Monday Memo

by Steve May

John Ruskin said, “What we think or what we know or what we believe is, in the end, of little consequence. The only consequence is what we do.”

We’ll take issue with part of this statement, since we know that what we believe (i.e. our faith) is, in fact, of great consequence. We also know, however, that unless what we believe is expressed in what we do, our beliefs aren’t fully genuine. For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. (James 2:26)

So, nitpicking aside, let’s look at what Ruskin is saying. He’s saying that talking, planning, evaluating, analyzing, and theorizing won’t get us where we need to be. What we need to do, more than anything else, is take action. Al Batt said, It is easy to sit up and take notice. What is difficult is getting up and taking action.”

Along these same lines, Jack Canfield (The Chicken Soup for the Soul guy) said, “The world doesn’t pay for what you know; it pays you for what you do.”

Canfield goes on to say (in his book, The Success Principles): “When you take action, you trigger all kinds of things that will inevitably carry you to success…You begin to learn things from your experience that cannot be learned from listening to others or from reading books. You begin to get feedback about how to do it better, more efficiently, and more quickly… You begin to attract others who will support and encourage you. All manner of good things begin to flow in your direction once you begin to take action.”

What action have you been putting off too long?

The Tennessee Titans were supposed to be good this year. They finished last year 13-3. The between season changes in personnel were minimal. This was supposed to be their year. They’re 0-6 now, coming off their worst defeat in franchise history.

The Broncos were supposed to struggle this year. New head coach, new quarterback, mediocre performance in recent years. Expectations weren’t high; it was supposed to be a rebuilding year.

Though the NFL season is still young, and a lot can change in the next three months, these two teams remind us that predictions and expectations don’t mean that much. What really matters is how you perform today.

From time to time in his letters, Paul mentioned that there were those in the church who didn’t think much of his doctrine or his ministry. Some believers — preachers among them — took pleasure in Paul’s imprisonment. Paul’s attitude was, in effect, it doesn’t matter what they think, what they want, what they like, or what they expect. I’m not doing this for them.

Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:10)

We keep plugging away, day-after-day, in spite of success or in spite of failure, not because the world believes in us, but because we believe in Christ.

Earlier I wrote about following the example of Christ’s humility. Paul tells us that we should have the same mindset as Christ. He reminds us of how Christ let go of all that was rightfully his in order to become a servant and live a life of obedience — even to the point of death. The result is that God exalts Christ to the highest position in creation, to whom every knee will bow.

The process is the same — to an obviously lesser extent — for the followers of Christ. When we humble ourselves in imitation of Christ, God is able to exalt us in honor of Christ.

Jesus said, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:14)

I’ve heard this verse described this way: Your job is to humble yourself, God’s job is to exalt you. If you try to do his job, he’s forced to do your job.

God wants to bless us. He even wants to exalt us, according to Jesus. But he can’t and he won’t as long as we’re bent on exalting ourselves.

A friend once told me (only half-joking, I assume), “Steve, when people meet you, the first thing they don’t think is, ‘Wow, what a humble guy.’” That concerned me, and I began to wonder what I needed to do in order to convince others that I am sufficiently humble.

And then I realized what the Word actually says. Humble thyself in the sight of the Lord. (1 Peter 5:6)

The fact is that you don’t have to convince me that you’re humble, and I don’t have to convince you. We are to humble ourselves before God; he knows when we’re doing it right and he knows when we’re just playing a game. And when we’re doing it right, he stands ready to bless — exalt us, even — at the proper time.