5. The Attitude of Love

James 2:8
“If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right.”

There is a fundamental instinct that ties all creatures together. Victor Hugo, writer of the epic novel Les Miserables, calls it, ‘the mysterious instinct of self preservation‘. It was this instinct that prompts us to avoid obvious danger, that prompts us to make the best decisions for ourselves, that makes us defensive over what we own and what we have. The ones who sacrifice their lives for their friends, for strangers; the ones who puts others first above themselves, they manage to rise above this instinct to not just look after their own interest, but guard the interest of others.

James didn’t just write, “Love your neighbour.” He said, “As yourself,” to provide a reference on how much we need to love. In other words, he’s saying, “As much as you look after your own interest, look after others as well.”

We sometimes confuse love with an emotional thing. Biblical love is not an emotional thing. Agape love is beyond emotion. The kind of love that Jesus demonstrated to the sick, to the poor, even to his enemies, was love borne by a decision. The only guys Jesus really went after were the Pharisees because they twisted the truth, and Jesus was truth’s greatest defender.

We need to know that to love someone doesn’t mean that we do not offend them. Jesus often rebuked those closest to him, and Peter got it the worst, from being called a guy with no faith to being called Satan. Sometimes a leader needs to do what he doesn’t want to do: Rebuke and receive rebuke. When we rebuke, we need to do it out of love, and not the kind of emotional love, but with agape love. With genuine concern for the other person. Jesus did it to Peter. Likewise, if there are people out to undermine the truth, we need to rebuke with force, like Jesus did to the Pharisees, for we need to protect and fight for truth. And as leaders, in work or in church, we need to be ready to receive rebuke. I’ve gone through in both instances. It really grates against your pride, but we need to accept it, when we know we’re wrong.

6. The attitude of Service

Gal 5:13: For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

We must be willing to serve before we lead and be as good a servant as you are a leader.  Service requires an attitude of humility, and the sacrifice of our own goals. Service is the path to leadership and greatness and we must always be ready to contribute.

It’s really easier said than done. If you think about it, service isn’t something we do. It’s something we are. Many people say, “You know, it doesn’t matter how much you serve, as long as your heart is right. If you heart is not right, you shouldn’t serve.”

It’s a fair call. But tell me, when is our heart right?

What I’m saying here is we need to stop coming up with excuses after excuses not to work for His kingdom. Two kinds of destructive interpretation of service is this: “I am not ready to serve.” And “I’m ready to serve, but sorry, not that.” The first one is destructive because it becomes an excuse. If you’re not ready to do something at your work, you quickly learn how to do it. If you don’t know what to present to the managers, you work the weekend to come up with it. So why, in God’s work, do we think it’s an acceptable excuse to say, “Sorry, can’t serve, too bad. Not ready.”? It might sound like a very holy reason to say, “Wow, I need to set my heart right before I commit to any service if not I would feel like a hypocrite.” But is that your reason, or simply your get out of jail free card? Do you ponder upon the question of holiness and purity when you are out with your colleagues in a pub on a Saturday night and not waking up for church on Sunday?

It’s not to say we should serve when we’re indulging in fornication and sin, which does amount to hypocrisy and we all know how Jesus looks at hypocrites. But to call yourself unworthy to serve is denying the liberty he has granted us. We are free so that we can serve people through our freedom. If we don’t, then we’re still bound to the chains of selfishness and self interest.

The second excuse is as bad, to pick and choose your service. Be faithful in the small things, and he will give you bigger things. Jesus’s last lesson on earth was that of servanthood. He washed the feet of his disciples. This is a service reserved for the lowest servants. If the Lord of Lords and King of Kings does not think it unworthy of him to go so low, who are we? Mere creations, small yet, at times, with ridiculously enlarged egos.

7. The Attitude of Self Control

Proverbs 25:28: Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.

This is probably one of the toughest attitude to achieve. When we are driving, especially in KL, usually our characteristic comes out. Anger. Impatience. The mild mannered man becomes crazy and wails on an old lady who cuts him for the third time in a beat up 120Y Datsun.

It’s not easy, and it’s not a coincidence that the Bible lists Self Control as a fruit of the spirit, along with Love, Faith and Kindness. Self control sometimes might seem beyond our control, but with the help of His Spirit, it can be done.

I think this is where the continuous renewing of one’s mind need to occur. Many things we do and say, is because in the battle in our minds, we have already lost. Lust, greed, anger; things like these makes a person act out of character, and it’s certainly fearful when we cannot control how we act. Before we reach the point in our mind, we need to decide: We will not entertain it. And pray that the spirit will help us.

