Ullage

I like words. I get a daily email of new words to learn. Many I know. A few I do not. Some are pretty out there and I would never have an occasion to utter them. Today's word was "ullage - the amount by which the contents fall short of filling a container, as a cask or bottle." I got to thinking.

 

Why do I seem to always worry about ullage? (Like that, I used it in a sentence. Mrs. Garling would be proud?!) Why, as a Jesus follower, do I insist on focusing on what's missing? Here is what I find when I check in with him.

 

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Luke 6:38 (NIV)

 

Jesus is giving Godly advice in this passage and the ones around it. Basically, ullage wasn't even in his plans. Maybe spill clean up needs a scripture but ullage does not. Ullage becomes an issue when I stop giving. I stop giving when I worry about scarcity. But God is a God of abundance. Okay, I'll hoard. I'll insure I have no ullage!

 Jesus told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.'  "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain.  And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry."'  "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' "This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God."  Luke 12:16-21 (NIV)

Darn!

The LORD said to Moses, "I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, 'At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.'"

 That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was.

   Moses said to them, "It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat. This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.'"

 The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. And when they measured it by the omer, the one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little. Everyone had gathered just as much as they needed.

 Then Moses said to them, "No one is to keep any of it until morning."

 However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them. Exodus 16:12-20 (NIV)

Yuck! Okay, I get it! Give! Hoarding and ullage are signs of a lack of faith and just plain do not work.

May you appreciate the Gifts of God today and may you give them freely. Know no ullage.

Failure

Is it just me or does failure haunt you forever while success fades instantly? Okay, maybe a little overstated but do you find at least a ring of truth to this? Why do we dwell on our failures? I think God frowns on this phenomenon.

 

For one, God tells us right off the bat in Genesis (before he forbids anything) that he creates. He creates out of nothing and he speaks things into existence. And, tah dah, you and I are made in God's image. While my speech can be deadly at times (I'm sorry, honest,) it is imperative I speak to assist God in the completion of Creation.  Much of the time, I can and do speak constructively and with God's touch (I check in with God regularly.) Nothing good happens if all possibility of failure is erased.

 

This brings me to #2. We have a God for those who fail. I like that (I don't encourage that, just like it.) Jesus' death and resurrection tell me that God forgives (and so should I.) Period.  And the Resurrection, if nothing else, tells me that God can do a lot with my garbage (not that God prefers it.)

 

So, today, thumb your nose (at least figuratively) at conventional thinking. Be bold enough to fail once you have checked in with God. I forgot what you did wrong. So did God. You are meant for great things today.

80/20

The Pareto (named after Vilfredo Pareto, an economist) principle states that often, 80% of the outcomes come from 20% of the causes. Roughly, 80% of crimes are committed by 20% of criminals - 20% of all patients use 80% of the health care resources.

Clergy often quote the 80/20 rule as, "20% of the people do 80% of the work" or "80% of the church income comes from 20% of the parishioners." While theories, both seem to apply in the realities of the churches I have served.

Question is, is this a good thing? Is this a Christian thing?

Does Christ call his followers (at least, those who claim church as home) to let 20% do the Mission and Ministry of the church while roughly 80% sit back and enjoy (critique) it? I am not talking about those who cannot contribute. All churches must reach and love those who cannot participate in a substantial way. I experienced a homebound paraplegic who made all the church phone calls for reminders and pastoral care and had a vibrant ministry.

Maybe 10-20% cannot contribute in any way. There are still quite a few who see church not as a lifestyle of discipleship but as simply (maybe) entertainment, relief, battery charger – some form of consumerism.

We have the one religion where God instructions us to consume him (Lord's Supper.) Is this what he meant?

Are you an 80%? A 20%? Something else? What do you think?

Dare to follow Christ today regardless of the cost.

Childlike

Seth Godin posted in his 11/5 blog…

Childlike makes a great scientist.

Childish produces tantrums.

Childlike brings fresh eyes to marketing opportunities.

Childish rarely shows up as promised.

Childlike is fearless and powerful and willing to fail.

Childish is annoying.

Childlike inquires with a pure heart.

Childish is merely ignored.

Substitute "disciple" for "scientist" and "ministry" for "marketing" and you have the Kingdom of Heaven.

Jesus said, An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. Then he said to them, "Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest." Luke 9:46-48 (NIV)

Also -  But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Luke 18:16 (NIV)

Ask yourself today, "Am I a childish member of the Church" or a "Childlike disciple of Christ?"  The difference is literally a matter of life and death.

Dreams

"I don't dream at night, I dream all day; I dream for a living."  Steven Spielberg

 

Do you dream all day? As a youth, this got me into trouble. As an adult, it is a lifeline. Dreamers expect more. Jesus expected a Kingdom to explode into our lives. Christian dreamers are not asleep; they are acutely awake to what God is up to.

 

"And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Joel 2:28 (The Day of the Lord)

 

Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. Proverbs 29:18 KJV

 

Dreams give hope. The Revelation of John – don't get bogged down in the middle – is such an example. Listen…

 

Then I saw "a new heaven and a new earth," for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ 'He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." Revelation 21:1-4

 

Do you see it? Value your dreams. Encourage your dreams. Give voice to your dreams. Expect more. Expect God.

Joy

Joy

 

Below is the entirety of a blog by Seth Godin called Organizing for joy. Read it and ask this. "Is my life organized for joy?" "Is my church organized for joy?"  Heck, is "joy" even in my vocabulary? Is should be. It is the lifestyle of a follower of Jesus.

 

I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. John 15:11

(Jesus' word for joy was Kara, which could also mean gladness.)

 

Traditional corporations, particularly large-scale service and manufacturing businesses, are organized for efficiency. Or consistency. But not joy.

 

McDonalds, Hertz, Dell and others crank it out. They show up. They lower costs. They use a stopwatch to measure output.

 

The problem with this mindset is that as you approach the asymptote of maximum efficiency, there's not a lot of room left for improvement. Making a Chicken McNugget for .00001 cents less isn't going to boost your profit a whole lot.

Worse, the nature of the work is inherently un-remarkable. If you fear special requests, if you staff with cogs, if you have to put it all in a manual, then the chances of amazing someone are really quite low.

 

These organizations have people who will try to patch problems over after the fact, instead of motivated people eager to delight on the spot.

 

The alternative, it seems, is to organize for joy. These are the companies that give their people the freedom (and yes, the expectation) that they will create, connect and surprise. These are the organizations that embrace someone who makes a difference, as opposed to searching for a clause in the employee handbook that was violated.

Anger

Business guru, Seth Godin, posted this on his blog.

 

Just because he's angry

... doesn't mean he's right.

... or even well-informed.

Something to think about when dealing with a customer, a leader or even a neighbor.

It's easy to assume that vivid emotions spring from the truth. I'm not so sure. They often come from fear and confusion and well-told stories.

 

God gets angry. It's in the Bible. The wrath thing. That's scary. God is angry with sin.

 

We are consumed by your anger and terrified by your indignation. Psalm 90:7

 

God manages his anger (I doubt he took a class for this.)

 

The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. Psalm 103:8

 

Letting our own anger run our life is dumb.

 

Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools. Ecclesiastes 7:9

 

God expects us to do something about our quick temper, leveled at another person (as opposed to sin, which we can hate.)

 

"In your anger do not sin" : Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, Ephesians 4:26

 

Our anger is often not righteous

 

because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. James 1:20

 

What makes you angry? Do you take your anger out on others? What are you angry about? Deep down? Talk it out in prayer and conversation with a trusted friend.