Gratitude

Viktor Frankl, the eminent psychologist and founder of the so-called Third Viennese School of Psychotherapy (Logotherapy), provides a revealing example of what it means to express gratitude for wholeness and wellness. Frankl, who died in 1997 at the age of 91, was a prisoner in the concentration camps during World War II. Dr. Gordon Allport, in his preface to Frankl's significant work, Man's Search for Meaning,[1] says that  

"there he found himself stripped to a literally naked existence. His father, mother, brother and his wife died in the camps or were sent to the gas ovens, so that except for his sister, his entire family perished in these camps. How could he -- every possession lost, every value destroyed, suffering from hunger, cold and brutality, hourly expecting extermination -- how could he find life worth preserving? A psychiatrist who personally has faced such extremity is a psychiatrist worth listening to" (7). 

Frankl answers Allport's question when he recounts his experience immediately following his liberation from the camps:  

"One day, a few days after the liberation, I walked through the country, past flowering meadows, for miles and miles, toward the market town near the camp. Larks rose to the sky and I could hear their joyous song. There was no one to be seen for miles around; there was nothing but the wide earth and sky and the larks' jubilation and the freedom of space. I stopped, looked around and up to the sky -- and then I went down on my knees. At that moment there was very little I knew of myself or of the world -- I had but one sentence in mind -- always the same: "I called to the Lord from my narrow prison and he answered me in the freedom of space."  "How long I knelt there and repeated this sentence, memory can no longer recall. But I know that on that day, in that hour, my new life started. Step for step I progressed until I again became a human being" (96). 

Frankl, released from arguably the most "leprous" episode in the history of humankind, could do nothing but kneel before his Creator in a posture of overwhelming gratitude. From that point of thanksgiving, he marked his renewal as a human being. Likewise, our wellness, our wholeness, our very healing and health, our becoming wholly human depend on our being able to celebrate and give thanks for the "freedom of space," for the liberation and cleansing God has brought to us, often mediated by influential people we love and the people who love us.

When Jesus touches and cleanses us, releasing us from the prisons of grease, grime and gossip, how does he do it? Through people. Through relationships which have changed us. Unfortunately, we often forget to go back and offer our gratitude to these God-inspired and enabled persons who have changed our lives.

Sue Bender, in her book Everyday Sacred,[2] describes how she began to develop an attitude of gratitude. It had, she says, something to do with an exploding turkey:   

Last month my husband Richard and I decided, at age 60 and 63, it was finally time to be grown-up and responsible. Neither of us is practical about business or financial matters. We went to a lawyer and started the process of making a will and a living trust for our sons. 

"What would you like to do in case there's an 'exploding turkey?'" the lawyer asked.  "Exploding turkey?" I asked.

"What if the whole family was together at Thanksgiving and the turkey exploded?" he asked. "If the four of you were killed at that moment, who would you want to have your worldly goods?"  That turned out to be a terrific assignment. A chance to think about the people in our lives, a chance to be grateful and express our gratitude. I decided to create a new ritual. I would stop at the end of the day, even a particularly difficult day, and make a list: a gratitude list. Who or what do I have to be grateful for today? (110).   

I can imagine a preacher using the story in a sermon.

I can also imagine a writer making an invitation. It would go something like this. Take a blank sheet of paper. We are going to take a few minutes now to play the role of the Samaritan in Luke 17:11-19 by returning to the one person who has been a healing force and presence in our lives. Many of us will think of our parents. For the purpose of this exercise, let us assume that our parents have been there for us as the wonderful parents they are. Let us go beyond the parental influence to that of a friend, teacher or mentor. Please do three things: Write the name of this person on this paper. Then, jot down a brief paragraph summarizing this person's role in bringing cleansing and wholeness to your life and express your gratitude for him or her. Finally, covenant with me to contact this person during the week to share your thoughts. 

In fact, I think I am going to do that this week. I would invite you to give yourself some holy silence. Let the holy hush be part of this experience of gratitude.

Let us remember as well, that Jesus brought this person into your life at the right time. Do not forget to give thanks to him.

