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Category: Catalyst (Page 17 of 26)

A catalyst is one that sparks something. The catalyst speaks from experience and enables others to move forward more freely. These articles are written to act as a catalyst in your life.

The Great Resignation

November 30, 2021 / / 0 Comments
Blog: The myths around quitting your job — People Matters

It’s no secret and not a political statement whatsoever, but people are leaving jobs at alarming rates. They’re just not feeling satisfied or fulfilled in the current situation. Some are leaving because they believe a better thing is over the horizon, even though they do not have that better thing locked down yet. Whatever the reason, the departure of key people in an organization can take its toll pretty rapidly. But there are a few things leaders can do to take the pressure off of those who remain.

Don’t be a cry baby.

Ok so I’m not trying to be mean here but far too often we gripe and complain when things don’t go our way. We whine that someone hurt our feelings. We blame others for what in reality we played a significant role in making happen.

Look none of us picked to live or lead through a challenging time like 2020 and 2021, but honestly we don’t have a choice. I’ve been known to give a good suck it up buttercup line every once in a while, and I know it seems harsh and uncaring to say it. But in reality we were built for such a time as this. The longer we spend complaining about what’s not going right, the harder it will be to see the great opportunities right in front of us. Mourn the loss but do it while you’re moving forward.

Make a decision already!

I’m not a huge fan of waffling. I like to eat waffles but can’t stand waffling in decision making. I know some decisions are huge and require time to think, pray and gather insight from friends and family. But if you’re truly honest with yourself, the longer you wait the harder the decision becomes. Additionally, in most cases we already have our minds made up. We know what we’re going to do, we’re just afraid to actually pull the trigger.

I’m going to be totally honest here. Indecision and momentum rarely coexist. You can’t move forward if you can’t make a decision. If you’re not able to make that hard call, then surround yourself with people who can help you make wise decisions. If you just can’t bring yourself to do the hard thing you know needs done, then bring someone on board in your life who can nudge you gently in the direction you need to go. NOTE: this nudging, no matter how gentle will feel like they’re beating the crap out of you but they really are most likely being very gentle. Just start small and move in the direction. It’s far easier to make corrective action when you’re moving than when you’re sitting still.

Keep your chin up.

This summer my son left for basic training in the United States Army. Before he left, I told him to keep his chin up and his nose clean. The nose clean business is basically don’t do anything stupid and stay out of trouble. But the chin up was very intentional. One of the things that happens a lot in life is that we let situations around us bring us down. When my son left he was sad to leave home and everything he knew. He was scared and didn’t know what to expect. Chin up son. Keep focusing ahead on what’s coming.

Friend, I know life likely isn’t what you planned or expected or even hoped for just a couple short years ago. I know things come at you at lightning speed and catch you off guard. I know that you have to make decisions that you really don’t want to make. I also know very well that other people’s decisions will impact you whether you like it or not. But keep your chin up because brighter days are coming.

It’s been a theme in life for me the past 15 years or so that something will catch me off guard and I’ll stumble a bit. The longer I look at the problem the worse I feel. The longer I think of the thing or person that caused hurt, the bigger and all consuming that problem becomes and the more it impacts everything else. But sometimes you just have to chin up and see beyond the present moment. When we lift our chins we can see past our feet and over the hill to the horizon. It’s there that we find hope and future. Don’t get stuck gazing at your toes! They won’t tell you what’s coming.

Keep moving. Keep looking ahead. Keep taking one small step after another. It’ll be alright.

Do Not Run-away

November 3, 2021 / / 0 Comments

Well, it’s Wednesday and if you’re awake anywhere in the world, you undoubtedly know that life can sometimes be challenging. As a matter of fact the odds are pretty strong that you are having a bad day right now.

If you’re having a great day, then good for you! I pray it stays that way and that this might be helpful sometime down the road. If you’re in one of those rough slumps, then I want to encourage you to keep going.

There are a couple different natural reactions to challenge in life. We call them fight or flight typically. The one is to rise above and push hard to bull your way through a challenging ordeal. The other is probably more typical, and it involves walking away and never looking back.

While the fight or flight methods are generally applied across the board in a variety of scenarios, there is a stark reality that we rarely consider when it comes to running away from our struggles or from those situations that are hard for us. You can’t really run away. It just doesn’t work like that.

You cannot run away from your problems because you bring you with you wherever you go. Nine times out of ten, we play a significant role in the problem we’re trying to flee. And if we’re trying to get away from a problem that we’re part of, then it just won’t work. You can’t run away from yourself!

