Time Out for Truth

Most people are familiar with the “T” hand signal for “time out.”  It’s an important strategy in a coach’s playbook.

Like the “T” signal, you may also be acquainted with Pontius Pilate’s famous quote. He had asked a question and Jesus was answering. 

Just as Jesus was saying people on the side of truth listen to Him, Pilate cut Him off saying, “What is truth?” (John 18:33-38, NIV)

It’s not hard to see that truth in our day is fluid and irrelevant. Take fake news, for example, we don’t know who or what to believe. Yet some areas of truth seem so stable and unchangeable that we take them for granted.

In the marketplace, we expect a truthful 16 ounces in a pound, 4 full cups in a quart, and 12 eggs in a dozen. Then we expect the aisle price to print out truthfully at the register.

Since childhood I have known the truth of 2+2 = 4, a square always has 4 equal sides, and 4 sets of 4 anything will make a total of 16.

Why do we seem to reject truth on a more personal level? Do we really think it’s OK for someone to lie to us, or for us to lie to others? Is it really OK to cheat or fool people with half-truths?

Watch a carpenter use his level and he’ll make sure the “bubble of truth” falls right in the middle of the tiny glass window.

Where would we be if God had not included the stability of truth in His Creation? It’s that truth, or stability, that allows doctors and scientists to discover marvelous treatments for overcoming illness and disease.

He also gave commandments and guidelines to build stability and truth into relationships. We can choose to believe or not, but our unbelief does not change the “bubble of truth” on God’s level.    

When a coach calls “time out” he gives truthful advice to fit the occasion. Team members wisely follow it. Is truth any less important to our everyday lives?

Jesus’ truth is easily found in red-letter editions of the Bible. Short pithy truths are found in Psalms, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes. Why not call a daily “time out” and discover God’s baseline truths for yourself?

 

Don't Ignore Needed Elastic

Comfort wear often comes with elastic in certain places, especially at the waist. You’ll find it in comfort slacks, pajamas, sweat pants, and sports clothes in general.

Elastic is popular because it’s flexible. You can bend, stretch, and even gain weight without resistance. And if you lose weight, elastic will just return to its original size, no problem.

Did you know that elastic can be applied to temperament also? Thinking about the dictionary meaning in that way I come up with adjectives like buoyant, adaptable, resilient, and flexible. These qualities would definitely put elasticity into relationships.

Non-elastic people are rigid, harsh, stiff, and hard to be around. Sometimes it simply boils down to their self-centered attitudes.

Inflexible people totally disagree with Barbara Streisand’s “People who need people are the luckiest people in the world.” 

They prefer Frank Sinatra’s “I Did It My Way;” however, their version is “I’ll Do It My Way,” and you can like it or not.

It’s not easy to live in harmony with people. We’re all different and sometimes those differences bring strong feelings. Relationships falter due to misunderstandings of all kinds.

Wise people insert elastic into these situations with forgiveness or forbearance. Do you know the difference?

Forgiveness means you’re willing to give up resentment against someone. You willfully release your right to exact a penalty for an offense.

Forbearance means you choose to keep yourself in check or tolerate something you know will happen. For example, a friend told me she was going to lunch with a friend who was late for everything. She said, “I know she’s that way, but I want her for a friend, so I choose to overlook her lateness.”

Elastic stretches in any direction. Matthew 6:12, The Lord’s Prayer is a great example. First, we stretch vertically . . . Father forgive me . . .  then we stretch horizontally, as I forgive those around me.

In your relationships, don’t ignore the need for elasticity. Misunderstandings might stretch it to the max, but forgiveness will bring it back to normal.   

  

Do Yourself a Favor

 

The Golden Rule says to do unto others as you would have them do unto you.  I like that idea, but there’s another rule that gets even more personal.

If you know “The Lord’s Prayer” you’re already aware of it - - - the give and take of forgiveness.

Whether you say debts or sins or trespasses the scriptural intent is the same (Matthew 6:5-13; Luke 11:1-4; (Matthew 6:14-15). If I want God to forgive me, I must forgive others.

We’re all familiar with “No Trespassing” signs. They mark personal boundaries. People understand if they cross the line, they do so at their own risk.

We have all had to deal with trespassers. The Amplified Bible explains trespasses as reckless and willful sins. To forgive means to let them go and give up resentment.

I’ve often heard Joyce Meyer teach about forgiveness. She was abused as a child and carried bitterness and resentment for many years. Then one day the Lord reminded her that by retaining bitterness and unforgiveness, she was only hurting herself. Her trespasser, unaware of her unforgiveness, was totally unaffected by it.

To be totally free, don’t keep score. Peter asked Jesus if we were to forgive our brother up to seven times? Jesus blew Peter away by upping the math to seventy times seven (Matthew 18:21-22 AMP).

You can’t say you love someone if you are unwilling to forgive. True love means not being self-seeking, touchy, resentful nor even paying attention to a suffered wrong (1 Corinthians 13:5 AMP).

Forgiveness is a choice, not a feeling. The enemy of our souls does not want us to walk in the freedom of forgiveness. He will say, “You haven’t forgiven so-and-so for (whatever).” 

When this happens, don’t give in. Just reinforce your original decision by saying, “I have forgiven them, God has forgiven me, and I’m moving on.”

Are you carrying feelings of resentment, bitterness, or anger toward some personal trespasser? If so, do yourself a favor. Prayerfully choose to forgive, then let it go.   

 

Sunshine and Shadows

This has been a day of constant change from sunshine to shadows. The weather prediction was just as flexible . . . rain or snow.

As I tried to study at my kitchen table, I was aware of the constant shift from sunshine to shadow to sunshine and back again. Around noon I thought sunshine had won, but later in the afternoon, rain clouds were the victors.

This weather pattern reminded me of a song my dad sang when I was a child. I can hear him now, strumming his guitar and singing *Back of the clouds the sun is always shining, after the storms, your skies will all be blue; God has prepared a rosy-tinted lining, back of the clouds it’s waiting to shine through.

When something blocks light rays, it creates a shadow. Children seem to enjoy man-made shadow plays. A light is shined behind a curtain and shapes block the light, creating shadows as a storyteller brings them to life.

We have no such control over nature’s shadow plays, but we each become our own storytellers by how we react to the shadowy events in our lives.

Faith in God is what enables me to endure. I choose to believe the sunshine of God’s love is waiting to shine beyond life’s shadows, and in His good time, it does.

Psalm 23:4 mentions the valley of the shadow of death. I experienced that with a Stage III cancer diagnosis along with Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC) in 2007. I kept my faith strong through prayer and daily Bible reading. In fact, many verses in The Book of Psalms became prayers to Almighty God.

Life’s shadows have many shapes. Some are created by limited finances or loss of a job, others by threat of divorce or sudden loss of a loved one due to illness or accident.

Are you in a shadow just now? 

Here’s a little prayer for sunshine, based on Psalm 33:22: May the sunshine of your unfailing love rest upon me, Lord, even as I put my hope in You and wait for this shadow to pass over.

*Back of the Clouds, Carolyn R. Freeman, Christian Service Songs, P. 178, Published by The Rodeheaver Co., Chicago, USA, 1939, Song Copyrighted by Rodeheaver, 1931.