8. The Attitude of Suffering

1 Peter 4:1: Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin

This seems like a strange attitude to have but Peter tells us that we’ll need to ARM ourself with the attitude of suffering. If our body suffers, sin loses its power. The bible says the flesh and spirit is always in contention (Gal 5:17). Our fleshly desires also hunger to be filled, and when we deprive it, it weakens. Like Jesus, not only do we not mind pain, but we need to recognise suffering as a growth development. Not just go through it, but learn from it. The saying, “No pain no gain” is certainly true in many respects in our Christian walk.

In John 16:33, it says, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

In other words, Jesus assures us a lot of good things. But he assures us of the bad things to come as well in this world. That’s why I’m always very careful when people talk about prosperity gospel or the word faith movement. I’m uncomfortable with the notion that everyone loved by God will be rich, will be blessed and will have a comfortable life. It’s not a biblical teaching, it’s a human teaching. Jesus said that he has not come to bring peace to the world (the peace on the earth, goodwill to men part in Luke 2:14 is a mistranslation). Jesus says that he will bring peace to those who are in Him. Peace, regardless of the world’s condition or life’s tribulations.

The apostles suffered for their faith, martyred, and fed to lions. If they had the notion of prosperity gospel then, many would have left the faith. But the early Christians understood suffering and denial of the world. After all, Jesus has already warned them that the world will hate them for they first hated Him. They knew the disclaimer. They signed the memorandum of understanding.

Lastly on suffering, a personal lesson. I used to think the things I go through are nothing, when compared to the world’s suffering in hunger, death and disease. I would say, this is not a problem, stop your pity party. In some respect, that’s good as we see the larger picture and how our ’suffering’ stand in relation to ‘real suffering’. But it was being transferred to my relationship with others, and making it difficult to emphatise with people when they go through issues.

Do not demean your trials, no matter how small or large they are. Every trial has a lesson. James 1:2 says, consider it joy to go through trials of MANY kinds. Not just the tough, world-changing kind. But the smaller ones as well, the ones you normally flick aside and leave it to fester. Confront the small things! One of the worst counselling method for people in need of help is saying, “Hey, I’ve gone through that before, no problem one.”, or “Hey, working late? That’s life, man. Welcome to the real world. If I can do it, you can do it.” or “Stressed out at work? Man, you haven’t heard my story yet, blah blah blah”

Newsflash: Nobody is interested in whether we can or cannot do it or how super we are in handling stress compared to them. Stop aggrandizing ourselves and start emphatising with others! Remember the measure of faith in each of us is different and God give us all different levels of suffering and pain we can go through. Do not think that just because God grants us the ability to go through certain things, others can go through it as well.

Romans 12:3: For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.

What we need to do is to learn from suffering and become better in what we do. We need not worry where God puts us, in which country, which company, because in every stage of our life, we’re going through lessons. Once we’re ready, God plants us in another stage, in another place, for His glorification, not ours.

We’ve gone through the 7 principles of attitudes, and following that, Rev Alun Davies went into what he calls the 8 power attitudes of Life. What are the attitudes that we need to carry, to have success in our ministry, our work and our family?

1. The Attitude of Faith

2 Corinthians 4:13-14

It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.”With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.

In life, you’ll meet people who can sell almost everything, or think they can. They have the gift of the gab, a degree in BS as we call it, and yes, sometimes you’ll be taken for a ride. Do you need to believe in a product to sell it? Not really. Maybe once, twice, thrice you can get away with it, but it will soon come back to you.

I once manned a booth at a technology fair and was heading the location based services products. Our company had a raw product that was no where ready for market, but our marketing folks (being an enthusiastic lot) had promised many customers that it was. When confronted and asked questions, I simply told the truth: That while the product had potential, I didn’t believe it was market ready yet. My marketing team didn’t appreciate my lack of faith in the product, but I believed the customer appreciated the fact that I didn’t try to BS them into something I didn’t believe in.

In our lives, at times, we need to have faith in the church, the pastors and their leadership and relationship with God. Sometimes, we say we love Jesus but we don’t like the church. How can you love him without loving the bride? How can we say we worship him when all we do is complain about how useless the church is, how lousy the board is, how meaningless the activities are? I used to be somewhat indifferent about the church’s direction, but now, I’m more defensive over any attempts to undermine our leadership. In the post-modern era, our faith will be challenged. Truth will be at stake in the new warfare. We need to have faith in God and in our leaders.

2. The Attitude of Thankfulness

Col 3:15: “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”

“Thank you.” is probably one of the first few words we learn. It’s one of those phrases, when spoken sincerely, that can change someone’s day and make it better. A simple thank you, and a smile, a sign of gratefulness to whoever can change a person’s attitude. We need to determine to express thankfulness everyday and search for opportunities to say thank you.

