Trading in my Status Cards

I kindly reminded the front desk clerk as I checked in to the hotel: “Oh, and I’m a gold member.” Earlier in the day, I had walked up to the airline counter, hoping for a seat on an oversold earlier flight as 150 people pressed into the boarding area, and noted to the nice young woman, “Hi, I’m Greg. I’m Platinum...” All in hopes of getting a bit more attention, a better room, a better seat, just a little more legroom please, a bigger car! What about the Land Rover instead of the Chevy? I used to have to actually get out my pack of loyalty / status cards and flash them for hotel and airline and rental car agents. But now the glow of the computer screen already shows the agents that I must have used their company services a lot because they usually say thanks for my “loyalty” to them. “Thanks Mr. Leith for being a member since…..ugh, OH! Since 1983! My! Thank you Mr. Leith.”   Translated, that means I’m not home as much as most people, since it takes a lot of five A.M. wake up calls to gain all this status. This week I spoke with someone who had top tier status on three airlines. That’s about 300,000 miles…..he’s likely gone more than he’s home.

Well, I got to thinking as I was running my day through the filter of God’s words to me, written years ago when there was no airlines and no cars (they did have little country inns but they were so full that people could not get a room even if they were about to give birth the son of God or something like that!). OK, back to my reading in the ancient scriptures…

I was reading that this earth is not my home, that I should not feel like I’m settled here or that I’m anyone important. I was reminded that I am to be last, not first, and that an ancient religious leader named Paul said all his religious status was like rubbish and that all the things I will be measured on and that I should care about for my run here on earth had already been laid out by God. Things like giving stuff away, being excited about God, serving others, persevering through trials like getting a bad seat on an airplane (just kidding!), disciplining myself and obeying God’s rules and teaching others about God and his ways.

Clearly, status had nothing to do with any of the things God cares about. Turns out the plastic status cards will melt pretty fast in the fire God builds. The fire will likely be so hot you won’t even be able to see my name emblazed on the status card. That’s okay, because I’m working hard on making sure what’s left after the fire dies down is something worth it. Something about which God will be able to say, “Hey Greg, good job! You got close to 100 times what I gave you to watch over.” You see, when I get to heaven, I won’t have to flash a status card, my entry ticket is that I believed in the claims of Jesus Christ and I accepted them for my life. I exchanged my life for his death and God says that’s the only status he will find valuable at the literal end of the day.

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If you enjoyed this article about relying on your true status in Christ, you'll enjoy hearing from Greg at our live learning venue even more! We'll discuss this topic and much more. Join hundreds of leaders learning together how to operate their company well, all on a biblical platform at the Leadership Summit 2017 in Hilton Head, SC.

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What will your last words be?

What do you imagine your ‘last words’ might be if it turns out that folks can gather round and listen to you? Let’s listen in to some last words from some rather famous folks.

“I'm bored with it all.” (Before slipping into a coma. He died 9 days later.)  ~~ Winston Churchill

“How were the circus receipts in Madison Square Gardens?”  ~~ P. T. Barnum, Circus Promoter

“All my possessions for a moment of time.”  ~~ Queen Elizabeth I, Queen of England

“I’m looking for a loophole.” ~~ W. C. Fields

“Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” (Luke 23:46)  ~~ Jesus Christ

You may come to the end of your life’s journey with a large amount of wealth or you may be honored by your peers for your accomplishments. But what do you suppose it might all mean to you as you face your final breath? Maybe you’ll have time to plan out your last day like my friend Brenda Pue who died 588 days after her cancer diagnosis. Maybe you won’t have time to plan it out like my gardener Santiago Sanchez who was run over by a car on his way to the store one night.

Well here’s the good news. You’re reading this article now, so you’re very much alive and have some time to ponder this matter. Do you suppose that you might hold a stock portfolio to your chest and gain comfort by looking at the number of shares on the certificate? The house or houses that you own, the backyard renovation, the new carpet you agonized over choosing, or the shiny new car you bought with all the bells and whistles…none of which you’ll ever see again… how much will they mean then? Probably not much at all.

As you slip away from being a “dweller on the threshold” and pass across the threshold into the arms of God, your stuff will mean even less…actually it turns out your stuff will mean nothing at all unless it was used for kingdom purposes. Somehow God lights a holy match and it all burns up.

There was a man God spoke of in the Bible named Paul. He had it all, the social status, the recognition, the power even to throw his enemies into jail. He was respected by the existing religious authorities of his day, he was an ‘up and comer,’ “of the stock of Israel, a member of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee.” He said that all of those status symbols--the power, prestige, position--became “rubbish” to him when he met the God-man Jesus Christ.

What in the world would make him change his mind about things like that? Why would he give up the power and access to affluence? Paul believed that there are things that are even more important than power, position and prestige. He believed hook, line and sinker in eternal things. He knew that, “You CANNOT serve both God and money.”

How about you? We know what we admire most by looking at what we’re striving for or who we are trying to be most like. Turns out the “Joneses” next store might not be that happy after all! The United States, one of the most economically rich countries, comes in at #15 on the Global Happiness Scale. And Americans' level of happiness has been going down since 2005 despite the fact that the number of toys and stuff we have has gone up. OOPS! Turns out the GNP isn’t quite correlated to Joy.  

When Paul met Jesus Christ, he either gradually or immediately, stopped pursuing the status and values of this world. He began to pursue only those things that would advance the good news he found in Jesus Christ. To him life became, “forgetting those things that are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, [pressing] on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Jesus Christ.”

You and I have only so many assets to invest. You have the time God gave you today, the money you have been entrusted with as a steward on God’s behalf, the relationships you have and the package of gifts and talents that God gave you. These “life assets” are yours to use to impact the people in your sphere of influence. God calls you to invest your assets to further his purposes while we get to be alive on this spinning ball called earth.