We love to push blame on other people when it comes to our problems. It’s always someone else’s fault. She said such and such. He wasn’t kind. But what if the issue is inside us? What if it’s not her words or his tone or their actions? What if the problem really is our predisposition to not be able to handle our own shortcomings?

I know it’s tempting to hit the road when challenges arise. I know that many feel this is the best way to handle things, but it really isn’t. It might get you away from the person you no longer want to be around. It might get you out of a situation that’s uncomfortable. But it won’t fix anything, because there’s a really good chance at least part of the ownership of the problem lies in you.

Take time to evaluate the real root of the problem. Take inventory of what role you played in the situation from which you’re trying to run. Pause to collect yourself. Then step back in with a cool head and honest heart. It’s the only way to make sure you don’t take the problem with you wherever you go.

A Culture Lusting To Be Offended

November 2, 2021 / / 0 Comments

It should be no secret that being offended is almost like a new drug in our culture. I don’t really understand it. I mean I get a nice cold beverage on a hot summer day. I can even see someone grabbing a scratch off ticket just out of curiosity if they might win a few dollars. But I’ve never understood some of the other addictions in the world. I know being addicted is an illness and it’s not something you can just get over on your own either. It takes work and help…lots of help.

But there’s a newish trend in our culture right now that has elevated a new addiction above some of the bigger more glamorous ones. It’s the addiction to being offended. I see this all the time. From friends to neighbors to family members, people just have a new desire to be upset.

Now when it comes to being offended there are two sides. There’s the one who is offended and the person who gave the offense. So who’s at fault? Something to remember that is challenging in the moment.

Just because you take offense does not mean it was given.

I know that sounds like an oxymoron but think about it. Have you ever had someone talk to you and you just got all bent out of shape because of some external circumstance that had little to nothing to do with the person who was talking to you? This is that very thing. When you’re offended here are some keys to dealing with that feeling of offense.

What do I know about the person?

One idea to consider when dealing with an offense is to evaluate the relationship you have with the individual or group of people. How well do you know them? Is the way you’re taking this event consistent with how they have treated you in the past? Could they be dealing with something of which you’re unaware?

What’s going on in my heart?

Another thing to consider is yourself. You see a lot of the time when we are offended we are struggling with something of our own and it’s just easier to emotionally throw up on someone else than deal with our own heart. So before you let someone’s words or actions cause you to say/do something you can’t take back, make sure you do a little introspection. What are you going through? What is eating at your heart? What emotion are you struggling with that you haven’t fully addressed?

Is what I heard actually what was said?

This is a hard one, probably the hardest one of all. It’s super easy to infuse our own thoughts and concerns and emotions into someone else’s communication with us. It’s super hard to objectively step back and offer an honest assessment of a situation at which we might be at fault. This is why I have made it a practice to follow most of my harder conversations by writing a verbatim, or as close as possible to a word for word account of what was said as I am able. Remove all emotion. I don’t write down tone of voice or body language just the words that were actually said as close to verbatim as I possibly can get. This has helped me numerous times diffuse my own offense addiction. When I can re-read what was actually said it forces me to remove my preconceived ideas and disconnect my emotion from the situation.

The long and short is simple. Just because you feel offended does NOT mean someone offended you. Perhaps their words were heard in a way that wasn’t what you had hoped to hear. Perhaps what you heard wasn’t actually said. Or perhaps there’s more to the story that you can’t see because you’re just too close. No matter. If an offense is made either by someone else or by you, seek restoration quickly because the longer you go having been offended the more it will eventually effect your other relationships as well.

Beyond Grateful

November 1, 2021 / / 0 Comments

It’s November and that brings a month of Thanksgiving but it also brings to a close the month known in church circles as Pastor Appreciation Month. And you all are great! You’ve done so many wonderful things to make me feel, well appreciated.

You’ve given cards and gift cards and goodies galore! I loved the little hand written notes. The cookies were delicious! And I so look forward to using the gift cards. Thank you all so very much!

But there’s something that I value even more than these items of your appreciation. I value so very highly how you’ve dug in deep these past 18 months. When life got challenging and when things didn’t go the way you wanted them to go, you still stepped in and grabbed the situation and got involved. Thank you!

You found the areas where your passion, values and skills lined up with the mission of the church and you volunteered by taking on a new position. You saw things that needed done and just did them without asking. Thank you!