One of the most negative attitude we can have is when we express gratefulness to certain groups of people and not to others. When it’s our boss, or someone important, we are ever grateful. When it comes to our peers or someone like a waiter, a driver, we do not practice the same thankfulness for help rendered. We say, “Ah, he’s just doing his job.”

One practice that I do is when an issue is resolved at work or something gets done, I make sure management knows exactly who was involved. I name them in the email and I thank them for the great job they do, it does not matter how low rank or high rank they are. From there, the management will have visibility over what they do.

3. The Attitude of Kindness

Ephesians 4:32: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

Being kind is not just in action, it’s in words. This is a life transforming attitude, especially when shown to undeserving people, to powerless people, to strangers. It’s like an armour against bitterness, when we place kindness into everything that we do in our lives.

The term honesty is the best policy is often taken out of context. In many contexts, honesty is really not the best policy! Ever heard the term, “I’ll be brutally honest.” These are often words to begin an argument, and often a cloak for “I don’t like your guts, so I’m going to make you look bad.” In the Bible, references to honesty is in regards of truth. We need to pause and ask ourselves, when we’re being honest to someone, is that truth, or our opinion? In many instances, we should just shut up and keep our opinions to ourselves. But the thing is, everyone wants to voice an ‘opinion’. If it’s not a conviction, then just let it be! Many ministers, colleagues, cell mates have been hurt silently by ‘brutally honest opinions’ about them. And shutting up means not telling others about your opinion too, because it’s a guarantee that it will come back to the person referred to.

Instead of simply being honest in our ‘opinions’, we need to learn to speak the truth in love.

Proverbs 8:7: ” My mouth speaks what is true, for my lips detest wickedness.”

The words we say must always be covered in kindness and tact. We need to discern if this is the right thing to say, to think before we blabber.

Proverbs 15:28: “The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil.”

And finally, in Proverbs 21:23: ” He who guards his mouth and his tongue keeps himself from calamity.”

The conclusion: Think before we speak. No one likes a blabber mouth!

4. The Attitude of Generosity

1 Timothy 6:18: “Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.”

Jesus was generous in his ministry. He always made time for the children, for the widowed, for the poor. He turned water into the wine and made it even more than was necessary, overflowing the wine. He multiplied food for the multitudes and at the end, there was so much extra. Jesus wasn’t a God of the Enough. He is a God of Abundance. He’s in the business of surplus. He simply overflows with generosity. 2 Cor 9:11 says :

You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion,

Wow! Rich! But the requirement is that we must be generous first. It’s so weird that God often turns our philosophy inside out. We would think, make us rich so that we become generous. God says, “Be Generous, and I will make you rich.” However small you have, be generous with it. The more we hold on to money, the more it will fly away. Proverbs 23:5:

Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.

And Ecclesiastes 5:10:

Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.

We say cleanliness is next to godliness. According to Psalm 37:21, the godly gives generously.

We must not define ourselves with what we are NOT, instead what we are. We are not what we DID NOT do, but rather we are defined with what we do. Have we been generous? Instead of saying, “I did not waste my money in drugs etc”, say, “I used my money for the poor.” Instead of saying, “I didn’t waste my time going to that pub and getting stone drunk,” say “I used my time to help out in the orphanage and minister to the elderly.”

Finally, how do we make a group generous? A cell, a church, a team at your workplace?

Give them a cause bigger than themselves and an opportunity to contribute to it.

Continuing on the 7 principles of attitude from Church Camp 2008.

4. Attitudes determine relationships.

Romans 15:5

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus

Proverbs 11:12

A man who lacks judgment derides his neighbor,
but a man of understanding holds his tongue.

Choose not to slander, and not to backbite! Instead, choose encouragement and praise for people. A lot of times we wonder why nobody takes to us, or why nobody bothers about us and we wallow in self pity. Take a look at ourselves. Will we be friends with us? Meaning, if we go around gloomy, or discouraging, or always backbiting, and always negative, can we blame others if they take off at the first sign of you.

A quick one: (not in Pastor Alun’s illustrations). There’s a company director who wasn’t the easiest to get along with. He’s very demanding, and does not take inefficiency too well. One day, I got a call from one of his managers asking me for a golf game with him, and the director, just to fill up a foursome, since the original 4th couldn’t make it. I could have refused, not really knowing the director too well. But instead of judging him before even meeting him, I went on and gave it a go. I smiled and shook his hands and cracked a few jokes (which he didn’t really laugh) but 4 hours with a person can really break the ice. It came in one hole, when I splashed my second shot into the water. It was shallow enough for me to walk in, and with my ball submerged, I rolled my pants up for a shot.