Here’s a few famous last words from some folks who lived well and knew what life was ultimately about.

“I commend my soul into the hands of God my Creator, hoping and assuredly believing, through the only merits of Jesus Christ my Savior, to be made partaker of life everlasting.”  ~ William Shakespeare

“And the homeless children, Bramwell, look after the homeless. Promise me . . .” ~ General William Booth, Salvation Army (to his son)

“I see earth receding; heaven is opening. God is calling me.” ~ Evangelist D. L. Moody

Well what will your words be? Of course, we can’t begin to predict them but if you live this life anywhere close to right, and have the chance to whisper some closing breaths to those gathered round the bedside. Maybe the words might be along the lines of, “I’m ready to head home.” And then when you cross over to heaven, Jesus will welcome you with the applause of heaven and you’ll hear the words, “Well done!”

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If you enjoyed this article about leaving the right legacy, you'll enjoy our live learning venue even more! We'll discuss this topic and much more. Join hundreds of leaders learning together how to operate their company well, all on a biblical platform at the Leadership Summit 2017 in Hilton Head, SC.

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Love Is Not Overused

The urge for so many across the globe to act - marching, moralizing, lecturing, ranting, from right and left, claiming to be the most enlightened and righteous - gives me pause. How would I best serve, were I an elected official, in such an environment? Rather than feeling driven to the streets, compelled to make signs or to wear slogans on my t-shirts, I’ve felt driven to think, pray, develop perspective and account for myself.

My roles in life are many:

• Husband

• Father

• Grandfather

• Son

• Brother

• Business Owner

• Board Member

• Colleague

• Trainer

• Advisor

• Facilitator

• Congregational Member

• Neighbor

• Friend

• Citizen

• Property Owner

I also believe I am a child of God who so often disappoints and fails in these roles.

In some roles I lead; in others I follow. In some roles I am independent; in others, dependent. In still others, I am interdependent. In them all I view myself a steward, accountable to those who bestow on me these gifts, for those to whom these gifts will be given.

Where others choose polarities, I find it a struggle to take sides politically, culturally, organizationally, or religiously. I’m gifted, yea cursed, with almost instantaneous grasp of complexity, nuance, context, insight into my neighbor’s point of view, and ability to see multiple scenarios and approaches to an issue. It is a gift because it makes me a creative. It is a curse because so many people my life touches are angry that their simplicity, their calm, their assurance of being right, and their sense of keeping what belongs to them and theirs can feel threatened. They so easily focus on what grows fear in them and can no longer see sympathy, respect or understanding. It feels devastating to have people from left and right to revile you as an enemy because you refuse to shout their assurance that there is but one point of view: theirs.

In all these reflections, I’m left with four principles that have guided and continue to guide my life. They are not answers but they do create a process by which answers might be gained - at least until we need to work our way through the questions again. They are expressed as a hierarchy; that is, while I would want to honor all of them in all things at all times, forced choice, or a limited time frame, or lack of insight sometimes limits that possibility.

Faced with so many polarities, dilemmas and pitched cultural and political battles, and with seemingly more to come, I navigate according to:

1. that which is loving and just for those who are born.

2. that which is loving and just for those who are unborn.

3. that which is loving and just for those not yet conceived.

4. that which is loving and just for those who are no longer living.

Pick a polarizing issue or any political fight. Think about what you might be shouting yourself. Think about what others are shouting. How does your conviction and call for action satisfy these principles?

More than exposing flaws and limitations of positions people take, these principles invite deeper reflection and more clarity. They invite greater balance and far more awareness of and appreciation for others.

These principles do not fit well on a sign. They do not seem to contribute well to winning elections. They don’t attract television cameras. They wear well, however, as I relate to aging parents, try to offer wisdom to my children, seek to engage in sustaining enterprise, serve my neighbor, cast my vote, and kneel at the altar, where I’m reminded that the grace I receive fosters the grace I show—the legacy of how I lived in human community in all those roles I’ve been granted.

Do you have Joy?

This Week’s PROMISE: “God intends for you to experience His joy now and forever”” John 17:13 “Now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have My joy completed in them”

Have you made the choice to rejoice? Hopefully so. After all, if you’re a believer you have plenty of reasons to be joyful. Yet sometimes, amid the inevitable hustle and bustle of life here on earth, you may lose sight of your blessings as you wrestle with the challenges of everyday life.

Psalm 100 reminds us of that, as believers we have every reason to celebrate: “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness”

If you find yourself feeling discouraged or worse, it’s time to slow down and have a quiet conversation with your Creator. Christ offers you His peace and His joy. Accept it and share it freely!

Psalm 30:5 “Weeping may spend the night, but there is joy in the morning."

The Dangers of Refusing to Forgive Others

This Week’s Devotional PROMISE: Whenever we refuse to forgive others, we invite God’s displeasure Mark 11:25 “Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your wrongdoing”

Are you currently carrying a grudge against someone? If so, you know sometimes it’s very tough to forgive the people who have hurt you or someone very close to you. That’s too bad because life would be so much simpler if we could forgive people once and for all so we are done with it. However, forgiveness is seldom that easy. It’s a journey that requires effort, time, perseverance, and prayer. It’s not easy, but it is always the right thing to do.

When we forgive those who have hurt us, we honor God by obeying His commandments, but when we harbor resentment and bitterness against others, we disobey God with predictably unhappy results. If you have a person whom you haven’t forgiven, follow God’s commandment and His will for your life by forgiving that person today. Remember that bitterness, anger, and resentment are not part of God’s plan for your life. Forgiveness is.