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Communication: Do You WiFi or Wee-Fee?

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3-golden-rules-for-team-communicationDo you pay a Wee-Fee for your WiFi, or do you hee-hee when some people say Wee-Fee?  Most people reading this blog know that WiFi  is the wireless networking technology that uses radio waves to provide wireless high-speed connection to the internet.

What you may not know is that about 7% of the people living in Arkansas pronounce WiFi as Wee-Fee; however, they are not alone.  In fact, there are several countries that have a significant number of people who opt for the Wee-Fee pronunciation of the word:

  • Spain 49.3%
  • France 46.1%
  • Hungary 41%
  • Belgium 34.4%
  • Netherlands 33.7%

The meaning of WiFi does not change if it is pronounced Wee-Fee, but in some situations a mispronounced word can lead to heated circumstances.

I clearly remember an unclearly spoken word that created a state of confusion.  I was 18, and was asleep on the top floor of an old Air Force barracks when a backwoods sergeant ran down the hall shouting, “Far! Far!”  I thought:  “Far?  How far am I supposed to go and in which direction?”

“Far” took on new meaning and significance when the smell of burning wood began to find its way into my room.  I realized the sergeant with the hick-accent had not been shouting “far,” but was yelling “FIRE!”

One of the basic rules of communication is found in the acronym KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid).  The Apostle Paul could be profoundly simple in the way he stated truth, and he kept it simple and clear in Romans 6:23:  “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

The wages of your sin cost God more than just a wee-fee, it cost Him the death of His son on the cross of Calvary.

Your WiFi might be what directs you to the internet, but it’s Jesus who connects you to Heaven.  Jesus said:  “I am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the Father except through me.”

 

 

Holiness and the Grace of God

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isa6-holiness-e1361342892229The subject that seems to be the focal point of many Christian authors is grace.  Walk down the aisles of Barnes and Noble and look at the titles on the book shelves, and what do you see?  They are lined with rows of books that outline and discuss the subject of grace.

Evidently, grace sells.  But at what expense?  Does this emphasis on grace debase our perception of the Holiness of God?  If we give too much attention to the grace of God, do we lessen our comprehension of His holiness?

Notice the admonition of the Psalmist, and his focus on the holiness of God:

  • Psalm 29:2: Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
  • Psalm 96:9: Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth.

Read the sixth chapter of Isaiah, and you will have a better understanding of the power of God’s holiness.  When Isaiah witnessed the glory of God, he saw the sinfulness of man—and he repented.

You diminish the beauty of His holiness and you cheapen His grace when you fail to give appropriate attention to your sin.  Grace is God’s righteous response to the unrighteousness of man.  To fully appreciate His grace, you cannot depreciate the magnitude of your sin.

When Paul wrote his first letter to Timothy, he gave a balanced assessment of grace and sin:

I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.  And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.  This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.

When you get to the place to where you can recognize the prevalence and power of sin, you are at at the point where you will begin to recognize this this truth:  “. . . the grace of our Lord is exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.”

The Characteristics of Contentment

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contentment1While watching the Kansas Jayhawks play basketball on Saturday, I became keenly aware of the intent and goal of each of the commercials on TV.  They were designed to arouse a sense of dissatisfaction and an incensed desire.

The pitch lines may have been a little different, but the message was the same:

  • You can’t be happy and fulfilled with the life you have—unless you buy our product.
  • You will never be whole and feel like you belong—unless you join our group or support our cause.

The more you believe the lies of the world, the more you will feel like somebody owes you some- thing. This breeds a sense of entitlement that can be the onset of resentment, and resentment and contentment cannot coexist.

This constant onslaught of “something must be bought” to find happiness and fulfillment or “the world owes you” is foreign to the thinking of the Apostle Paul:

Now godliness combined with contentment brings great profit.  For we have brought nothing into this world and so we cannot take a single thing out either.  But if we have food and shelter, we will be satisfied with that (I Timothy 6:6-8).

Notice the characteristics of contentment:

  • Godliness is enhanced by the presence of contentment
  • There is the realization that you were born with nothing and there is nothing in this world that you can take to heaven with you when you die
  • You are satisfied with the blessings God has given you and do not resent the manner in which He blesses others
  • The key to contentment is the content of your life, and Paul called this godliness

If want to hear the expression of contentment, take a moment to read Psalm 145.  In the first two verses of this Psalm you’ll find the words “praise” and “bless” repeated.  These are the words of contentment not resentment.

Here’s a thought to keep you thinking:   “Many people lose the small joys in the hope for the big happiness ( Pearl S. Buck).”

Inflection Points

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An inflection point can be defined as a moment of dramatic change, especially in the development of a company, industry, or market (American Heritage Dictionary).  Wall Street defines an inflection point as a point on a chart that marks the beginning of a significant move either up or down.

Due to the stress and strain of the moment,  inflection points can be hard to recognize in the present; and, they are more easily seen from the perspective of history.

A significant inflection point in the Old Testament involves the Hebrew nation and its long awaited and highly anticipated move into the Promised Land.  Instead of crossing into the land of milk and honey, they chose to hunker down in a dust-choking, water deprived wilderness.

The dramatic change in the life of this fledgling nation occurred when they listened to the report of 12 spies when they returned from a secretive mission.  The majority report was given by 10 spies:  There are giants in the land, and we look like grasshoppers in their sight.  The minority report was given by Joshua and Caleb, and they spoke of the vast resources of the Promised Land, and said, let’s claim the promise.

Their decision changed the course of history.  They acted on the minority report and instead of going up and forward, they went down and back.  As a result of believing the minimalist view, every one of the 12 spies died . . . everyone except 2 of them:  Joshua and Caleb lived and continued to play an influential role in birthing a new nation.

The older generation continued in their resistance and died in the wilderness, but Joshua and Caleb continued in their persistence.  Even though their bodies aged, their faith was renewed each morning as step by step they moved forward to possess the promise of God.

Looking back through the pages of Scripture, I see several inflection points:

  • When Andrew met Jesus, he found his brother Peter and took him to Jesus.  This inflection point led to dramatic changes in the lives of many people.
  • When David decided to leave the battle to his soldiers to peek into the private life of Bathsheba, he changed the course of many lives. Innocent people died and others suffered consequences that were not of their own making.
  • Paul’s sad epitaph in regard to Demas is haunting words:  Demas has forsaken me, loving the present world more than the one to come. What decision led to this dramatic change?

When faced with a crisis or a major decision, I encourage you to listen to the counsel of Solomon:  There is wisdom in a multitude of counselors.

When you meet an inflection point, ask yourself a couple of questions: [1]  What will Mother or Grandmother think of my behavior when they hear of this?  [2] What will happen when my actions make the front page of the newspaper and my picture is on the evening news?

What is the source of your strength and what principles of truth guide you when your life intersects with an inflection point?  I hope this is enough to keep you thinking.

A Change in Time

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I have never been a big fan of Daylight Savings Time.  I can move the clock on the wall forward an hour in the Spring and back an hour in the Fall, but my internal clock never changes.

Now that we have moved our clocks forward an hour, we have gained another hour of daylight.  While this is true, it has not changed the fact that Father Time is still at work.  In his methodical way, tick by tick, he gobbles up the minutes and hours of our life.

In moment of quiet contemplation, the Psalmist wrote about our timely relationship with God:  Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away. Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90).

Now that we have taken the time to change our clocks, does there also need to be a change in our time?   Time expenditures are a good indicator of the priorities in a person’s life.  When a  person numbers  his days, he can see the #1 priority in his life.

I hope this is enough to keep you thinking.