“What are you doing?” the director shouted from the green.

“Trying to win!” I shouted back. I splashed myself full of murky, dirty, toxic water and succeeded in advancing the ball 2 feet into deeper water…unplayable. I shot a 9 on that hole, and came out using my ball towel to dry up.

“This is the first time I’ve seen someone actually do that,” he said, a hint of smile on his face, the first one all day; “I like your attitude.”

From that day on, every game we play, he insists on me playing in his group. Attitude changes relationships!

5. Attitudes are Contagious

Joshua and Caleb had positive attitude in entering the promise land. But 10 other people had negative attitudes and because of that, Israel had to wander 40 years in the desert!

It does not need a lot of people to spoil the nation with bad attitude. Likewise we need positive attitudes. Negativity is, unfortunately STRONGER, it is more infectious than positivity. Put a healthy man in a room with a sick man, the sick man doesn’t get better.

So not only must have always exude the good attitudes, we have to ensure that we are not bringing into the group negativity and gloominess. Sure, we have to be realistic, of course, but I believe there’s always a silver lining, and what we can change, we change. The things that we can’t, well, we won’t worry too much about it.

6. Attitudes create Opportunities

Abraham had an attitude of faith and obedience. He didn’t complain when Lot took the better land. He didn’t complain much when he didn’t get a kid even at an old age. Of course, he didn’t really complain either when his wife had a hair brained idea of him helping God by getting the child from the maidservant. Probably one of the few mistakes he made in his life. He didn’t complain when he had to sacrifice Isaac, his promise back to God. And because of his great faith in the Lord, he became the father of all nations.

Joseph’s story is a story of ups and downs and ups and downs and ups.

He started out as the favourite boy of the household. He was doted on, spoiled. And suddenly it was all taken from him. He was nearly killed by the brothers he loved, and sold off to slavery. He bounced here and there as a slave and finally ended up in Potiphar’s household in Egypt. Thus his career began. He built it up till he was favoured and became the supervisor under God’s favour. But he was framed wrongly by his boss’s wife, and stripped off everything, he was thrown into prison.

At this point, he could have gone, “Whats the use? I’ll never achieve anything.” However he became so good in what he did, he changed the prison environment and he became the supervisor of all prisoners. Soon, he interpreted dreams for some government officials and asked them to remember him. When they got out, he was forgotten. Did that bring him down? Nah, he kept going, and after two years, I bet the prison was like a family. He soon got out, became the king’s chief advisor, then the prime minister and saved the entire Israel.

Change your attitude and you will change opportunity, instead of running elsewhere to look for opportunities.

At times, opportunity comes when it is inconvenient. It knocks and don’t wait. It comes at the ‘wrong’ time. Have we waited for a time to serve God with our skills and gifts? It will come when you are busiest at work, and we miss out the opportunity to bless. Always wanted to go missions, but have the excuse of ‘no time’? Seriously, there will never be a time where you ‘have time’ for missions opportunities. Just decide to go and go! We can attract opportunities with our attitude, listen for the knock of opportunity.

7. Attitudes determine your quality of life

Caleb’s attitude made him healthy even at an old age (Josh 14:10-11).

“Now then, just as the LORD promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the desert. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then.

He had a different spirit from the others, and he always decide to put God first. Caleb is the best study for attitude. He was the leader of the biggest tribe in Israel and an influential person. Yet Moses selected Joshua, the quieter of the two, the prayerful one. Caleb could have thrown a tantrum. But he submitted and knew his place in God’s plan. God enriched his life and rewarded him by allowing him to conquer the toughest part of the campaign, the Hills where the Giant Anaks dwelled.

Don’t evaluate life with the $$$ sign or positions or rewards. Continue to have a good attitude even when it seems you have been ‘passed’ by, do not spread dissension or backstab. Like Caleb, eventually, his patience rewarded him with a great quality of life. Money, in many ways, is like poop. It’s only good if you spread it around to help people grow, it’s no good if it’s always in a big pile.

Having the attitude of generosity is paramount, don’t be tight fisted. Give and you will be blessed.

2 Cor 9:10-11

You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

Proverbs 11:25: A generous man will prosper;
he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.

Tags:church camp 2008

All of us had had our share of managerial stories. Whether with subordinates who are NOT subordinate; whether with office politics; with managing our managers; with managing people not under our authority but under our projects etc. There’s really nothing much that books can do to prepare us for real life experience; when the tone of your voice, the words you use, even the actions you do can determine whether you have managed a particular situation well or not. Unless we plan to live in a cave, these will be situations we face our whole lives, as we live in a world networked with people and relationships. Pastor Alun went through what we know as the 7 principles of attitudes, taken from 1 Peter 4:1:

Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin.