But even more than all of these things is your participation in worship. You didn’t give up. You didn’t let the distance cause division. You truly demonstrated what it meant to be a church member. A church member is much like a family member. We expect them to do more than eat the food and sit on the couch. We expect our children to clean up their dishes and keep their rooms clean. We have expectations of them participating in gatherings and getting involved. The bible talks about the assembly of God’s people like that of a family or a body. We all have a part to play. So thank you for participating in the family!

You have made life and ministry such a joy even in the midst of a fairly chaotic and challenging time. Knowing that your family has your back means the world! Knowing that even when you get things wrong, you have people who love and care for you enough to stand by your side to help you see the wrong and the right is pretty amazing!

So as we begin this month of thankfulness know that I am starting this month thankful for you and the way you’ve stood on your confession of faith. I’m thankful for your partnership in the gospel. I’m thankful for the way you are willing to stand in the gaps and do uncomfortable things so that the world might know the love of Jesus. You are amazing! Keep it up family! There is a lot to be thankful for and some pretty amazing opportunities and challenges already lined up for 2022!

Identity & Action

October 27, 2021 / / 0 Comments

There are two things that are at odds in most of our lives. Who we are and what we do. Sometimes we let what we do define who we are. But then what happens when we fail? The goal of this post is to help you see past what you do to the reality of who you are.

When we look at our lives it’s easy to get a tad discouraged. There is always someone who is better than us. There is always someone who is faster than us or more efficient than we are at a given task. It doesn’t take much effort to find the shortcomings in our lives, and if our identity is determined by our action then we are in trouble!

However, if we step back from our actions for a moment and realize that our identity is found outside of our accomplishments and failures we will have a better grasp on what is most important. So in short…

Who you are is not determined by what you do but what you do determines who you are. Share on X

When we get our identity and our actions out of order, we quickly lose focus of that which is most important. In the church world, we like to use the word covenant to describe who we are in relation to God. He made a covenant with us that doesn’t rely on what we do but on who he is and what he does for us. It’s all about our identity. It means that who we are is determined apart from what we do. It’s this reality that gives us the title Child of God. It’s this reality that invites us into a deeper relationship with him. God’s covenant with us draws us into a place where his love and care transform who we are regardless of our past.

So if the identity part is determined by God then the action piece of our lives should be determined by our understanding of identity. We call that kingdom. It means that God has invited us into a relationship with him and given us a place in his kingdom. When we have a place in a ruling kingdom, it means we have authority and power and responsibility. This is no different in our relationship with God. He not only calls us children, but also freely gives us all of the resources that are at his disposal. So if he loves us before we do anything then why do we have to do anything?

You see we live out our identity through actions because his love for us doesn’t want us to stay in an ok state. He wants more for us than to survive. He wants us to thrive! This is why he calls us victorious. He gave us the victory over the less than stellar moments in our lives. When our identity is grounded in God’s love for us, then our actions will look like that new identity.

I know, we all mess up. We all fail. We all do things we will one day regret. Those moments are not defining moments. Let the grace of Christ define you. And let this new identity determine how you live.

20/80 No More!

October 25, 2021 / / 1 Comment

It’s no secret that I’m a pastor. I serve in a medium sized church in a semi rural, becoming semi suburban part of central Ohio. Yeah I know that’s pretty vague but eh location really isn’t the point – the people are! I’ve done this whole ministry gig for going on 20 years now and there’s been a constant for me for my entire ministry career. It’s something referred to as the 20/80 rule. It says that 20% of the people do 80% of the work. And that normally holds true in churches to be sure, but also in other organizations and nonprofits as well. .

One of the things we’ve been called to do as pastors, and Christians for that matter, is to disciple people. Now discipleship is far more than just teaching someone the truths of Jesus. It’s about teaching those truths and leading them to obedience. You see, we’re called to raise people up and release them for ministry. We create programs where people get involved and learn and grow, but it’s so very hard to get many people to really connect beyond a Sunday morning worship time. But that has changed drastically in the past 12 months at this little miracle of a church in semi-rural central Ohio.

I really can’t put my finger on what happened or when it happened or why it happened but I can tell you that it happened!

As I look back on the past 7+ years of ministry life at Living Word, one thing has been evident – none of the good that’s happening is on me. I was able to step into a role where a very strong and very intentional Biblical foundation had been laid. My predecessor, Pastor Jim, took the utmost care to teach, lead and care for the people of this little church with everything he had. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it everyday til I die I am only as good as the great men upon whose shoulders I stand in ministry.

