Life lessons from Chuck part 2

Life Lessons from Chuck Part II for Lehi Rotary October 23rd,   2013

I.  Don’t waste your pain. Don’t deny it.  Learn from it. Medicating your pain with alcohol, drugs, etc... will only make it worse.  We don’t tend to make positive changes until we hurt enough. Time does not heal all wounds. Time only heals when issues are dealt with in constructive manner. Ignoring an issue never solves it. Some issues can’t be solved (i.e. there is no coming back from sexually abusing a child).  We can redeem the past, but not change it.

II. Don’t try to explain away (and thus minimize) the pain, suffering, and loss of others.
Job’s friends were helpful until they opened their mouths. Their wrong thinking:  “All suffering is punishment for sin. Job is suffering. Therefore, Job is a sinner.” Your presence, not your explanations, is what will bring comfort.  The Lord never condemns Job for sin. Ultimately, it was God’s presence which satisfied Job.  Bad thinking: if only I knew “why”, then.......

III. To respond well to a difficulty, don’t waste your time assigning blame; its needlessly stirs up negative emotions. It also needlessly wastes energy that could be used to address the problem.
An “out of the box solution” is not helpful if can’t be evaluated by the good judgment of others.

IV. There are unresolvable tensions in the world.  God’s sovereignty - Human responsibility.
Acts 2:23-24.   Christ’s death was part of God sovereign plan, but the people who crucified were fully responsible for what they chose to do. There are such things as genuine accidents.

V. There are other difficult issues in theology.  The Trinity. The Bible teaches it, I believe it, but I also don’t understand it.   Is God is Immanent (over all)  or is God Transcendent (through all and in all)? Answer:  God is both. When you loose the tensions clearly presented in the Bible, you get distortion. There is tension between grace and law. Law can be distorted with “If I do this, God owes me that.”  Grace can be distorted as a license to sin. An unresolvable issue is unresolvable.
VI. Cute does not last, but character does. [Liz Taylor in 1960 vs 2000].  Be around people who are going to encourage you to think about and do the right thing. (think Rotary 4 way test).  Being honest does not mean you have a license to be cruel. Most of life (including marriage) is a calculated risk, but it is worth it. Not making a decision is making a decision. Avoiding risk is still a risk.

VII. Wisdom does not come from the amount of knowledge a person has. Wisdom comes from skillfully using the knowledge you have to face the specific situation you are in. Wise choices improve the chances of success but does not guarantee it. In the Bible wisdom is the practical and successful application of God’s truth to life’s experiences.

VIII.  Don’t spend a lot of time comparing yourself with others. Its gets too depressing (for most of us anyway) and it is unproductive.  Be honest with yourself in life.  Strive for excellence, but remember that excellence is doing the best to “your ability.” Avoid woulda, coulda, shoulda.

IX. Hurried decisions tend to be poor decisions. If someone is pushing you to make a decision quickly, walk away more quickly. Putting off needed decisions tends to reduce your options. Seek the advice of people whose character and competency you trust.

X. Regarding finances, what you do with what you have is more important than how much you have.  Money is a tool, it is not an end.  Security does not come from money. Security comes from knowing God’s will and purpose for your life and seeking it. Very few people handle wealth skillfully that did not earn it (consider lottery winners and professional athletes).  We can know what a person truly values  by looking at where they place their time, talents, and treasure.