The question we often struggle is: “Would you rather take in a person with ability or a person with attitude?” If we don’t take any situation into account, we often would say, attitude. But in real situations when we need to deliver a project on a tough deadline, we will often be very tempted to go for ability, so he can ‘hit the ground running’. Attitude, these days, goes to the back burner, as long as ‘he can do the job’. However, the long term repercussions of an employee with the wrong attitude will cause a severe strain to the company. Trust me. I’ve experienced it myself.

Ability can be wasted, without the right mindset.

On the basis of our relationship with Jesus, maintained on a daily basis, there is one more step to the secret of success, and that is to arm ourselves with the right attitude. To arm ourself with the attitude of Christ, we need to know what constitutes attitude and what these attitudes are. Firstly, we will go through the 7 attitude principles. What does ‘attitude’ mean.

1. Attitude is a CHOICE.

Make a choice everyday to have a good attitude. Don’t blame your genes or parents on how you act. Take accountability and take responsibility on how you will be everyday.

Eph 4:22-24

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

It says, the attitude of your minds. You consciously make a decision on what kind of attitude you carry. An attitude is the product of these choices.

Viktor Frankl, author of “Man’s Search for Meaning”, was in detention camp during the war and endured much horror, and was in Auschwitz. In the camps, he lost his wife, his father and mother. Only his sister survived by going to Australia before the war.

It was due to his and others’ suffering in these camps that he came to his hallmark conclusion that even in the most absurd, painful and dehumanized situation, life has potential meaning and that therefore even suffering is meaningful.

If a prisoner felt that he could no longer endure the realities of camp life, he found a way out in his mental life - an invaluable opportunity to dwell in the spiritual domain, the one that the SS were unable to destroy. Spiritual life strengthened the prisoner, helped him adapt, and thereby improved his chances of survival.

…everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms - to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. And there were always choices to make. Everyday, every hour, offered the opportunity to make a decision which determined whether you would or would not submit to those powers which threatened to rob you of your very self, your inner freedom; which determined whether or not you would become the plaything of circumstance,…” - Viktor Frankl

2. Attitude is Powerful

Matthew 5:5

Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.

Contrary to world, they say that the strong will win. The meek here is an attitude. Not a passive, sissy attitude, as we understand it. Was Jesus Meek? Yes, he was, yet in John 18:36, it says, if his kingdom was in this world, his followers would fight. He was saying, his battles are not here on earth, he was fighting bigger battles in heaven. Moses was the meekest man on earth according to Numbers 12:3 yet, he led 3 million people to freedom. We see what ‘meek’ is in God’s term in Zephaniah 2:3a:

Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land,
you who do what he commands.

The meek here represents those who do what He commands. The meek person submits to God!

With the right attitude, you will get the right response:

Ability = capability to do something
Motivation = why we do something
Attitude = how well we do something

“Attitude not your aptitude determines your altitude.” - Zig Ziggler

3. Attitude transforms a situation.

Attitude is by choice, not determined by circumstances.

Habakuk 3:17-18

Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,

yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.

Psalm 43:5

Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.

Job lost everything, yet refused to curse God, and called his wife a fool to suggest it. There is an old saying: When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. In golf, we call it “Play as it lies”. Where the ball comes to a stop, in the sand, next to a tree, you figure out a way to make the best of it. Maybe that’s why golfers are such an optimistic lot =)

Your attitude attracts people to church. Your attitude makes your church. Ask for attitude before anointing. Don’t ignore new people, choose to be friendly, choose to smile, to extend a hand of fellowship.

“The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude.” - William Jones

The next post will have a look at the remainder of the 7 principles of Attitude.

Tags:church camp 2008

My dad is a voracious reader. I remember there was a management book called Thriving on Chaos, by Tom Peters that talked about Total Quality Management (TQM). Before the six sigma, there was the TQM. I’m not sure where it has faded away to, or whether it has been incorporated into the many different management approaches out in the market today, but I remembered dad trying to instill some management principle into my young mind when he asked, “Do you know who invented the delegation of authority system in TQM?”

“No.”

“God.”