But I can’t just say “something happened” and leave it at that. There had to be a shift, a change or a strategy that has proven somewhat beneficial and led to this different approach to life inside this expression of the body of Christ. So here’s my feeble attempt at putting a finger on what precipitated this massive cultural shift.

Keep the main thing the main thing.

Again to Pastor Jim’s credit, the main thing was never in question. Neither he nor I are about the business of getting tangled in the weeds of politics, civic matters or worldly pursuits. Neither of us are/were perfect, so of course we slip but the focus – the thing that always matters and that we continue to come back to over and over again is the one thing that really matters – Jesus.

One thing that I firmly believe has led to this shift in participation and involvement is that we keep the goal clearly in front of people. We’re pressing in to what it means to be like Jesus. Our goal isn’t church growth or launching programs. Our goal is to help people see Jesus in the everyday moments of life and to walk with them along the path of being transformed into his image for the sake of others. And when we see it, we try to call it out or celebrate it (more on that one later).

A serious call to simple action

Another thing that has led to a greater involvement of those connected with Living Word is that we unapologetically keep the call to action in front of everyone. It’s taken a while for some to get it and we have to keep bringing it up from time to time but the call is serious. Without each of us living out the truths of Scripture, someone may never hear the goodness of God’s grace for them. The simple action part is essential as well. We’ve broken so many parts of ministry life into smaller chunks that are more manageable and don’t require lifelong commitments. It’s simple really. What can you do? What do you enjoy doing that can bring glory to God? How has God uniquely equipped you to fulfill the Great Commission? It’s really a matter of high exceptions, short term commitments, and helping people write their story of faith.

Celebrate Wins

If you do anything with a team of people you have to be sure to celebrate the victory of your team. Even if you just say thank you to those who went above and beyond to help pull off an event or a ministry program, just do something. Recognize the efforts of your team. The point is to build up momentum as you gather together for a common purpose.

Do NOT Lower the Bar

Finally the thing that I think really matters to the shift we’ve seen is to keep expectations high. We live in a society where we like to lower expectations to help people feel better about minimal accomplishments, but this is not the way of Jesus. So keep expectations high. Tell people what you want from them and for them. The point of being part of a church is to help, support, and provide for the group moving forward. Even the part of the worship service that recognizes new members joining a local church asks in part do you intend to support the work of the church with your time, talents and treasures? The idea is that church membership is like being part of a body. Each part needs to show up to do their part. No single part is not needed. No part is of lesser value. No part of the body or of the church can say they don’t need to pull their weight. Part of the secret that we’ve been able to tap into is that of continually seeking ways for all parts of the body to do something in the body. It’s part of our discipleship pathway to move worship attenders from observation to full on ownership of the mission of God in this place.

We’re all in it together so let’s join in to make the world recognize what and who the church is because without you it just won’t be the same!

You Can’t Control How They See It

October 14, 2021 / / 0 Comments

Communication is a tough business. You can craft your message. You can select your words. You can work on inflection and delivery. If it’s printed material, you diligently work on type face and word spacing and all the cool graphic things. But there is a time when certain things are out of your control.

Some people are just going to look for any chance to roast you over what you said or how you said it. There are people in all of our lives who play the role of the eternal antagonist. They want nothing more than to stir the pot. While others have circumstances in their lives that act like those machines at the eye doctor that filter how we see what’s clearly right in front of us. When scenario “A” happens it changes how we see life in comparison to scenario “B.” So the point here is to not over worry about someone’s interpretation of something you did not communicate in the first place.

Acknowledging that some things eventually will be outside of your ability to control however does not give you the excuse to not do your due diligence. While certain things are out of our control, much of the art of communication is very much in our control. It is the responsibility of the communicator to, well communicate effectively and efficiently and eloquently.

I recently was sent an image of a church’s graphic material. It took about half a second for me to see that someone didn’t do their homework very well. While the message communicated was very much right on, there was an unintended snag in their communication. Whoever hung the banners below didn’t understand a cultural nuance in our society. Now I will warn you that if you are easily offended, then you will likely take offense at the image. I am using it as an example that sometimes innocent communication, when lazily put in front of an audience, can speak an unintentional message.

The image is telling us that this church values friends, teaching and worship. But if you look at the way they are set side by side, you’ll notice that the letters at the top are W.T.F.

That abbreviation is not exactly what this church was going for I am very certain. But when we fail to thoroughly look at our message we run the risk of doing exactly what happened here. We can communicate a message that is completely inappropriate without even knowing it. For those of you who don’t know what the three letters mean, you’re probably way better off! Let’s just say it’s not a message most churches would like hanging over their entry doors.

