Well, its been a while. This thing has a way of creeping away from me...
It seems that for the last few days, maybe weeks, God has been beating me over the head with this idea of "Attention to Detail." In my job, I have been reminding my team that its the small stuff that makes-or-breaks our efficiency. Most people get the 'big' things right most or all of the time. Its when you drill down to the little things, the nit-picky things, the small items and not-so-important details, that we often pass or fail the test.
Ironically, those little details reveal far more about our attitudes and character than we wish to let on. People skip details for many reasons. They're apathetic and don't care. They're to busy with something else and their priorities are not in proper alignment. They don't have the right knowledge base to correctly do the little things. They're lazy or tired or bored and just want to be done with it.
In my line of work, those attitudes shine through. You come to value that employee that consistently takes the time and exerts the effort to get most (no one gets them all) of those details right. On the flip-side, it can be extremely frustrating when someone consistently does not do so, and again this usually stems from a character flaw or attitude problem.
I was recently reminded of the example of New York City. The new Mayor was the Honorable Rudy Juliani, who is now known to virtually everyone but at that time was not well known outside of New York. The City itself was a real mess, with a very serious crime issue - and a serious attitude problem. New Yorkers looked to their new mayor for his promised solution to clean up the mess. Would he double the homicide cops? Focus on Vice? Put more patrolmen on the beat?
Mayor Juliani surprised them. He did indeed send more cops into the streets with a directive: bust the petty crimes. Specifically, he went after jay-walkers. Liter bugs. People who urinated in public.
There was an outcry! He was wasting time on little things when there were big things to fix! How dare he?!?! But then, people began to notice something. The attitude started to shift. As the people in authority began to show that the little things meant something and started enforcing the small things, the common people's attitudes changed. It was suddenly important. It meant something. And things changed. People stayed inside the cross-walks. They began to obey traffic directions and crossling lights. They started using trash bins and public rest-rooms. The traffic snarls became less hectic. Cops found people had better attitudes in general.
And then, people started really resenting criminals. They started getting angry and outraged when crimes happened. And just as they had become willing to be involved in cleaning up the trash, they became willing to be involved in cleaning up the crime.
People started talking to cops, they started intervening on occasion to stop crimes by simply being there and witnessing, and they actively helped police find and put away real criminals with big crimes.
The big problems started to be solved, but only after the little things were put aright.
This rumination led me back to the words of Jesus: "He who is faithful in little will be faithful in much." and the correllary, "He who is unfaithful in little will be unfaithful in much."
Attention to detail. I'll bet you never really thought about it as a Teaching of Christ before, eh?
But there it is. And it strikes me that our lives are no different. Its the little things. So many times we get the big things right, and don't even try with the little things. But the little things are the things that reveal our attitude. Our heart is in the details.
And God, more than anything, desires our hearts.
So, pay attention to the details. Give God your heart. I fail miserably, but my prayer today and going forward is that, in the end, my attention - and heart - will be in the details as well.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
Theory vs Fact
Does anyone else feel like you're caught in a giant social experiment gone horribly wrong?
I'm not going to rant and rave or be to long-winded, but I wanted to make this observation: Socialism is a great theory. Unfortunately, it doesn't work.
Facts are pesky things. Do some research. The Plymouth colony experimented with Communism. Bradford, dismayed by the lack of progress and the looming starvation from a very poor harvest, noted that no one wanted to work to take care of his neighbors. So, they scrapped the plan and gave everyone a plot and made them responsible for their own welfare.
The next harvest they had this little thing we like to call Thanksgiving, because their farming paid off.
They learned a lesson: People don't work for others. Humans do not operate under the 'enlightened self-interest' that the Socialist / Marxist model requires. The only self-interest that motivates us is to work hard for ourselves, in a system that lets us keep the fruits of our labors.
Obama was asked point-blank during the campaign whether he was going to let people keep those fruits or take them away, and his response was that he felt it was "better for everyone if we spread the wealth around."
The problem with that is simple. If I can't keep what I work for, why work?
There is a Russian saying, from the days of Communism: "As long as they pretend to pay us, we will pretend to work." How far are we from that here?
And what are you and I going to do about it?
I'm not going to rant and rave or be to long-winded, but I wanted to make this observation: Socialism is a great theory. Unfortunately, it doesn't work.