And he talked about what I now know from Rev Alun, as the Jethro Principle. In Exodus 18, Moses was having a really tough time managing the 2-3 million people he brought out of Egypt. Face it, for 40 years, he has been managing sheep and his wives, and that was it. Suddenly, here he was, CEO of the new Israel, leading millions into their destiny…or death. If that’s not pressure, I don’t know what is. So, here was Moses, highly stressed out because everyone would come to him about every thing! Small decisions, big decisions, where to pitch the family tent, where to tether the donkeys. It was crazy. Everyone picked a number and waited for their turn, like some nightmarish immigration waiting hall. Jethro, his father in law, probably writing the first TQM book there is, told Moses in Verse 21, that he had to delegate his authority to people, who in turn manage the thousands, the hundreds, the fifties, the tens; so he could focus on the tough decisions.

Most organisations adopt that method of delegation, so you’ll be wondering, well, that’s it, everyone’s happy!

In Numbers 11, Moses was even more stressed out than before. In fact, it was so bad, he became suicidal, asking God to kill him. Now, this wasn’t your normal everyday stress. This wasn’t just stomach ulcer or gastric pain. This was a major major mental breakdown. What was the problem? Wasn’t the Jethro principle enough?

In Numbers 11:14:

I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me.

Having a structured and trained leadership is not enough. It’s not enough to have just the processes, the planning, the budgeting in place, for any organisation to thrive, from cell groups to multi nationals. There has to be more than just agreement to goals and the acceptance of vision. The missing piece of the Jethro Principle is unveiled in verse 17:

“I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take of the Spirit that is on you and put the Spirit on them. They will help you carry the burden of the people so that you will not have to carry it alone.”

In all occasions of the Holy Spirit, it comes direct into the person, and not ‘transferred’ from one person to another as is said in verse 17. The ‘Spirit’ here refers to the gifts and characteristics granted to Moses, so the the leaders not only were trained, but they were united in one spirit. This Spirit of Moses was taken by God and reproduced in key leaders.

We can ‘do’ things for the church, and not have the right motive in it. We need to embrace not just the love of God, but our leaders as well. The spirit of our leader needs to be reproduced in key leaders of the church. How do we know if we have embraced our leader? The key leaders will display the following qualities:

1) They will stand with their Moses

When the senior pastor is being attacked, verbally or in character, key leaders will deal with these issues and not duck behind them. They will not stand AGAINST their Moses, but will support him. When the pastor calls for prayer meet, they will come. When there are bigger issues to tackle than just themselves, they will rise to the occasion.

2) They will help care for the people

The church is about people, not programs. Whatever we do must be God-centered, and helping people. Key Leaders take away the burden from the senior leader. Many times, when we volunteer to do something, we end up multiplying the problem by not knowing what to do. Then the leader has to do more work to undo your work, or to help you help him. If we do something, find our own resources and bring solutions, not problems. If we are not empowered, get empowered to do it!

3) They will speak with inspiration

When key leaders take on the spirit on their leader, they will inspire people and bring the word of the Lord, and the vision of the pastor down. The pastor cannot be everywhere. Leaders must have the same message as the pastor and carry it to every nook, cranny and ministry in the church. Where we are under authority, we receive vision. Where we have authority, we give vision.

Many people have hurt people when they speak ‘honestly’. The church do not need people given ‘their honest opinions.’ Those are just opinions. The church need people who can speak the truth in LOVE. Many of us sometimes have opinions over our leadership in church. Why this program, why this conference, why this concert, why this event etc, and they murmur against leadership and seek to undermine the plans of the church when they ‘disagree’.  There is a habitual know-it-all-please-don’t-tell-me-what-to-do culture pervading. Just follow the church vision and trust the leaders that they will adjust or work out whatever issues in church.

4) They will release their leader to his/her ministry

Key leaders who understand the Moses principle also understands that God has given them gifts and they can minister in the leader’s behalf, and releasing the leader for his ministry. We need to get off the milk bottle and let the pastor go and nurture other new believers or believers in need. For instance, if there are any issues, go through the Cell Leader, then the Zone Supervisor before bringing it to the pastors. The church needs strong and matured believers.
Conclusion 

As more key people take up and understand that in order for the church to grow, we need to be like the church of Acts (Acts 4:32) with one heart, and one soul. That the vision and destiny that God has for the church will not only be accepted by the church, but the people, as one body, will strive towards it together.

Just the other day, I visited the room where my former subordinates were (I had left that team, but I often go back and check on them to see how they are doing), and one girl came up to me and asked for a donation. I immediately popped up RM50 and she said, no, she just needed 10 because it was a charity dinner and per person was RM10. And I didn’t even know what that donation was all about!
I’m not boasting about my generosity, rather, it gave me some time to ponder: why was I so quick to display generosity, yet struggle with tithes and giving in private to church? Was I seeking for the public perception of my goodness, rather than being silently obedient to the Lord? Money. How I struggle with it! And yet, when we see people donating huge chunks of money and getting all the publicity, we call it fake. That day, the conviction was, now and then, when we’re not careful, we can also be ‘fake’ and self seeking. The Bible warns us in James 3:16:

For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

We need to be careful not to be so quick to judge others when they give (envy) and when we do give, what our motives are (selfish ambition). These are the stops we need to have.