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[1] (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1984)

[2] (HarperSanFrancisco, 1995)

Seed-sized Faith

While attending Asbury Seminary in the late 1970s, I became re-acquainted with David Thompson. He had grown up in the same church from Austin, Minnesota in which I had accepted Christ and found my first grounding as a Christian. He was a professor of the Old Testament. One evening, I went to his home quite discouraged. Now, I do not remember details, but I was in particular discouraged with my discipleship. Some people had some wonderful, powerful experiences to which they could refer. I could not. Finally, as I was wrestling to get out what I was sensing, he said something like this. “George, you have made such awesome strides over the years. I remember when I first saw you in Austin, Minnesota at the church. You were such a shy and backward person. When I see you now, I am amazed at what God has done.” Then, he told me the shocker: “George, when I preach around the country about spiritual growth, you are one of my examples. I have one example of people who make a dramatic and emotional turn-around in their lives. I have another example of people who make steady, regular, steps of faith as their discipleship path. You are that example.”

I am thinking of this long-ago conversation because it still summarizes my approach to discipleship. Of course, I celebrate the major steps of faith that people can take. Nevertheless, right now, I want to celebrate the small steps people may take every day.

Luke 17:⁵ The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” ⁶ The Lord replied, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”

The disciples were thinking that they needed a large-sized faith. However, even the small faith, the size of a seed, can have major implications over the course of a life. If I could use the text as an analogy for a moment, you might hardly notice it from day to day. However, over the course of a life, you may well have told a mulberry tree to move from its place on land and go to the sea, and it obeyed.

In fact, I came across a little article that reminds us that each of has such power in the steps we take.

            Every time you take a step, you generate six to eight watts of energy. But then — poof! — it dissipates into the air. If only you could capture it.

            An architectural firm in London is now looking at ways to capture that energy on a large scale and turn it into electricity. For example, 34,000 people walk or dash through Victoria Station in one hour, rushing toward their trains. The firm’s director says, “If you harness that energy, you can actually generate a very useful power source.” According to Fast Company,[1] this architectural firm is working to develop vibration-harvesting sensors. They would implant these sensors in the structure of train stations, bridges, factories or any other building frequently traveled by commuters, vehicles or machinery. The devices could capture the rumblings of all this activity, turn them into electricity, and then store it in a battery.

            All of us need to make such steady changes to bringing us closer to the person God wants us to be. We might have some surprise at how that change takes place in most of us. We might need the gift of someone else seeing the changes and telling us what he or she sees.  

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[1]           (September 2006)

Regrets

When my sons wanted to treat me to a Father’s Day I would not forget, they took advantage of my love for the Beatles. They took me to the concert of Paul McCartney that was in Indianapolis in the summer of 2013. We discussed much about the band. They knew every song. They reminded me of Pete Best, the drummer for the group until, before the first recording, the producer said they needed to record with a different drummer. I read a little about him. He went into depression for a while. Something about his style was not quite loud enough. He did not socialize with John, Paul, or George very much.

I wonder if he had regrets, given the way things played out.

Ron Wayne was one of the founders of Apple, along with Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. He helped to steer the computer company in its early days, and had a hand in designing the famous Apple logo. Wayne owned 10 percent of the company, while Jobs and Wozniak each owned 45 percent. However, Wayne decided to hand back his stake, fearing that he would be liable for a portion of a $15,000 loan if the company went under.

Apple succeeded, of course, and if Wayne had held on to his stake, it would now be worth more than $37 billion.

Does he have any regrets?

Surprisingly, no. "I made my decision on the information I had at the time," he tells James Thomson of SmartCompany. "I've got my health, my family and integrity -- and that is the best fortune you could ask for."

Do you believe him? Thirty-seven BILLION dollars -- and NO regrets? Hmmm.

Regret. It usually occurs when something wrong happens which you cannot fix. Webster's Dictionary defines it as grief caused by the want or loss of something formerly possessed. Leigh Harris put it this way:

 

I believe regret goes even deeper than that. It is grief from the loss of something because you made a mistake. If you lose something, yet did everything right, you might feel anger, sadness or frustration, but you won't feel regret.[1]

 

The following lyrics appear in the song, "My Way," popularized by Frank Sinatra:

 

"Regrets, I've had a few/

But then again, too few to mention/

I did what I had to do and saw it through without exemption/

I planned each charted course, each careful step along the byway/

And more, much more than this, I did it my way."

 

Paul Anka wrote the lyrics, and many singers recorded the song, including Elvis, Tom Jones, Andy Williams and Anka himself.

Do you feel this way about any part of your life?

