"But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have."
-1 Peter 3:15
As you many already know, I normally take inspiration for my blog posts from my experiences in everyday life. Today I was taking a shower and started to think about appreciation. More specifically, I thought about the fact that there are things that some people can appreciate while other people cannot. For example, I have little appreciation for painting. My father really enjoyed going to art museums to admire the paintings and other artwork on display. On the other hand, I found little to no enjoyment whenever my dad took me along with him to these museums.
While in the shower today, I thought about why I couldn't appreciate the same things my dad seemed to appreciate a lot. We were both looking at the same pieces of art, yet only one of us was able to appreciate and enjoy it. I realized that the answer was quite simple: my dad likes to paint. He has been painting for quite a while, whereas I have no interest in painting whatsoever. He was able to understand what made a painting special and what made a painting mundane.
I thought about the experiences I've had in life where some people have been able to appreciate something while others could not. Watching the Super Bowl is one experience that I've noticed there is a clear divide between people who were engaged in the game and those who were not. It was mostly the guys who would be watching the game and cheering for a certain team, while the girls would be off to the side talking with each other. The guys were able to appreciate the game because they understood what was going on. The girls simply saw a game where they didn't understand much of the rules or strategy, so there wasn't much for them to appreciate.
I recently spoke with one of my coworkers that I had become friends with over the course of the past couple months. We went to a sushi place and started talking about different things like work and video games. At one point in the conversation, he had started talking about religion, specifically Christianity. This was intriguing to me, because he had told me before that he was an atheist. I asked him what he thought the main message of Christianity is, to which he replied something along the lines of "Jesus comes down and say 'come believe in Me or you will go to hell'."
I remember when he said that, I thought how different his understanding of Christianity was than my own. To my friend, the main message of the Bible is that Jesus is trying to get people to believe in Him, and Him only. While this isn't necessarily false, it's not the whole picture. I explained to him that yes, Jesus does proclaim to be the only way to eternal life, but this is because we have sinned and fallen short of God's glory. Jesus came down to save us for our good out of His love. I tried my best to explain this to my coworker, but it was clear we both had a different view of the subject.
Even among believers, I see a difference of appreciation for God, the Bible, and Christianity as a whole. I notice this sometimes during praise, where some people seem very connected to God through the music, and others just seem disengaged. I also see this in terms of reading the Bible, where some will treasure their time in the Word while others will find it to be a chore.
I think there are three "stages" that people can be in that changes their appreciation: ignorance, knowledge, and experience. Those who are ignorant and not stupid, as the term "ignorant" tends to imply, they just don't know much about something. For example, I can't appreciate paintings very much because I am ignorant about the process. Those who are knowledgeable are able to understand something, but may not have tried it themselves. The guys watching the Super Bowl are more knowledgeable about football than the girls, so they had a greater appreciation for it. Finally, those with experience have the greatest appreciation of all. My coworker had knowledge about God, but he hasn't experienced the transforming power of knowing God as I have in my life.
Many of us can get stuck in the "knowledge" phase in our spiritual walk with God. To be honest, this is where I often find myself. I don't have the same appreciation for the Word of God as those who have experienced it's power in their lives. We can never learn to enjoy our spiritual journey unless we actively seek to experience God in our lives. Simply knowing about Him or His Word is not enough to change our appreciation of Him. I pray that we all ask ourselves "what can I do today to experience God and increase my appreciation of Him?"
-Smart
Marathon, not a Sprint
"He told them another parable: 'The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.'"
-Matthew 13:31
One day while I was at work, I was talking with my mentor about the project I was working on. At that time I had been assigned a project to work on independently, meaning I would be the lead test engineer on the project. I was talking to my mentor about how much pressure I was feeling because of the tight schedule and the demands of being the lead test engineer. I don't remember all of what he said, but something he said to me stuck out to me: "you have to treat these projects as a marathon, not a sprint."
These words stuck out to me because they relate to my key verse for 2017, written above. I am the kind of person who likes to get things done as fast as possible so that I don't feel that I'm wasting time. This often causes me to burn out and spend a lot of time recovering from working so hard. I also tend to make a lot of mistakes because I try doing things too quickly. I once went to a McDonald's drive through to get a meal, and before they could give me my drink, I drove away. I was in such a rush to get to the next thing I had to do that I neglected getting the drink that I paid for, which made me a little upset.
If there's one thing that working full time has taught me, it is that you have to learn to pace yourself. I spent almost 12 hours a day at work for a week and pulled two all-nighters in order to finish the project on time. After the project was finished, I was completely burned out. It took me about a week to recover from the long hours and hard work that I had put into the project. I should have taken the advice of my mentor and treated the project as a marathon, not as a sprint.