Facts are pesky things. Do some research. The Plymouth colony experimented with Communism. Bradford, dismayed by the lack of progress and the looming starvation from a very poor harvest, noted that no one wanted to work to take care of his neighbors. So, they scrapped the plan and gave everyone a plot and made them responsible for their own welfare.
The next harvest they had this little thing we like to call Thanksgiving, because their farming paid off.
They learned a lesson: People don't work for others. Humans do not operate under the 'enlightened self-interest' that the Socialist / Marxist model requires. The only self-interest that motivates us is to work hard for ourselves, in a system that lets us keep the fruits of our labors.
Obama was asked point-blank during the campaign whether he was going to let people keep those fruits or take them away, and his response was that he felt it was "better for everyone if we spread the wealth around."
The problem with that is simple. If I can't keep what I work for, why work?
There is a Russian saying, from the days of Communism: "As long as they pretend to pay us, we will pretend to work." How far are we from that here?
And what are you and I going to do about it?
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Dishwashers are evil...
I have come to the conclusion that the dishwasher, while an ingenious and inventive time-saving device, is evil.
Yes, evil.
Why?
I'm so glad you asked! :)
A week or so ago my daughter gave up on ours. You see, it has a bad habit of taking the food and stuff that comes in on the plates and turning it into a fine grit which it deposits on the glasses and cups in the upper rack. Most of these are plastic cups used every day, and it has become common for Mother to go to the cabinet and toss several with grit in them back into the sink to be re-washed before finding a clean cup to use.
This tossing was usually accompanied by a call for the daughter to remove herself from her current work and repair to the kitchen where the task of scrubbing the now dried on and barnacle-like grit off of the offending cups.
Now, my daughter is a great daughter but she does not like scraping barnacles any more than you or I would, so this duty was not relished by any means. It had also led to a general dislike of doing dishes, as the only remedy was to rinse glasses thoroughly and if that didn't work to go ahead and scrub them out completely when the wash cycle was done. Since they generally came out dirtier than when they went in this led to grumbling and then one day to an idea: Why not just wash the things by hand to begin with?
So a wire dish rack was purchased and the hand-washing began. Almost immediately a couple of breakthrough discoveries were made. First, dishes washed immediately after use are far easier to clean. The second was that dishes washed and rinsed with hot water dry very quickly in open air when properly racked.
Suddenly dishes, while still not the favorite thing to do, aren't quite so bad...
Enter Dad. Dad, expecting a counter full of dirty dishes from the day and possibly the day before's culinary enterprise. Dad, who is no more a fan of doing dishes than anyone else, braced for the onslaught of dirty china. Dad...
...seeing clean counters and dishes washed, dried and put away in cabinets.
And so it has remained far more often than before.
Hence my conclusion: Dishwashers (the machines) are evil.
Yes, evil.
Why?
I'm so glad you asked! :)
A week or so ago my daughter gave up on ours. You see, it has a bad habit of taking the food and stuff that comes in on the plates and turning it into a fine grit which it deposits on the glasses and cups in the upper rack. Most of these are plastic cups used every day, and it has become common for Mother to go to the cabinet and toss several with grit in them back into the sink to be re-washed before finding a clean cup to use.
This tossing was usually accompanied by a call for the daughter to remove herself from her current work and repair to the kitchen where the task of scrubbing the now dried on and barnacle-like grit off of the offending cups.
Now, my daughter is a great daughter but she does not like scraping barnacles any more than you or I would, so this duty was not relished by any means. It had also led to a general dislike of doing dishes, as the only remedy was to rinse glasses thoroughly and if that didn't work to go ahead and scrub them out completely when the wash cycle was done. Since they generally came out dirtier than when they went in this led to grumbling and then one day to an idea: Why not just wash the things by hand to begin with?
So a wire dish rack was purchased and the hand-washing began. Almost immediately a couple of breakthrough discoveries were made. First, dishes washed immediately after use are far easier to clean. The second was that dishes washed and rinsed with hot water dry very quickly in open air when properly racked.
Suddenly dishes, while still not the favorite thing to do, aren't quite so bad...
Enter Dad. Dad, expecting a counter full of dirty dishes from the day and possibly the day before's culinary enterprise. Dad, who is no more a fan of doing dishes than anyone else, braced for the onslaught of dirty china. Dad...
...seeing clean counters and dishes washed, dried and put away in cabinets.
And so it has remained far more often than before.
Hence my conclusion: Dishwashers (the machines) are evil.