The popular move The Bucket List (2007) stars Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson. At one point, the two of them talk about the two questions to ask regarding your life. Are you happy? Have you made other people happy?

None of us is perfect, and we will all come to the end of life feeling that we have made mistakes along the way. There are choices we feel badly about, alongside opportunities we wish we had seized. However, what would it mean for us to die with no big regrets?

Yes, I have my regrets. Some are about mistakes I wish I had not made. Some regard a dream that I have not yet fulfilled.

One thing I am doing about my regrets is to put them into two categories. One involves the things I cannot change. These regrets I am simply turning over to God. A second category involves the things I can change. I commit myself to begin changing my patterns today so that I do not end my life with that regret hanging over me.

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[1] Leigh Harris, "How to deal with regret," Think Simple Now Website, thinksimplenow.com. Retrieved April 19, 2013.

Lesson on Commitment From Unusual Sources

Sometimes, I have been amazed the lengths to which people will go to get through life by dishonest means. One of the first times I remember thinking about this was when I was an associate pastor at Meridian Street UMC. We had a substantial amount of aid we could give to people who were in need. It was enough that people made appointments with me. We had certain rules, of course. Sometimes, it felt like we were  really helping a person or family over a rough spot. Too often, however, people had quite clever stories. After a few questions, I could tell that they had learned the ropes in Indianapolis of how to get money out of every organization they could. They were crafty. They had a certain type of ingenuity. I wondered how much time they spent on developing their story. I also wondered what would happen in their lives if they would direct all that ingenuity and creativity toward something productive and that met a need in the lives of others.

Yes, people can be creative, crafty, and ingenious, when it serves their purposes.

One of baseball’s great players  —  a contender in the home-run record sweepstakes, the Chicago Cubs’ Sammy Sosa  —  had hit over 500 career home runs when he broke his bat during a game on June 2, 2003. According to Sports Illustrated (June 10, 2003), the bat had been drilled out to make it lighter, and filled with cork to muffle the hollow sound when bat connected with ball.  Sosa called the incident a misunderstanding, claiming that he had “accidentally” grabbed a corked bat that he used during practice.

I am not sure if what Sammy said was true. I would have to trust some of my baseball friends on that one. However, it has the appearance of being crafty.

I hope this story brings a little smile.

A mathematician, an accountant and an economist apply for the same job. The job interviewer calls in the mathematician and asks, “What does two plus two equal?” The mathematician replies, “Four.” The interviewer asks, “Four exactly?” The mathematician looks at the interviewer incredulously and says, “Yes, four exactly.” Then the interviewer calls in the accountant and asks the same question: “What does two plus two equal?” The accountant says, “On average, four — give or take 10 percent — but on average, four.”

Then the interviewer calls in the economist and poses the same question: “What does two plus two equal?” The economist gets up, locks the door, closes the shade, sits down next to the interviewer, and says, “What do you want it to equal?”

            Here is another story to bring a smile.

Two accountants are in a bank when armed robbers burst in. While several of the robbers take the money from the tellers, others line up the customers, including the accountants, and proceed to take their wallets, watches, etc. While this is going on, the first accountant jams something into the second accountant’s hand. Without looking down, the second accountant whispers, “What is this?” The first accountant replies, “It’s that $50 I owe you.

I am not suggesting that Christians should admire what they did. However, I wonder if we who would like to make a difference in the world for good could learn something from such folks. They have made a decision regarding what was important to them. They have committed themselves fully to it. They are willing to spend much thought and energy toward doing what they are doing to get ahead.

What if we were willing to be every bit as decisive, crafty, ingenious, and focused as they are, but on doing what is right and good?

You might want to read Luke 16:1-13 as some background on this reflection.

Humility: Lessons from McGovern and Dole

A story of humility, honor, and respect from two politicians.

I begin with a personal reflection.

One is how time flies. In talking with a twenty-something, she had a vague idea of who Bob Dole and had never heard of George McGovern.

Two is how the political commitments in our lives can change. George McGovern was my first vote for President of the United States. I was attending Miltonvale Wesleyan College in Kansas at the time. I had a large picture of McGovern in my room. I liked his stance on the war. I liked his proposal to reform welfare. I was with him all the way, even when I knew that he would lose in a big way. Later, Bob Dole simply struck me as a decent man. Given some of the issues that Bill Clinton was having at the time, I thought Dole would be an upgrade from what we had. Frankly, I still do think that way. Of course, it was not to be.