The famous verses for giving can be found in 2 Corinthians 9:6-8:

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

And in verse 10:

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.

This is interesting because God provides both seed and bread. There’s a distinction between the two, because the rewards are also categorised as ’store of seed’ and ‘harvest of righteousness’.

This could possibly mean that the Lord not only provides for the present (bread) but also for the future (seed). His provision covers us not for just our immediate needs but our future needs. This can also mean that the bread money is provided for us, our consumption, our enjoyment. As bread is useful when consumed or used or it will turn mouldy.

God has certainly not given us a spirit of stinginess. While he has granted us the wisdom to manage our finances properly, and teaches us to save (Proverbs 21:20), yet He tells us not to be stingy (Proverbs 23:6). God doesn’t want his children to dress in rags and walk around looking poor and miserable. He wants us to be filled with joy, and money and materials are not our enemies, yet it must not have dominion over us. The ‘Bread’ money is the part where we ‘eat’, where we enjoy the fruits of our labours.

Now, there is also the ’seed’. The seed is only useful when planted. Not planted in earthly things, but in spiritual things. The ’seed’ is for His kingdom. Whatever investments, expenses etc we have on this earth, that is from the ‘bread money’ (maybe this is where they term the slang “bread” when talking about money!). The ’seed’ money must be sowed into his kingdom. It must be invested into our spiritual portfolio. Into the missions, into the building pledge, into the tithes, into the offering for the poor.

The philosophy of God often turns the world’s philosophy upside down. The world tells us, He with the most toys wins. The Bible tells us in v.11:

You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

The first line is so cool. It can be simply be interpreted as:

You will be given lots of stuff so you can give lots of stuff away. Every time. Face it, your generosity must result in glory to GOD. Not you.

It sounds like something from the Message interpretation, but it’s not, it’s just how it looks to me. We are given so that we can give back. It’s an easy rule to follow. Not on some occasion. Not on occasions where its convenient, but in EVERY occasion! Even when we’re tempted to use that seed money and put it into our bread account. But don’t worry, since He has already assured us:

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

So our generosity in EVERY occasion is countered with us having ALL we need in ALL things at ALL times. And that’s not the end. We will ABOUND in EVERY good work. Not just do all the work as needed. Not just satisfactorily achieve some good works. Abound here means to overflow, that means to go beyond just what needs to be done. We will go the distance, walk that extra mile, serve that extra mile, overcome our prejudices and fears to do the work of God. After all, the keyword here is “God is able to make ALL grace abound to you”. We’re not on our own gas tank. We’re on that turbo nitro engine called GRACE.

To business owners, the ones with the gift of giving, the ones who can determine their salary, be careful to always have seed and bread. God wants to bless you so you can bless others. Commit yourselves to God and be a channel of blessing with the seed money He has granted you.

I look at my mom and dad sometimes when they are at home, and wonder how an individual can survive almost 35 years of marriage with a person as paranoid and worrying as my mum, or as stubborn as my dad. And my dad often talked about his early days when he was pursuing mum, how he got the girl that everyone wanted and how they were before they got married. Now, I see them sitting together facing the TV or reading newspapers, I wonder if they still had the love they had before.

Couple of weeks ago, I came home and saw my dad showing off to my mum his new discovery with his new laptop: Youtube. In fact, he was so smug about it that he asked my sister and I, “Hey, see, I am accessing youtube. Do you know about this?”. The whole night, my mum and dad sat in the living room watching music videos from their era: the beatles, mainly; simon & garfunkel etc.

35 years is a long long time in a marriage, and they are still going strong without any doubt. I think, while time does have its effect on any relationship, my parents make it a point to decide to love and guard their marriage, and not abandon their vows, even when the going got tough, or their time together became tedious. They decide to love, and not let just feelings govern their relationship. They were careful not to let complacency take over their marriage.

The Falling Away

In 2 Chronicles 12, it opens with the statement:

After Rehoboam’s position as king was established and he had become strong, he and all Israel with him abandoned the law of the LORD.

It’s a statement that sets the whole background of Rehoboam, the son of Solomon. Now, this guy was traditionally not a very strong king. In fact, he contributed to the separation of the Kingdom of Judah and the Kingdom of Israel. When he ascended the throne, he was given really bad advice from his young cronies, causing the northern kingdom to rebel against high taxes and establish Jeroboam as their king.

