The Monday Memo

About a decade ago I wrote a one minute message about a former University of Memphis football player named Ken Irvin. The original message was about how Ken blocked four punts in a game against Arkansas, a feat ignored by the local press…my point being that sometimes we don’t get the recognition we deserve.

Even though the guy being paid to write about the game that day overlooked Ken’s record-setting performance, there were others who took note. For one, an NFL scout working for the Buffalo Bills. He noticed Ken’s play, as did other key Buffalo personnel, and they began to follow his collegiate career. Irvin was eventually selected as the Bills’ fourth round pick in the 1995 draft. He went on to play 11 seasons in the NFL, retiring in 2005.

Ken’s story reminds us of the importance of right recognition. Getting overlooked by the local paper? Annoying, but no big deal in the grand scheme of things. Getting overlooked by representatives of the NFL? A big deal indeed for the man who wants to play professionally. Given the choice of who’s paying attention, most college players would prefer the NFL scout, hands down.

In your work, you need to seek the right recognition for your efforts. It’s not from those who can only offer praise and only inflate your pride. It’s from the One whom you’ve committed yourself to serve, to honor, to glorify. He’s the one whose attention you need, his is the only recognition that matters.

The good news is that he notices what you do, even when no one else does. The prophet Azariah counseled Asa, the king of Judah: “But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.” (2 Chronicles 15:7)

Paul echoed these words in his letter to the Galatians. “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9)

God is paying attention. He sees what you accomplish even when no one else does. And he will see to it that a harvest comes your way. Rather than playing for those in the stands, rather than performing to impress the press, seek to gain God’s approval in all you do.

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In seven seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Troy Polamalu has won two Super Bowls and played in five Pro Bowls.

With his success, Troy strives to maintain Christian character. In an interview with CBN, he said, “Pride is tough. You go to high school, and it’s pride, courage. It’s all these types of words that we use to motivate us. I don’t think there’s anywhere in the Scriptures where pride was ever a positive characteristic of anybody. That kind of egotism is a really tough struggle—especially in this business. … It’s a big struggle of mine.”

Polamalu goes on to say that it’s not the obvious things that are the hardest to deal with in his life. “The big things are the easiest to turn away from. It’s the accumulation of small things that are hard. People know adultery’s bad and murder’s bad. I’m not going to go out and sleep with the first girl I see. But when your eyes start wandering, and you become a little more jealous and envious, and these passions start rising up inside of you — that’s when it really becomes dangerous. Because the Devil doesn’t work that way. His strategy is always to be very subtle and continue to build on top of that evil seed that he planted.”

What keeps him rooted? Prayer. Polamalu says, “As your prayer life becomes more and more fine tuned, and your conscience becomes more and more fine tuned, you’re able to start plucking away at these things.”

My heart is not proud, O Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have stilled and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me. (Psalm 131:1-2)

Albert Einstein once said, “I know quite certainly that I myself have no special talent. Curiosity, obsession and dogged endurance, combined with self-criticism, have brought me my ideas.” He’s saying, basically, “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”

He may have understated his intelligence and talent, but he does so to make a point: For more than any other reason, he was successful because he was persistent.

I’m no Einstein, but I can also say that the success I have experienced can be attributed to this same principle. And I can say that my failures weren’t so much the result of a lack of talent or the lack of worthwhile goals; they were the result of quitting too soon.

Solomon said, “For though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again.” (Proverbs 24:16)

When I’m struggling with failure — spiritually, financially, or relationally — I have to remind myself several times a day that the difference between my being a wise man and a fool … the difference between my righteous and unrighteous … is determined by my willingness to get back up and try again.

Have you fallen down? Has it happened more than once? If you’re like me, maybe you sometimes want to throw in the towel. But remember this: if a dream is worth one good try, it’s worth a thousand.

Take another look at the goals God has given you. Then get up, and try again.

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Here’s a bulletin insert of this memo

Seth Godin says, “Persistence isn’t using the same tactics over and over. That’s just annoying. Persistence is having the same goal over and over.”

Not that it needs elaboration, but Seth is saying that persistence (and the success that persistence leads to) requires unwavering focus on the end result, not on the strategies we use for getting there.

Are you driven by goals or strategies?

When success is elusive, we’re sometimes tempted to dump the goal: “We just can’t reach young people; we just can’t build community in our congregation; we just can’t have an effective discipleship ministry.”

It’s usually not the goal that needs to be re-evaluated, it’s the methodology.

Once you’ve nailed down a goal, and you know that it’s worthwhile, don’t abandon it. Just change your approach when you need to. Goals, not strategies, require persistence.

“I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Jesus Christ, is calling us up to heaven.” (Philippians 3:14)

John Ortberg says…

When you buy your kid a Happy Meal, you’re not just buying fries, McNuggets, and a toy; you’re buying happiness. Their advertisements have convinced my children they have a little McDonald-shaped vacuum in their souls: “Our hearts are restless till they find their rest in a Happy Meal.”

The problem with the Happy Meal is that the happy wears off, and they need a new fix. No child discovers lasting happiness in just one: “Remember that Happy Meal? What great joy I found there!”

Happy Meals bring happiness only to McDonalds. You ever wonder why Ronald McDonald wears that grin? Twenty billion Happy Meals, that’s why. [Happy Meal Spirituality, Christianity Today, May 1993]

Ortberg finishes this idea by saying, “When you get older, you don’t get any smarter; your happy meals just get more expensive.”

What’s the last Happy Meal you bought for yourself? A car? Some clothes? A house? A spouse? How long did it last? No matter how hard we try, or how much we spend, as long as we live with a happy meal mentality, happiness will elude us.

