Categories
wisdom

Wisdom Leads to Joy

Wisdom Leads to Joy

To be wise is to learn what is important and what won’t matter in a few years. It is to be able to discern between the foolishness of short-term pleasure and long-term satisfaction. Wisdom leads to joy while foolishness leads to heartache and regret.

“Joyful is the person who finds wisdom, the one who gains understanding.”

Proverbs 3:13 (NLT)

Someone may know how to manipulate and get their way in the short term. But what happens to the relationship with the duped victim? Another person may give in to a short-term addiction only to discover it ruins their life. None of us can predict the future. But wisdom can help us shape our future in ways that are predictable and tested through the ages.

Yesterday, I was listening to How Now Shall We Live? by Chuck Colson. In the book, he writes what the Founding Fathers had in mind when they wrote this phrase in the United States Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

United States Declaration of Independence

Colson’s assertion is that this opening phrase was never meant to be a license to hedonistic pleasure. John Stonestreet from the Colson Center also alludes to this and quotes Colson on a July 4, 2019, podcast. “Happiness” was not meant as an excuse to do whatever feels good. Instead, happiness comes from living a virtuous, wise life.

Wisdom causes us to pursue virtue. That pursuit leads to joy. My hope and prayer for everyone are that we take a long-term approach to life and pursue a wise life of virtue that leads to happiness and joy.

Categories
motivation

Finding Joy at Work

Finding Joy at Work

Yesterday was the third Sunday of Advent. This week’s Advent theme is joy. Now comes Monday! It is easy to think about joy when we are singing Christmas carols and contemplating the season that brings good news of great joy. But what about the rest of the week?

Yes, it is possible to find joy at work! A Harvard Business Review article, entitled Making Joy a Priority at Work, talks about why joy is an important part of the workplace. But often workplace culture gets in the way. We can be so focused on meeting sales goals, staying in our comfort zones, and resisting new ways of connecting, that we forget our emotions play a big part in success.

The writer goes on to say, “In any team environment, joy arises from a combination of harmony, impact, and, acknowledgment — all of which business leaders can engender in their organizations.” Yes, these are all qualities each of us would value and love to have in our workplaces.

Harmony

How we interact with each other brings harmony. When we are respectful, professional, and look out for each other, everyone benefits. If you ever had a child that has just started playing a musical instrument, you know how hard on the ears it is when they are just starting to play in a band. An elementary school band that hasn’t learned to play together in harmony can wreck a concert.

When we look out for our coworkers, are helpful, and destroy silos, we can work together in a harmony that brings an unbeatable competitive advantage.

Impact

Everyone wants to feel their part at work makes an impact. We want to know that what we do matters. We want to know that our idea has made a positive difference to the bottom line.

Harmony makes teams work. Impact comes both as team members and individuals. When we see that our part of the business is a valued part of the company’s success, it makes a big difference.

Acknowledgment

Everyone wants to feel acknowledged. We want to know that we are seen. If we feel we are just a number in a mindless bureaucracy, we tend to wonder if there is a point to it all. We may even make a little disharmony just to see if anyone notices. Perhaps, we stop seeing that we are making an impact.

Acknowledgment needs to come in a positive way. No one wants only to be acknowledged when they messed up. We forget that we tend to get the behavior that gets attention. If an employee only gets acknowledged for bad behavior, that is what the company will get more of.

Yes, it’s possible to have joy at work. As we get closer to Christmas, may we experience joy in our workplaces. May you receive some joy and be the giver of joy to those around you this week.

Categories
Christmas holiday

The Third Sunday of Advent is about Joy

Advent Candles

Joy has been something we’ve all sought the last two years. We’ve kept hoping the pandemic would be over soon, only to realize more challenges were on the way. Where is our Christmas joy?

Last night, I saw a battle under a Christmas tree. An adult got a remote-controlled toy at a Christmas party. The children were thrilled and the adult allowed them to try it out.

One preschool boy was having a blast but was a little rough with it. When he steered the toy into a wall, the adult knew this wasn’t going to end well. So he took the toy from the boy. The boy’s joy quickly turned into a grinchy pouting match. It looked a little like this cartoon:

Cartoon of an annoyed girl and a boy with a santa hat

I’ve had a few tips in the past that are easy to implement when you’re giving advice, but challenging when you are in the midst of pacifying a preschooler with a wounded ego, and dashed Christmas hopes.

How to teach your kids about Christmas Joy

Joy can be challenging when things aren’t going our way. But when our faith is based on a foundation much stronger than our circumstances, it is possible! As we light the third candle of Advent this Sunday morning, we can remember there is someone coming who brings glad tidings of great joy!

Categories
cartoon Christmas holiday

Santa Baby Revisited

Santa Baby Revisited

The other day, my seven-year-old niece and her mom were decorating the Christmas tree while listening to Christmas music. Santa Baby came on the smart speaker. As my niece listened to the lyrics, she remarked, “That lady doesn’t sound very content!” It was music to my ears because the Sunday school lesson that day was on contentment. Thank you Sunday school teachers!

Four years ago, I remarked how Santa Baby wasn’t my favorite song. It’s a bit strong on the avarice and innuendo. It ranks down there for me with Baby it’s Cold Outside. Come one, people! We don’t want to explain these away to elementary kids. And they definitely should not be in the queue for Sunday morning worship.

Please! No “Santa Baby!”

I went ahead and redrew the cartoon I did in 2017. I wanted a steadier line and a color version. Thanks to my niece, I was reminded, once again, why I’m not a fan of this little ditty.

Cartoon of a guy talking to a guitar player. He says, "For Christmas Worship, don't you dare play, 'Santa Baby!'"

Even if it is cold outside, I recommend sticking to a classic such as, Let it Snow.

Categories
Quotes

Wisdom and Humility

"The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes." Winston Churchill

“The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes.”

Winston Churchill

It is too easy to write someone off because they have been foolish in the past. We put labels on those we don’t agree with because it is easier than carefully considering if there is some truth in their assertions.

We may even feel threatened that a group we don’t agree with has a good idea that we haven’t thought of. Surely if it was a good idea, we would have thought of it, right?

Wisdom takes humility. Every person can teach us something. It takes discernment to listen and consider other points of view. The echo chamber we are tempted to live in eventually makes us deaf.

Even fools are right sometimes. Humility makes us consider that to someone else, we may look like a fool and we are right sometimes too.