by Andrew Cromwell
If you’ve spent any time on social media sites recently, you know one of the most popular ways to write articles these days is to make them some kind of list. Whether it’s “Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Peanut Butter and Jelly” or “45 Uses for Egg Yolks that Will Change Your Life”, these articles somehow get us to click on them by promising us life-changing information. Here is my contribution to this oft-repeated genre in the hopes that you will not only “click” but that your life will in fact be changed for the better as you apply the information.
Proverbs is this incredible book of the Bible that contains incredible wisdom for daily living in bite sized pieces. In its pages you find keys for healthy relationships, an enduring love life (including a healthy sex life), and how to succeed in business among many other topics. In chapter three the author gives us six keys to having a long life filled with “peace and prosperity.” Everyone I know wants that kind of life!
Here’s how you get it:
1. Don’t forget the essentials! The very first key to living the good life is never forgetting the essentials. Just like oreos without milk, life without the right playbook just ain't right! The Bible is that instruction manual for life handed down to us from holy men and women that walked closely with God. It describes to us the way we should live and tells us what things will destroy us and what things will build us up. It’s not enough just to know about the Bible, or even to know the Bible, the key is to actually live differently. That is what not forgetting actually means. It doesn’t do any good to know that the oil in your car needs to be changed every 3,000 miles unless you actually do it!
2. Be kind and trustworthy to everyone. Do you want a good reputation? Would you like to be respected by others? In short, would you like people to like you? Stop being mean and stop making promises you don’t keep! Far too often we make the mistake of thinking the way to get respect is to demand it. Nope. The best way to get respect is to give it. Be the kind of person that people are attracted to -- and everyone is attracted to someone who is kind, considerate and does what they say they are going to do.
3. Stay away from bad stuff. We underestimate what clean living can do for the entire course of our lives. We all know how it works. First, we’re curious, then we dabble, then we become fascinated, then obsessed and before you know it we’re hooked and we can’t get away. We do our best to keep things separated so that the “bad stuff” doesn’t interfere with the “good stuff” but we can only keep the plates spinning for a little while before it all comes crashing down.
4. Give back to God. Every day we make choices of how to spend our money. We pay the mortgage or rent, we pay the credit card bill, we go out to dinner and the movies, and so much more. If we’re not careful, we find that every dime that we spend is on us and our family. There is something incredible that happens when we choose to give a part of what we earn to God. It requires us to prioritize and it reminds us that we are not first -- He is. Don’t underestimate the power in that practically, but it also does something spiritually as well because it opens the door for God to go to work in the area of our finances (and some of us really need that!).
5. Take it on the chin. Like any good parent, God too sometimes needs to set us straight. When my children start to behave in a way that is going to result in damage to themselves or someone else, I step in. They don’t generally like it, but it saves them from hurt. And on the rare occasions when they recognize that they have done wrong and they actually receive the correction instead of resisting it, they move from just being punished to actually learning something. When God corrects us, He does it because He loves us. Stop being mad at Him for trying to help you out!
Living by these five principles has the power to change your life. Check out Proverbs 3 for yourself and see the other incredible wisdom you can find.
Showing posts with label daily living. Show all posts
Showing posts with label daily living. Show all posts
Saturday, March 5, 2016
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Stop the Drama Already
by Andrew Cromwell
May 20, 2010
Have you noticed how much drama people create in their lives? I am convinced that some people find joy in the creation of chaos. They have lived in a state of continual drama and distress for so long that they do not know how to live without it. These people will tell you that they are tired of the drama and that they don't want it anymore. But when it comes down to it, they just keep doing the same old things that create the same old mess.
They say that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. If that is the case, then most of us are crazy! We keep doing the same thing—repeating the same unhealthy relationship patterns, spending habits and eating/dieting routines—and we think that somehow tomorrow is going to be different from today. And often, we walk around claiming we are the ones that have been victimized! Hello somebody!
We point the finger at other people ("they make me so mad and I say and do things that I shouldn't") and circumstances ("I had no choice, I was backed into a corner") but rarely do we stop long enough to realize that our life is perfectly created (by us) to get the results that we are experiencing.
It is possible to live life without all the drama. That doesn't mean that your life will never have drama, because you cannot control the people around you. Frankly, if we stopped trying to control the people around us we might experience a lot less drama in our lives. So while we cannot control what others do, we can control what we do and how we react.
If someone makes you so mad that you cannot control yourself, avoid them instead of seeking them out! If you always lose control when you go shopping, don't go shopping! If you can't seem to get off the roller coaster ride of emotional responses, then it is time to change something!
I am not suggesting that this is easy. Nor am I suggesting that just making a decision is enough to change everything in your life. But it all starts with a decision. A decision to get into an anger management class. A decision to stop reacting and begin to start acting. A decision to move in a healthy direction for your future.
Scripture says in James 3:18, Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness. If you are experiencing too much drama in your life, you may need to start creating peace rather than creating drama.
The pastors of Kings County can help you learn how to live your life without the drama. Why don't you do something different, get in church this weekend and start sowing some seeds of peace?
May 20, 2010
Have you noticed how much drama people create in their lives? I am convinced that some people find joy in the creation of chaos. They have lived in a state of continual drama and distress for so long that they do not know how to live without it. These people will tell you that they are tired of the drama and that they don't want it anymore. But when it comes down to it, they just keep doing the same old things that create the same old mess.
They say that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. If that is the case, then most of us are crazy! We keep doing the same thing—repeating the same unhealthy relationship patterns, spending habits and eating/dieting routines—and we think that somehow tomorrow is going to be different from today. And often, we walk around claiming we are the ones that have been victimized! Hello somebody!
We point the finger at other people ("they make me so mad and I say and do things that I shouldn't") and circumstances ("I had no choice, I was backed into a corner") but rarely do we stop long enough to realize that our life is perfectly created (by us) to get the results that we are experiencing.
It is possible to live life without all the drama. That doesn't mean that your life will never have drama, because you cannot control the people around you. Frankly, if we stopped trying to control the people around us we might experience a lot less drama in our lives. So while we cannot control what others do, we can control what we do and how we react.
If someone makes you so mad that you cannot control yourself, avoid them instead of seeking them out! If you always lose control when you go shopping, don't go shopping! If you can't seem to get off the roller coaster ride of emotional responses, then it is time to change something!
I am not suggesting that this is easy. Nor am I suggesting that just making a decision is enough to change everything in your life. But it all starts with a decision. A decision to get into an anger management class. A decision to stop reacting and begin to start acting. A decision to move in a healthy direction for your future.
Scripture says in James 3:18, Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness. If you are experiencing too much drama in your life, you may need to start creating peace rather than creating drama.
The pastors of Kings County can help you learn how to live your life without the drama. Why don't you do something different, get in church this weekend and start sowing some seeds of peace?
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