Ortberg paraphrased a familiar quote by St. Augustine: “Our hearts are restless till they find rest in thee.” Or as David said it, “My soul finds rest in God alone…” (Psalm 62:1)

Take a moment today to think about your next Happy Meal. Instead of pursuing one more thing, one more possession, one more acquisition … instead of striving for bigger numbers or better money or more praise directed your way … spend a few minutes alone with the God who loves you, and let his presence in your life satisfy you.

Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. (Isaiah 55:2)

A 2003 survey by the Society of Human Resources found that that eight out of ten workers wanted to leave their jobs. And according to motivational coach Ed Foreman, more heart attacks happen on Monday between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. than at any other hour. No doubt every one of us knows what it’s like to wake up thinking, “Not another day. Not another week. Can I somehow get out of it?”

There’s a verse in Ecclesiastes that says, “So I saw that there is nothing better for people than to be happy in their work. That is why we are here!” (Ecclesiastes 3:21)

Here’s a key distinction: Solomon didn’t say, “There is nothing better for people than to have work that makes them happy.” The emphasis is on you being happy in your work, not on your work making you happy.

In my experience, some people get bored with great jobs, others approach the most mundane tasks with passion and enthusiasm. It’s not really about one’s job, it’s about one’s attitude in doing it.

Your job is what it is, and that won’t change. But you can take steps today to change the way you approach your work, steps that empower to find (in Solomon’s words) satisfaction in your toil.

Another baseball story. In fact, it’s another near-perfect game story.

On May 26, 1959, Pittsburgh Pirate pitcher Harvey Haddix accomplished something no one else in baseball has accomplished. He pitched 12 perfect innings in a game against the Milwaukee Braves. It was enough to set a record, but it wasn’t enough to get a win.

The score was tied at zero in the bottom of the 13th when the Braves’ leadoff hitter reached first on an error. Two batters later, Joe Adcock knocked in the winning run. The Braves took the game, 1-0. And Haddix took the loss.

The Pirates had men on base all afternoon — more than a dozen altogether — but they couldn’t manage to get any across homeplate. And so, with no help from the offense, Haddix’s brilliant record-setting performance wound up in the L side of the ledger.

Today many leaders are convinced if they themselves can maintain a certain level of brilliance, it will be enough to guarantee the success they’re looking for. While brilliance won’t exactly work against you, it will never take the place of teamwork. You’re not enough by yourself. Whatever it is you’re trying to do, you can’t do it alone. You need a team — a team of team players.

Solomon wrote, Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up… Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. (Ecclesiastes 4:10, 12)

I encourage you to remind those on your team today that you’re committed to doing your part, that you’ve got their back, and you’re thankful that they’ve got yours.

Are you a baseball fan?

If so, you already know about Armando Galarraga’s near perfect game. You know about the bad call: The throw beat the runner. Galarraga deserves to be recognized as the 21st player in 135 years to pitch to perfection. His accomplishment deserves to be memorialized in the Hall of Fame, as all perfect games are. But it won’t be, because his perfect game was taken away with a bad call on the last out.

Instead, Galarraga will be remembered for something greater: his response to the injustice. Did you see it? Umpire James Joyce called the runner safe, and Galarraga smiled.

We know how other players might have responded. We’ve seen entire teams collapse and championships lost in the aftermath of a bad call. [St. Louis Cardinals, 1985]

But Galarraga just smiled — albeit a sardonic “you’ve got to be kidding me” smile — and then he went back to the mound and got the last out. Even after the game, he refused to lash out at the umpire’s mistake.

ACKNOWLEDGING A BAD CALL
Blown calls are a fact of life. They come at us in different ways: The boss who gives credit to the wrong guy, the teenager who blames everyone else for their own insolence, the church member who finds fault in everything the pastor does. The result is that sometimes you get short-changed. You deserve credit, but credit doesn’t come your way, thanks to someone else’s bad judgment.

It’s happened to each of us before, and it will certainly happen again. In Galarraga, we see how to respond. You don’t lash out. You don’t lose your head. You smile and go back to work. You do your job with excellence, even when you have to deal with a little unfairness along the way.

Galarraga didn’t get the perfect game he deserved. But he did show fans everywhere how a sportsman plays the game.

It reminds me of how Paul praised the believers in Thessalonica for their example in the face of suffering…

And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia…your faith has become known everywhere. (1 Thessalonians 1:7-8)

Today, you’ll have a chance to show your corner of the world how a believer responds … to setbacks, to struggles, to criticism, to conflict, to disappointment, to injustice. You don’t lash out. You don’t lose your head. You smile and keep doing your job with excellence. Others will notice.

Run in such a way as to win the prize. (1 Corinthians 9:24)

I was in a production of My Fair Lady in high school. My role was small; I think I was credited as the third cockney on the left. But didn’t someone say somewhere that there are no small roles?

Regardless, our school was entered in a state-wide drama competition. First prize included the chance to perform in a professional playhouse. The judges were scheduled to come to the Saturday night performance, but for some reason they showed up on Thursday, the night of our dress rehearsal.

Shortly before the performance, our director explained the mixup to the cast and crew: “This is not just a run-through. Tonight counts. Give your best performance.”

This changed the atmosphere backstage. Getting everything right — every line, every cue, every entrance and exit — was now more important than ever. The judges were in the audience. This was no dress rehearsal. It was the real thing.

You know what? The life you’re living today is the real thing. Sometimes we live as if this is all a run-through, as if we’ll have another shot at it someday.

This is it. Life is now. There is no dress rehearsal. Today counts.

By the way, we won the competition that year.