So what do we do with this? Simple, slow down. Get a second set of eyes or ears on the message you’re bringing. Whether it’s in a church or a small business or in front of massive crowds or even just a group of family and friends – what you say and how you say it communicates a lot about the care you give to your message.

Communication is totally out of your hands once it’s been received by someone else, so take your time to make sure what you’re about to say is what you really want to say.

Change

October 5, 2021 / / 0 Comments
Change ahead sign

So we all like to have options. We like to be able to chart our own course and pave our own way as the saying goes. We love to be able to look to the life we’ve mounted for ourselves and decide what we want to do with the life we have to live.

We live in a time in which we like to create options when options aren’t necessary. I mean seriously, do you really need to recreate the wheel when the wheel is working just fine? I was talking to someone the other day about a change he was trying to make in his routine. I was struck by the fact that this individual didn’t even know why he was making the change. Change for change sake is not really a good idea.

The problem with changing things up when you don’t really have a good reason to change them is that change causes turmoil, brokenness and conflict. By nature we don’t like change, so bringing change to a situation that is charged with uncertainty will only make the uncertainty greater. It’s the old adage if it isn’t broke don’t fix it. How true is that statement?

Think about it, you don’t change the tire in your car just because you feel like it. You wait until the tread is worn thing or it goes flat. Change for change sake just makes life harder than it has to be.

But there is a time when change is needed. When the system isn’t working. When harm is being inflicted. When someone, including yourself, is in danger. When a better, more productive method is present. These are some of the times when change is not only warranted but even encouraged.

When it comes time to bring change into your life, make sure to go slowly. All too often when it comes to change, we either refuse to change and stay in a harmful situation, throw the baby out with the bathwater so to speak, or change something that isn’t the real problem.

Before you make decisions on what needs to change and what doesn’t remember the car analogy. You have to evaluate the real problem, assess the size of the problem, then fix the problem (keep in mind you may need to seek help to fix some problems).

Evaluate the problem.

If your car has one of those cool indicator lights on the dashboard, it might tell you that you need an oil change. When that little dummy light turns on, it’s saying hey dummy change oil. Sometimes we rush into our troubles and address the wrong problem. We feel like something isn’t right or see something that is just a little off so we run away from everything we know to be true. That’s like seeing a light turn on in the dashboard and thinking our car is going to blow so you trade it in for a new one when all it needed was an oil change. Don’t overreact to the dummy lights in your life. If you slow down you’ll see more clearly the problem they are indicating.

Assess the size of the problem

When we realize what the problem is then we can determine who can address the problem. Some problems we can easily manage, others we can’t. When we assess the size of the problem we honestly, truthfully seek to find the best possible outcome for the problem at hand. It is often helpful in this stage to invite someone you trust to come alongside you to ask you some questions to help clarify what you’re seeing. In the car situation above, this is looking at the owner’s manual to see what the little light means, calling a friend who’s a mechanic, or even taking it somewhere to have one of those cool code readers attached to help diagnose the problem. We don’t need to go changing oil in a car that has low tire pressure. Seeing the size of the problem will help you better understand how and who can fix it.

Fix the problem

When you’ve effectively evaluated the situation, determined the problem and its size and know who can fix it. You need to make the appointment or set the time aside in your schedule and just get the job done. I’ve seen many people, read the indicator light correctly, realize who can fix the problem, but then they don’t do anything with the problem. They let it just sit there and fester and grow and get out of hand. The longer the problem sits without being taken care of the bigger it gets and likely the more damage is done. Remember the car scenario…know what happens when you don’t change the oil as you’re supposed to? Maybe nothing today or tomorrow but if you go long enough you can tear apart an engine. The same is true of your problems. If we don’t fix the right problem, we’ll end up with a lot of expense and be no better off. Likewise if we know the problem and do nothing we’ll be living in the carnage of our laziness.

So change sucks sometimes but when we’re honest, methodical, and intentional about the situation we’ll end up with a well oiled machine called life that we can drive. (Yeah I know bad pun but I’m a dad so what can you expect.)

There you have it. Change is hard but the right change at the right time by the right person is essential.

Do we need a new HOW?

September 23, 2021 / / 0 Comments

It’s no secret that what we do is important, but equally important at times is how we approach those things we hold near and dear. We’ve probably all heard the old adage that says doing the same thing the same way expecting different results is insanity. Well I think that applies to a lot of different scenarios in life.

