is this only some rigid rule to run your live? Yes.

The guidelines are not to be diminished but I'm seeing them in a greater context. There are other things that seduce any human, but especially the businessperson. In fact, anything that turns us from worshiping God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind falls into this category.

The list that is equivalent to a seductive woman is long. Troubling. The seduction of the small adjustment in Quarterly bookings. The seduction of the labels given to goods when Inventory Tax time arrives. The seduction of the "mutual back-scratch" that skirts the intent of accounting rules. The drug of power. The lure of prestige. There are many things each of us clings to that become the "seduction of the other." I know how I think and my prayer is: Search me Lord - expose those hidden areas that seduce me that I don't even consciously think about.

I am convicted of not living my life so that I have guarded God's Word as my "most precious possession." What this chapter is really pointing out is that "[t]hose that blame strict and careful walking as needless and too precise," fail to "consider...that the law is to be kept as the apple of the eye; indeed the law in the heart is the eye of the soul." Matthew Henry

The "seduction of the other" is always painted by the Evil One as a path to freedom- the freedom to think, to be, to run our own lives. Very much the opposite of freedom - very certainly slavery.

Lord, I want a heart that is soft toward You and Your Word: a heart that makes friendship with you a priority for living - a friendship that reflects communication that is deep, meaningful and is reflected in how I think and behave.

Copyright (c) 2005 by P. Griffith Lindell     

Leadership Shouldn't be Lonely

Proverbs 6: 23 (MSG) For sound advice is a beacon, good teaching is a light, and moral discipline is a life path.

• Psalm 19:8 (NIV) The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes.


• Psalm 119:105 (NIV) Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.


• 2 Peter 1: 19 (NIV) And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

Management is tasked with leading. Leaders light the path – let’s assume for this essay that leaders lead - not direct. They are "out front." The advice leaders give should be a beacon ahead - giving focus to the purpose of the organization and a reason to be on the path.  

This chapter in Proverbs is on living skills and in the section on warnings about sexual morality comes this gem about the qualities of a leader who provides sound advice, good teaching and moral discipline.  Christian leaders in management are really in the lighting business. Their model leader, Jesus Christ, is the “light of the world” and believers are called to be a light. However, sometimes, a leader's eyes get adjusted the amount of light around them so that it takes someone else to point out how dark it has become.

To keep from becoming complacent with the ambient “light,” three questions should be answered on a fairly regular basis:  Where are you getting your "sound advice?" Who is teaching you? Who is holding you accountable? The answers to those questions will help mark the complex path leaders must light for others to follow. Life is not simple, neither is leading. Complexities arise fraught with gray areas. Discerning truth and righteousness demands of leaders something beyond their natural skills. Business is in constant flux. Capital gets depleted. Priorities change. Boards demand progress. Individual contributors are often driven by self-centered motives painted in the texture and hue of team effort. No person is truly altruistic. Because managing is often lived out in the gray areas, or in ethnical dilemmas that are not easily parsed, it is imperative for Believers to have around them people who have a foundation in truth and light.

For some organizations, that advice can come for a Board. For most organizations, it must come from a group outside the Board.  John Donne reminds us that "no man is an island" and yet many in management, claiming it is lonely at the top, do not actively seek out interconnections that would help them be a consistent beacon. Moral Discipline is the backbone of an intentional process to make the Sunday stuff work on Monday. Its about both being and doing. Congruent. Being accountable for life path stuff.

Have you found a group who are bound together with a love for the Lord and a love for his people we are being called to serve the marketplace? There is strength that comes with varying business experience in a group committed to helping each other grow in the faith, and grow a profitable business.

Being known as a Christian business leader should have an impact on the lives around you. Impact is needed for the world of business today seems to value a paradigm of self-centeredness and greed. Prestige and power drive many in an organization.  Tolerance for sincerity of belief - even for beliefs that will destroy-is the dominant paradigm. Standing for God's truth is not about tolerance. It is about being a light. Light has a way of reveling. Christian leaders must distinguish right from wrong even in the face of what might be “legal” but not righteous in God’s eyes. Being aware of the ramifications of those little decisions about inventory, booking orders, managing staff that will have an eternal impact.

Society is focused on correctness, not truth. Standing for truth does not have to be lonely. You plus God make a great team. You, God and God's people are a cord of three that is not easily broken. Got your cord?