Monday, January 11, 2010
"Resolve to perform what you ought. Perform without fail what you resolve." --Benjamin Franklin
So, 11 days into 2010! How many of you have broken those resolutions? :-)
I see that hand. Thank you. Yes, I see that hand. Yes. Yes. Thank you. Yes, sir, you in the back...
Actually, its never to late to resolve to do the right thing. Whether its lose weight, clean the garage, spend time in the Word each day, or drink water instead of coffee those resolutions are never to late in coming.
One thing that is important to remember, though, is that we are imperfect humans. We sin, and we're essentially untrustworty and unreliable. So, what can we do? Paul lamented about it in Romans. "I do what I don't want to do, and I don't do what I want to do! ... Oh, wreched man that I am, who will save me from this body of death?"
If Paul struggled with it, then it seems a given that we must as well.
So, don't dispare! Pick yourself up. So you missed a day of walking. So you ate a bon-bon. God is gracious! He forgives! Repent of your sin, turn and return to your resolution! Performing the resolution isn't about 100% perfection, its about picking yourself back up and sticking to it after you fail! Figure out why you failed and plan to avoid that mistake again.
And whatever happens, keep going!
*heads off to practice what he's preaching*
So, 11 days into 2010! How many of you have broken those resolutions? :-)
I see that hand. Thank you. Yes, I see that hand. Yes. Yes. Thank you. Yes, sir, you in the back...
Actually, its never to late to resolve to do the right thing. Whether its lose weight, clean the garage, spend time in the Word each day, or drink water instead of coffee those resolutions are never to late in coming.
One thing that is important to remember, though, is that we are imperfect humans. We sin, and we're essentially untrustworty and unreliable. So, what can we do? Paul lamented about it in Romans. "I do what I don't want to do, and I don't do what I want to do! ... Oh, wreched man that I am, who will save me from this body of death?"
If Paul struggled with it, then it seems a given that we must as well.
So, don't dispare! Pick yourself up. So you missed a day of walking. So you ate a bon-bon. God is gracious! He forgives! Repent of your sin, turn and return to your resolution! Performing the resolution isn't about 100% perfection, its about picking yourself back up and sticking to it after you fail! Figure out why you failed and plan to avoid that mistake again.
And whatever happens, keep going!
*heads off to practice what he's preaching*
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
A word from our Founders...
Wisdom we should heed, I think...
"The multiplication of public offices, increase of expense beyond income, growth and entailment of a public debt, are indications soliciting the employment of the pruning knife." --Thomas Jefferson, letter to Spencer Roane, 1821
"The multiplication of public offices, increase of expense beyond income, growth and entailment of a public debt, are indications soliciting the employment of the pruning knife." --Thomas Jefferson, letter to Spencer Roane, 1821
Monday, January 4, 2010
Buried Treasure
I had the most unusual, random thought on my way home from work and it led me to something I wanted to share.
Have you seen the movie "Sweet Home Alabama."? Its a cute movie which, despite some inevitable Hollywood pollution does have a solid central theme - love is a choice. My wife and I saw it first when we lived in Georgia. We've also been to the re-enactment field where they filmed the Civil War re-enacters for the movie (its actually near Atlanta, GA) which was kind of a strange feeling. Creepy deja-vue...
ANYWAY, we've seen the movie several times, both before and since we moved here to Alabama. Then, just a couple of weeks ago, it was on TV again and we had it on while we worked in the bedroom, just kind of watching it but not really paying attention when suddenly a small detail jerked my attention up short.
The dog is named "Bryant".
The dog belongs to Jake Perry, the male lead and husband of Melanie "Felony" Smuter Perry, who goes by Melanie Carmichael in her reinvented life in New York City. Jake is apparently your stereotypical Southern Hick - Red-necked, pickup truck, beer in the fridge and worships Alabama Football. Bryant is a typical Southern bloodhound. Bryant is a fun character in the movie. He fetches a bone from the water by jumping in and apparently walking across the bottom (not swimming) to it.
At a tender moment in the movie, we also find out that the couple had another dog before Melanie left (after a tragic miscarriage) which died after she went away.
That first hound was named "Bear".
I have heard these names over and over, but when we were watching the movie the other day it hit me like a thunderbolt.
Bear
Bryant
Bear Bryant
D'OH!
How did I miss that? It was so obvious! Right there, and yet I missed it. I shouted it out. My wife stared (we are both transplants, and we have both learned who Bear Bryant was, of course!) and then we howled!
Wow.