If you have ever gone running, you know that there is a big difference between a sprint and a marathon. A sprint is simply running as fast as you can in order to reach a destination in a short amount of time. As a result of the high intensity, you quickly run out of energy so you cannot run very far. In contrast, a marathon is running at a measured pace in order to reach a destination that is far away. A marathon requires good pacing, or you will end up running out of energy before you finish the race.
I personally am not a big fan of running, but I think it is a very good analogy to life. We often want things to happen quickly, so we neglect our personal well-being in exchange for faster results. We expect that by trying our hardest and working fast, we can produce the same results as someone who has put many hours into something. This is even true in our spiritual walk. We think that we can grow our faith by attending a conference or praying many hours in one week. However, this simply isn't true. The only way to truly grow our faith is to spend time everyday and to be consistent. Consistency is more important than speed in our walk with God.
As I thought about this topic, I asked myself "what is the most practical way to apply this concept to my life?" I almost immediately thought of the proverb "if you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together." In other words, the best way to be consistent in our walk with God is to surround ourselves with other people that will go with us. This has been somewhat of a struggle for me because I like to do many things in life by myself. I enjoy the feeling of accomplishing things quickly on my own, but I am realizing that this compromises my consistency. I'm praying to surround myself with others who can help me be more consistent in the marathon of life- are you?
-Smart
Give it Away
"The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor."
-Proverbs 22:9
If you've read this blog in the past or you know me personally, you know that I started working full-time a couple months ago. The week before Christmas break, I was talking with one of my team members, who is married and has a daughter. Since it was nearly Christmas, we talked about our Christmas traditions. I explained to him that I always have a gift exchange and dinner with my family for Christmas. He told me that he just has a small gift exchange with his immediate family and maybe dinner with some friends.
We continued our conversation, which now turned to the working life. I mentioned how tiring and stressful work often is, to which he agreed. He then said this: "whenever I see my daughter's face when she opens a gift, I feel that work isn't so bad". I thought what he said made sense, but I didn't think much about what he said since I can't really relate to his experience.
In the following weeks, I visited my hometown to celebrate Christmas with my family. In our gift exchange, we are each assigned a person to give gifts to. I was responsible to give gifts to one of my uncles. I was able to buy everything on his list because he didn't ask for very much. I had been working full time for a while at that point and had some extra cash, so I decided to purchase some gifts for his little daughter as well.
We went around opening gifts as we always do, when it became my baby cousin's turn to open her gift. Before she opened the gift, a chorus of adults asked her who gave her the gift. She was just a toddler at that point, so she asked the nearest adult to read the gift's label. One of my aunt's read it out loud- "from: Batman". I put that as a reference to my favorite superhero, knowing that everyone (except my little cousins) would understand that the gift was from me. Another one of my young cousins exclaimed "Batman is in this world?!?", which was really funny to hear from him. My cousin opened her gift, which was a puzzle I think, and immediately started shouting with joy. She ran over to me to give me a hug, which is when I thought back to what my team member said at work.
Before I started working full time, I imagined that the best part of being a working adult is that I would be able to enjoy making and spending money. However, I've been realizing that the best part of having money is being able to give it away. The Gaither Vocal Band has a song titled "Give it Away" that describes this very principle. Part of the lyrics say "if you want more happy than your heart could hold, if you wanna stand taller, if the truth were told, take whatever you have and give it away."
One of my favorite things to do is to visit my hometown and spend time with people. I enjoy it even more now because I have the ability to buy meals for my friends and family. There's something in me that finds such satisfaction and joy when I give things to others, even if it's something as small as a puzzle. The expression "it's better to give than receive" is absolutely true. The Bible reinforces this idea as well. It gives warnings to people who hold onto their possessions, because everything we have on this earth will fall away. Hold onto Jesus, and be willing to give everything else away.
-Smart
-Proverbs 22:9
If you've read this blog in the past or you know me personally, you know that I started working full-time a couple months ago. The week before Christmas break, I was talking with one of my team members, who is married and has a daughter. Since it was nearly Christmas, we talked about our Christmas traditions. I explained to him that I always have a gift exchange and dinner with my family for Christmas. He told me that he just has a small gift exchange with his immediate family and maybe dinner with some friends.
We continued our conversation, which now turned to the working life. I mentioned how tiring and stressful work often is, to which he agreed. He then said this: "whenever I see my daughter's face when she opens a gift, I feel that work isn't so bad". I thought what he said made sense, but I didn't think much about what he said since I can't really relate to his experience.