Copyright (c) 2004 by P. Griffith Lindell     

It's a Journey - Step by Step

Proverbs 5:21 (MSG) Mark well that GOD doesn't miss a move you make; he's aware of every step you take.

Proverbs 5 is about living a blameless life -the focus being on sexual purity. Important topic. Tough stuff; however, in all the admonitions of this chapter, it was Verse 21 that got me thinking this morning, especially since I was also reading in Mark10: 17 -29 about the Rich Young Man (who Jesus "loved") and was told to sell all and follow Him.

This Proverbs chapter also made me thinks of King David (When I read Chapter 5, I thought of me, too; but I also thought of David) who was a man after God's own heart because he loved Him wholeheartedly. And even when he fell, he returned "wholeheartedly" because he understood, better than I often, that everything must take second place to God so that He can put into proper order family, fields (business) and feelings  (heart) [my loose transliteration of the Mark passage]. So, when I am having issues in any of those areas, it's more about the "steps" that I am taking that would focus me on my stuff instead of Him.

And all this reminds me of what Richard Kriegbaum said in his book Leadership Prayers in the section on Integrity he points out that we are not business leaders every moment  (every step), but we are ourselves every moment. Imagine that. Every moment counts. And our lives are a much stronger message than our words. Integrity – being whole – means that we must be ourselves in all situations and God has called us to be holy – set apart for righteousness. Can’t do that on my own. It takes two. That’s why we have the Holy Spirit. Are you allowing the Spirit to work in you and for you? It does mean giving up what you want to and letting Him shape you into His image – one step at a time.

“Lord Jesus, may my life be reflective of the family you have adopted me into; I don't want to live it like a stepchild; I belong to your family and I don't want to make you ashamed to call me your brother.”

Hebrews 2: 11 "Jesus and the people he makes holy all belong to the same family. That is why he isn't ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters."


Copyright (c) 2005 by P. Griffith Lindell     

Relax. Take It Easy. Really?

Proverbs 1: 33 MSG  "First pay attention to me, and then relax. Now you can take it easy--you're in good hands

• Isaiah 32:17 (NIV) The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.


• Luke 8:15 (NIV) But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.


• Phil 4:6-7 (NLT) Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

So, you want to relax? Do a Goggle search on "relax" and your eyes will be opened to all the possibilities for learning how to relax. There's music. Quieting videos. Unique DVDs. Special cassettes. Spectacular CDs. You name it. Someone will sell you something to help you relax. Amazing the number of Internet sites devoted to just the concept of relaxing.

Chapter one of Proverbs says there is a simple method that will provide what you need to learn to relax. Doing life right. Right living - you know, be righteous. Practice righteousness. And this is something that you plant, nurture, grow and it produces fruit. And how is this done? Wisdom says (that is who is speaking in verse 33) listen to her. And this hearing demands of us the discipline to read and meditate on the words of Wisdom. Practicing righteousness is not a mystery - it is a discipline of being absorbed with God - hearing the Word, retaining it and preserving. The result. Living a relaxed life.

Being God-absorbed - seems like it should be very simple, doesn't it? But notice the beginning of that verse: "first pay attention to me..." It should not be, but that is the hard part. Just how do we listen to God? It certainly is not the way we normally "listen" to someone next to us, speaking. It is more like "hearing the voice" of a parent, or a close mentor, when you say something or are about to do something. But it's not just that, either. It is a process of reading, meditating, praying and being aware that God does speak to us in our thoughts, in images He brings to our mind, and in verses of scripture that suddenly arise in our thinking. Listening. It is a type of listening that becomes a conversation with God. A communication that is better experienced then described. The result is not more money, more power, and more prestige. It is relaxation. Taking it easy. Resting in the good hands that only God - not Allstate - provides.

The key as I see it is to (as Paul says) "live in Christ Jesus." The "absorbed with God" decision.  So absorbed that no matter if wars rage, if the economy falls flat, if sickness ravages the family or me, if the business falls apart, I can relax. I can live without anxiety. Easy words to write. Much harder to do. And the reason? I think it so much easier to be self-absorbed. It's my nature. I suspect that it might be yours, too.

Self-absorbed equals anxiety. God-absorbed equals relaxation. The choice should be clear.

Copyright (c) 2005 by P. Griffith Lindell