One thing I have learned from the last 18 months is that some people care more about how they do things than what they actually do! Now it’s no secret that I serve as a pastor of a central Ohio church, so admittedly my examples will be slanted in that direction. But I know from conversations with those outside the church leadership realm, that some of these correlation apply across cultural settings.

I think something interesting happened when the initial wave of closures and shuttering of activities started. Many churches and small businesses realized that they had relied on one method of doing things. Predominantly, churches had a singular method of distributing their content. Come to a centralized location. Receive what we give. Go home and live it out.

This worked for decades in North America and even in pockets around the world. But take away the church’s ability to meet together and the whole system goes out the window. I’m not saying we shouldn’t meet together! Actually I think meeting together is very beneficial, if not essential. But is it the only way?

From what I’ve seen and experienced it appears many churches in mainline Christianity have made the structure of how we do church more important than the gospel the church is to proclaim. In other words, doing church has become more important than being the church.

Think about the operational system of the church. Many churches are formed around the principle of gathering. If the church gathers it is functioning properly, then it will be gathering in a large assembly. But can the church operate without mass gatherings? What are some alternatives to the church assembling in one location?

Now before we get all early church critical here. The early church, according to the book of Acts, tells us that they gathered as an assembly and they gathering in homes. It wasn’t one or the other, but it was both. However it seems in our 21st Century church tradition we worship the idea of gathering more than letting the gathering fuel our worship.

Think about a restaurant or fast food joint for a minute. If you have only dine in seating, and you can’t gather to sit inside, how are you going to stay in business? This very problem caused many small businesses to shutter and eventually go out of business last year. It had similar effects to some churches who just couldn’t pivot fast enough to provide connecting points beyond the Sunday morning in person worship gathering.

What happens when the church can’t gather like we expect it to gather?

I think we need to start looking at how we can do and be the church in the midst of rolling black outs of meeting together. Analysts have said this is not the last shut down we’ll experience. And if we believe the teachings of the Bible to be true, we’ll see things getting harder and harder for the church as time goes on. So we need to value highly our gathering times, not neglecting to gather by any means. But we also need to find creative ways to gather, get the message out, stay in touch with one another. We need to develop deep relationships with those around us. We need to look out for one another and be proactive in establishing emergency response plans where we take care of those in our community.

There is no hard and fast, silver bullet approach to navigating crisis. There’s no perfect solution to a disruption but we can see clearly that putting all of our eggs in one basket of how we do what we do, didn’t work so well. Look at strategies for staying connected and even reaching beyond your current circle to those a little farther off who are in need of the good news you have to share.

The point is your methods aren’t bad. But perhaps we need to look at additional methods to bolster the overall impact of the message we have to give.

God’s View of Welfare

September 22, 2021 / / 0 Comments

The premise of welfare and the working of the welfare system can be some controversial topics at times. The intent here isn’t to belittle anyone in the welfare system. The intent is simply to provide some perspective on what seems to be a more biblical approach to what we call welfare.

I recently was reading the book of Ruth in the Bible. It’s the story of a woman, Naomi, who lost her husband and sons in a short span of time. She was left a widow with her two daughters-in-law as the only ones to care for her. Long story short there was no one to take care of them. One of the daughters-in-law left to go back home, so the story continues with Ruth taking care of Naomi.

Fast forward to chapter 2 and we see Ruth out in a field gathering left over grain off the ground. Enter God’s welfare system. The practice was simple actually, farmers would gather the grain but leave some in the field for the poor and widows and those needing help. They didn’t have a system where people got a handout. The system God designed in this time had work built into it. They had to work to get the food.

No hand outs, just hand ups.

It was a fantastic system, if you really think about it. It kept those needing a little help active. It taught responsibility and work ethic. It made the people an active part of the community. And it wasn’t morally degrading to anyone who was too embarrassed to receive a handout. They did an honest day’s work for an honest day’s wage. It was truly amazing! And better yet…it worked!

The issue faced in some parts of our country is that when we offer hand outs instead of hand ups we let people stay where they are. But when we offer a system designed to help people succeed and receive help at the same time, it’s a win – win for everyone!

When we think about helping those who are going through rough times, we have to understand that there is a time for handouts. But those times are not continual. If Ruth didn’t have to glean the fields for the leftover food, she wouldn’t have ever met her husband. When we sit back and rely on handouts and giveaway items, we run the risk of losing out on some massive opportunities for life!

How can you help give someone a hand up in your day to day life? If we would focus on empowering people to grow and succeed, we could quite possibly shatter any glass ceilings that exist in our culture for people of any and every life circumstance.

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