In the following weeks, I visited my hometown to celebrate Christmas with my family. In our gift exchange, we are each assigned a person to give gifts to. I was responsible to give gifts to one of my uncles. I was able to buy everything on his list because he didn't ask for very much. I had been working full time for a while at that point and had some extra cash, so I decided to purchase some gifts for his little daughter as well.
We went around opening gifts as we always do, when it became my baby cousin's turn to open her gift. Before she opened the gift, a chorus of adults asked her who gave her the gift. She was just a toddler at that point, so she asked the nearest adult to read the gift's label. One of my aunt's read it out loud- "from: Batman". I put that as a reference to my favorite superhero, knowing that everyone (except my little cousins) would understand that the gift was from me. Another one of my young cousins exclaimed "Batman is in this world?!?", which was really funny to hear from him. My cousin opened her gift, which was a puzzle I think, and immediately started shouting with joy. She ran over to me to give me a hug, which is when I thought back to what my team member said at work.
Before I started working full time, I imagined that the best part of being a working adult is that I would be able to enjoy making and spending money. However, I've been realizing that the best part of having money is being able to give it away. The Gaither Vocal Band has a song titled "Give it Away" that describes this very principle. Part of the lyrics say "if you want more happy than your heart could hold, if you wanna stand taller, if the truth were told, take whatever you have and give it away."
One of my favorite things to do is to visit my hometown and spend time with people. I enjoy it even more now because I have the ability to buy meals for my friends and family. There's something in me that finds such satisfaction and joy when I give things to others, even if it's something as small as a puzzle. The expression "it's better to give than receive" is absolutely true. The Bible reinforces this idea as well. It gives warnings to people who hold onto their possessions, because everything we have on this earth will fall away. Hold onto Jesus, and be willing to give everything else away.
-Smart
Decision Making
"But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way."
-Daniel 1:8
Last week I was playing basketball as I normally do twice a week. The game was close to finishing, with our team only two points away from winning (in pickup basketball, normal shots are worth one point, three pointers are worth two). Our best shooter was checking the ball with the other team, while I stood on the right wing. The defending team was playing a zone defense, which is very uncommon in pickup basketball. A "zone defense" refers to a defensive strategy in which the players defend an area of the court, as opposed to a "man defense" in which the players defend a specified opposing player.
It turned out that the opposing team's zone defense left me wide open on the right wing behind the three point line. The ball was checked up, and my teammate passed me the ball. One of my teammates called out to me to shoot the ball, since I was wide open. However, I am not a great three point shooter; I am much better at layups and post ups. As I caught the ball, I noticed that the defender guarding our best shooter started sprinting over to contest my shot. I immediately realized the best course of action was to simply pass the ball right back to my teammate. I passed him the ball, he shot the ball, and we won the game.
One of the often overlooked parts of basketball and sports in general is decision making. Many people believe that all you need to be good at basketball is skill. Of course skill is important in basketball, but good decision making is almost just as important. A highly skilled player that makes poor decisions or is indecisive can often hurt a team more than help a team. Take the story above as an example. When I was passed the ball, I could have done a number of different things. Many people would have simply shot the ball, regardless of their skill level. I also could have chosen to drive to the basket, but making a layup would only give our team one point. Passing the ball to a superior shooter would increase our chances of winning the game.
Some of you reading this may not quite understand all of the basketball references I just made, but the general idea remains- decision making is important. The verse at the beginning of this post is from the book of Daniel. It describes how Daniel chose not to indulge in the choice foods that the king of Babylon offered to him. Could Daniel have chosen to eat the king's food and still followed God's will? I'm sure he could have. However, it would have been much harder for Daniel to see God as his provider if he accepted the provision of the king of Babylon.
Making good choices can be hard because sometimes there is no wrong choice. I could have chosen to shoot the ball without anyone questioning me because I was open. However, I chose to pass rather than shoot because there was a better choice available. Also, making the right choice can be hard because it's not always the easy choice. Many people would have shot the ball because they could experience the satisfaction of shooting the winning shot. Passing the ball gives away that chance. However, even though I would have rather had the glory of the game winning shot, I chose to make the better play.
When Daniel chose to only eat vegetables instead of the choice foods, I'm sure it was hard for him. He probably had moments where he wished he'd have chosen the king's food. However, he stuck to his decision. How? He prayed. Chapter one of Daniel doesn't mention anything about Daniel praying, but later in the book it describes that he was a man of prayer. I believe Daniel was only able to make the best choice by praying and obeying God's will.