But then the random thought march continued. If there were hidden treasures in something as pedestrian and ultimately valueless as a movie, how much more must there be hidden treasure in God's Word?
I have complained about reading passages over and over. I know others who have done so. But I believe with fervor now that there must be more there to find. Even in the most well-worn passage or verse God has hidden treasure for us.
All we have to do is be willing to dig for it.
Have you seen the movie "Sweet Home Alabama."? Its a cute movie which, despite some inevitable Hollywood pollution does have a solid central theme - love is a choice. My wife and I saw it first when we lived in Georgia. We've also been to the re-enactment field where they filmed the Civil War re-enacters for the movie (its actually near Atlanta, GA) which was kind of a strange feeling. Creepy deja-vue...
ANYWAY, we've seen the movie several times, both before and since we moved here to Alabama. Then, just a couple of weeks ago, it was on TV again and we had it on while we worked in the bedroom, just kind of watching it but not really paying attention when suddenly a small detail jerked my attention up short.
The dog is named "Bryant".
The dog belongs to Jake Perry, the male lead and husband of Melanie "Felony" Smuter Perry, who goes by Melanie Carmichael in her reinvented life in New York City. Jake is apparently your stereotypical Southern Hick - Red-necked, pickup truck, beer in the fridge and worships Alabama Football. Bryant is a typical Southern bloodhound. Bryant is a fun character in the movie. He fetches a bone from the water by jumping in and apparently walking across the bottom (not swimming) to it.
At a tender moment in the movie, we also find out that the couple had another dog before Melanie left (after a tragic miscarriage) which died after she went away.
That first hound was named "Bear".
I have heard these names over and over, but when we were watching the movie the other day it hit me like a thunderbolt.
Bear
Bryant
Bear Bryant
D'OH!
How did I miss that? It was so obvious! Right there, and yet I missed it. I shouted it out. My wife stared (we are both transplants, and we have both learned who Bear Bryant was, of course!) and then we howled!
Wow.
But then the random thought march continued. If there were hidden treasures in something as pedestrian and ultimately valueless as a movie, how much more must there be hidden treasure in God's Word?
I have complained about reading passages over and over. I know others who have done so. But I believe with fervor now that there must be more there to find. Even in the most well-worn passage or verse God has hidden treasure for us.
All we have to do is be willing to dig for it.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Adding Insult to Injury
As any of you who have ever read "American Rifleman", "American Hunter", or "1st Freedom", (all NRA publications) know they have a section called "Armed Citizen". This section recounts stories in a short format of citizens who have used their personal firearms to protect themselves and/or others from criminals.
As you may also know, some of these stories read like entries from "The Darwin Awards". Others are just humorous. Most, however, are simply encouraging and uplifting stories of people facing down criminals with courage and personal weapons.
On occasion, though, you have to feel sorry for the criminals...
*exert from "1st Freedom", Vol 10, number 6, pg 24*
"When a man armed with a gun allegedly kicked in Derrick Murray's back door and shouted that hew as a police officer, Murray wasn't buying it for a second. "[The suspect and his accomplices outside] were talking in street slang." Murray explained. Police say Murray quickly retrieved a semi-automatic rifle and shot the intruder, causing him to flee. But the story doesn't stop there. The intruder ran outside, where he was run over by his own getaway car. The panicked driver then backed up, running over him a second time. The suspect will face charges pending his release from the hospital. His two accomplices are being sought. (WFIE 14 News, Evansville, IN 3-16-09)
Now, with friends like that, who needs enemies?
As you may also know, some of these stories read like entries from "The Darwin Awards". Others are just humorous. Most, however, are simply encouraging and uplifting stories of people facing down criminals with courage and personal weapons.
On occasion, though, you have to feel sorry for the criminals...
*exert from "1st Freedom", Vol 10, number 6, pg 24*
"When a man armed with a gun allegedly kicked in Derrick Murray's back door and shouted that hew as a police officer, Murray wasn't buying it for a second. "[The suspect and his accomplices outside] were talking in street slang." Murray explained. Police say Murray quickly retrieved a semi-automatic rifle and shot the intruder, causing him to flee. But the story doesn't stop there. The intruder ran outside, where he was run over by his own getaway car. The panicked driver then backed up, running over him a second time. The suspect will face charges pending his release from the hospital. His two accomplices are being sought. (WFIE 14 News, Evansville, IN 3-16-09)
Now, with friends like that, who needs enemies?
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