In both cases, I backed the loser in the presidential election. Yet, I pause for a moment to reflect on these two men.

Luke 14:7-11 warns us of grabbing honor and respect for ourselves. Jesus warns us that the way things work in the world, we will find it better to approach it with humility.  "All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted" (Luke 14:11). Humility is an elusive virtue; one cannot manufacture it. If we become conscious of our humility, we are likely no longer humble. Yet, in 14:12-14, Jesus tells us to give honor and respect to all, and not just family and friends. If disciples of Jesus host a banquet, “invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.”

Let us return to the story of two defeated presidential candidates.

George McGovern died in 2012. He was a United States Senator whom many people will remember, if at all, as the Democrat who lost to Republican Richard Nixon in one of the most lopsided defeats in presidential history.

McGovern was no coward. In truth, he was a decorated bomber pilot in World War II, a man who served his country bravely and well. His staff urged him to talk more about his war experience, but like so many veterans, he was reluctant to do so. He described himself as the son of a Methodist minister. He was a "good old South Dakota boy" who went off to war. He was a man who had been "married to the same woman forever."

In short, he was humble.

Maybe that humility served him well, because at the end of his life he received the World Food Prize award along with Republican Senator Bob Dole. Writing in The Washington Post, Dole said,

"Our most important commonality -- the one that would unite us during and after our service on Capitol Hill -- was our shared desire to eliminate hunger in this country and around the world. As colleagues in the 1970s on the Senate Hunger and Human Needs Committee, we worked together to reform the Food Stamp Program, expand the domestic school lunch program and establish the Special Supplemental Program for Women, Infants, and Children."

Later, they worked together to strengthen global school feeding, nutrition and education programs. They jointly proposed a program to provide poor children with meals at schools in countries throughout Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe, one that both Presidents Clinton and Bush supported. That program has now succeeded in providing meals to 22 million children in 41 different countries.

George McGovern and Bob Dole. Democrat and Republican. Both fought in World War II. Both ran for president and lost. Nevertheless, they are not, in any sense, losers. Losers do not work together, quietly and effectively, to provide meals to 22 million hungry children.

We live in a partisan political climate. Even if these two men are politicians, their lives show the kind of humility that would put them in the Humility Hall of Fame. They also demonstrate the importance of extending to all persons the honor and respect they deserve as those made in the image of God.

Simplicity of Speech

Jesus said that our speech should be simple, plain, and honest speech. In Matthew 5:37, we read, “Let your word be "Yes, Yes' or "No, No'; anything more than this comes from the evil one.” Richard Foster[1] applies this notion by saying that we are to reject jargon and abstract speculation, whose purpose is to obscure and impress rather than to illuminate and inform. He points out that plain speech is so difficult because we are afraid of what other people will think. He thinks we need to listen to the divine center of our lives in order to have simplicity of speech.

One might think of “Silent Cal” as a master of simplicity. President Coolidge, well-loved in the 1920’s, had memorable sayings.

• No one ever listened himself out of a job.

• I’ve never been hurt by something I didn’t say.

• The business of America is business.

• If you don’t say anything, you won’t be called on to repeat it.

• If you see 10 troubles coming down the road, you can be sure that nine will run into the ditch before they reach you.

Is there wisdom in simplicity? Is there depth of thought in simplicity of words?

John C. Maxwell, author of a number of best-selling books on leadership, points out that William Henry Harrison delivered the longest presidential inaugural address in U.S. history. The speech, delivered during a cold rain, lasted two hours. Despite the frigid weather, President Harrison refused to wear an overcoat or top hat. He caught a cold that developed into pneumonia, from which he died a month later. Maxwell sees a leadership lesson in this: “It pays to simplify.”

In “Connectors Keep it Simple,” Maxwell identifies two myths about simplicity. First, he says,

“We often associate simplicity with a lack of depth or shortage of intelligence. Conversely, we ascribe intelligence to people who communicate using big words or hard-to-grasp concepts. Somehow, we assume that anyone speaking in a dense, academic style must be smart. The issues we face in life can be complex, with all sorts of intricacies. However, as leaders and communicators, our job is to bring clarity to a subject, reducing rather than adding to its complexity. ... Simplicity is a skill, and it’s a necessary one if you want to connect with people when you communicate.”