An interesting footnote, none of the northern kings were any good; some of the kings in the southern kingdom was passable; and Rehoboam was one of them. He followed the ways of the Lord (2 Chr 11:16) and obeyed His commandments, while strengthening his Kingdom.

So when 2 Chronicles 12 opens, Rehoboam deserted the Lord after he has become ’strong’ and established. Not only that, he brought his kingdom down with him.

Christians who had been christians for a long time often think that because of a long history with God, they deserve some time on their own. How many times have we heard, “Hey sorry, I can’t serve because I’m busy.” “Sorry, can’t attend cell, need to go for a work function” “Sorry, no time to serve in worship, just got a child. Need to step down in everything I am doing.”

I had told the cell, even before listening to Alun Davies on this, that when God has given you a blessing, never throw it back to God and use it as an excuse to go farther away from Him. God won’t give you something that drives you away. We fall away because we make a decision to. Have you been praying for your job? Your family? Your relationship? Your health? And when you have been established and ’strong’ in all of these aspects of life, are you abandoning serving God? When you get that promotion, do you forget about God’s faithfulness? When you enter into a relationship, is God part of that?

I understand that at times, we certainly have to juggle a lot of things, and in the process, ministry time needs to be sacrificed. But this is deeper than just serving God, it’s about whether He is part of the lifestyle we are leading. We can take a step away from ministry temporarily and still ensure our walk with him is established. I say temporarily, because I believe the longer we stay away from doing the works of the Kingdom, the harder it is to incorporate it into our schedule once more. Likewise, we can still be in ministry but can be falling away at the same time.
The Removal of His Blessings

In Verse 9:

When Shishak king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem, he carried off the treasures of the temple of the LORD and the treasures of the royal palace. He took everything, including the gold shields Solomon had made.

Once we fall away, the devil will first take away our ‘treasures’ of the temple. He will take away our will to pray, to worship, to read the word. We will stop going to cell, to church and eventually whither away with grand illusions of greatness in this world, where our time in it is but vapour in the wind. These are our treasures: our time alone with God. Our prayer walk. Our devotion. Our worship. Church. Cell group. Fellowship with believers. Intercession for each other. Our ministries. Once these are removed, our family will be attacked. Our careers. Our relationships. The very blessings that God has granted us will be under siege because make no mistake, the devil is out to make our lives extremely miserable, and he won’t play fair.

The Golden Shields

For christians who are serving and who thinks they are not ‘fallen away’, this passage contains warning for them as well.

In V 10:

So King Rehoboam made bronze shields to replace them and assigned these to the commanders of the guard on duty at the entrance to the royal palace.

The golden shields were given by Solomon. These were very precious, very pure. These are like our integrity, our character, our marriage, children. God has given us favour in our lives to build these golden shields up, and the devil is out there to rob us of these shields. When these were taken away, Rehoboam replaced these shields with Bronze Shields. Bronze, or brass, is not gold, but from a distance, it reflects the sunlight just like gold. It’s a cheap substitute to the real thing. Gold is pure, brass is a mixture and requires polishing and maintenance to make it look like gold.

For Christians who have been serving for some time, we might fall into a routine. Taking God’s presence for granted. When we pray and worship without a relationship with God, we are offering brass, not gold. As a worship leader, we know certain songs, certain things we do or say, can evoke certain response from the congregation. We can walk away and have people genuinely touched by the spirit, yet we are far away. That’s brass. Not gold. When we take a sermon off the internet and not seek God for a message, that’s brass, not gold.

When we serve God with brass, we have to work harder, and force it. Force the songs. Shout louder to get the spirit to move. Talk longer during our cell sharing. Work harder to minister to cell members, pray longer for healing etc. With ‘gold’, we don’t have to work, we are just led. We can fool people with brass, with enough polish, but not God. He knows the difference between a gold service and a brass service.

When we offer our genuineness and the purity of the gold of our service, no matter how small it is, it is better than all the brass, the pretension, the formalities for Him. Pretense is useless in God’s presence, because that’s brass and it will burn us out and those serving will eventually fall away.

As I watch my parents, I am certain that through all these years, they took care never to give excuses not to love each other, and made sure when they did love each other, they gave each other their golden shields. Not the brass shields.

Our little convoy at the view point

We just returned from GT Church Camp 2008, at Damai Laut. Geographically, it wasn’t the easiest place to access, but once there, the resort was very nice; food could have been better, but as I was telling my friend before we left, you can’t beat a holiday with the perfect combination of God’s presence and a round of 18 with good friends.