A second myth about simplicity, Maxwell says, is that “simplicity is easy.” He writes,

“To us, simplicity means taking shortcuts and denying the complex reality of life. However, in a society flooded with information, simplicity has never been more difficult to achieve. Nor has it ever been as important.”

“Perhaps nobody understands simplicity better than Apple Inc. The company put its computers back on the map by touting their user-friendly interfaces. Then Apple leapfrogged the competition by pioneering devices that simplified the way we access, store and share information. Despite his success in bringing about simplicity, Apple CEO Steve Jobs attests to the difficulty of doing so. If you read Apple’s first brochure, the headline was ‘Simplicity is the Ultimate Sophistication.’”

            His point is that if you want to communicate, “Keep it simple.” Do not try to dazzle people with the depth of your knowledge. Do not overpower them with information. Rather, offer clarity and simplicity.

            George Plasterer is working on this virtue of keeping his writing simple.

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[1] Celebration of Discipline, (New York: Harper & Row, 1978), 81.

Benghazi

One of the things that has interested me is the chronology of the night. Here is what I have learned.

Valerie Jarrett was the key decision-maker for the administration, the night of the Benghazi terrorist attack on 9/11/2012.

The chronology of the evening of 9/11 are as follows:

At approximately 5 PM Washington time, reports came in through secure-channels that Special Mission Benghazi was under attack. Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey summoned the President,and briefed him on the crisis, face to face.

Subsequent to that brief meeting, President Obama proceeded to the White House to dine in his living quarters.

After supper, Barack Obama had a telephone conference scheduled with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Senior Advisor to the President, Valerie Jarrett was present for that conference, which was held due to problems the President was having with the perception of him snubbing Netanyahu in previous, formal encounters.

The telephone call between Obama and Netanyahu carried on for a full two-hours, creating the appearance of respect between the two world leaders.

As that meeting drew to a close, Ms. Jarrett, who is also the Assistant to the President for Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs, went from the living quarters to the White House Situation Room, where the attack in Benghazi was being monitored by Dempsey, Panetta and other top-ranking officials.

Whether she was instructed by the President to go there, or if she went of her own volition,  is only known by the President and herself.

A critical question that needed to be answered, and the sole military-order that could have launched offensive-actions, neutralizing the Ansar al Sharia terrorists attacks on the Mission (the purpose of which is detailed here) and its subsequent attacks on the adjacent CIA Annex, was the issuance of “Cross Border Authority”, an order that can only be issued by the Commander in Chief, himself.

As was reported earlier by Conservative Report, Cross Border Authority was denied.

According to Chip Jones, writing on August 5, 2013, two revelations are deeply troubling:

First, it is reported that an Army Special Forces team was present with an AC-130U Spooky (also known as a Spectre Gunship) on the tarmac at the airport in Tripoli, Libya. The Spooky is a technologically sophisticated, tactical aircraft, operated by the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command.

It operates under the overall Special Operations Command stationed at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, which is reportedly in charge of all military special operations units, including: Army Special Forces, Navy SEALS, Rangers and certain Marine units, as well as the USAF AC-130Us, and “stealth Blackhawks,” used in the Bin Laden raid.

The AC-130U Spooky is equipped with weapons that sync with laser-designators, like those that Woods, Doherty and Ubben had on that lonely rooftop above the CIA Annex. The laser-designator was used to “paint” the mortar targets during the attack, subsequently claiming the lives of Woods and Doherty, and leaving Ubben without a leg. Had the AC-130U been on station, over the CIA Annex in Benghazi, moments before the mortar rounds were fired, instead of "awaiting further instructions," the entire outcome of the Benghazi fiasco would have been different.

Add to that, a team of Green Berets on the ground to secure and/or evacuate the Annex, and the outcome would have been two SEALS still alive, and a mess of dead terrorists.

The second, and most troubling aspect of the refusal to issue Cross Border Authority is, who issued the refusal. Rather than the President, the Commander In Chief, making critical decisions, granting or denying the authority to initiate offensive-actions in support of our valiant fighting men, the decision not to take action was made by a person, to whom the people did not elect, nor did the Congress have confirmation power over.

The military-order, not to initiate action, saving our men in Benghazi, was issued by the President's Advisor, Valerie Jarrett.

And this is a “phony” scandal?