Our lives are full of choices. Some are small and inconsequential, others can change the course of life. Some choices are harder to make than others. However, we need to bring all things before God in prayer. God has given us the Holy Spirit to be our counselor. We should consult Him at all times to make the best decisions we can in our lives. Only God knows what is best for our lives, and only God can give us the strength to make the hard choices.
-Smart
-Daniel 1:8
Last week I was playing basketball as I normally do twice a week. The game was close to finishing, with our team only two points away from winning (in pickup basketball, normal shots are worth one point, three pointers are worth two). Our best shooter was checking the ball with the other team, while I stood on the right wing. The defending team was playing a zone defense, which is very uncommon in pickup basketball. A "zone defense" refers to a defensive strategy in which the players defend an area of the court, as opposed to a "man defense" in which the players defend a specified opposing player.
It turned out that the opposing team's zone defense left me wide open on the right wing behind the three point line. The ball was checked up, and my teammate passed me the ball. One of my teammates called out to me to shoot the ball, since I was wide open. However, I am not a great three point shooter; I am much better at layups and post ups. As I caught the ball, I noticed that the defender guarding our best shooter started sprinting over to contest my shot. I immediately realized the best course of action was to simply pass the ball right back to my teammate. I passed him the ball, he shot the ball, and we won the game.
One of the often overlooked parts of basketball and sports in general is decision making. Many people believe that all you need to be good at basketball is skill. Of course skill is important in basketball, but good decision making is almost just as important. A highly skilled player that makes poor decisions or is indecisive can often hurt a team more than help a team. Take the story above as an example. When I was passed the ball, I could have done a number of different things. Many people would have simply shot the ball, regardless of their skill level. I also could have chosen to drive to the basket, but making a layup would only give our team one point. Passing the ball to a superior shooter would increase our chances of winning the game.
Some of you reading this may not quite understand all of the basketball references I just made, but the general idea remains- decision making is important. The verse at the beginning of this post is from the book of Daniel. It describes how Daniel chose not to indulge in the choice foods that the king of Babylon offered to him. Could Daniel have chosen to eat the king's food and still followed God's will? I'm sure he could have. However, it would have been much harder for Daniel to see God as his provider if he accepted the provision of the king of Babylon.
Making good choices can be hard because sometimes there is no wrong choice. I could have chosen to shoot the ball without anyone questioning me because I was open. However, I chose to pass rather than shoot because there was a better choice available. Also, making the right choice can be hard because it's not always the easy choice. Many people would have shot the ball because they could experience the satisfaction of shooting the winning shot. Passing the ball gives away that chance. However, even though I would have rather had the glory of the game winning shot, I chose to make the better play.
When Daniel chose to only eat vegetables instead of the choice foods, I'm sure it was hard for him. He probably had moments where he wished he'd have chosen the king's food. However, he stuck to his decision. How? He prayed. Chapter one of Daniel doesn't mention anything about Daniel praying, but later in the book it describes that he was a man of prayer. I believe Daniel was only able to make the best choice by praying and obeying God's will.
Our lives are full of choices. Some are small and inconsequential, others can change the course of life. Some choices are harder to make than others. However, we need to bring all things before God in prayer. God has given us the Holy Spirit to be our counselor. We should consult Him at all times to make the best decisions we can in our lives. Only God knows what is best for our lives, and only God can give us the strength to make the hard choices.
-Smart
Story from the Tech Store
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."
-Romans 8:28
Back when I was in college, I worked at my school's technology store. The store mainly sold computers to students and faculty. One summer, I was working at the store when an incoming freshmen girl and her mom came in. I went over to help them, thinking it would just be a typical computer sale. They let me know that she was looking for a computer that she would use over the course of her college career. I asked her the usual set of questions that I would normally ask to gauge what computer would be best suited for her. I don't remember exactly how she answered the questions, but I recall that she had no real need for the model she was asking for- the MacBook Pro. Despite me thinking this, it was my job to make sure the customers were happy, so I went along with her request.
After determining the computer she wanted, I asked her which configuration of that computer she wanted. The main difference in the configurations is the storage space, so I asked her how much storage space she thought she would need. As was the case with most customers, she said she didn't know how much storage space she needed. I proceeded to go through the next series of actions that I normally did, which included looking at the storage space on her current devices. To my surprise, she was using almost 500GB of storage space on her current computer. I asked her if she knew what was taking all of this space, to which she again replied that she didn't know. I opened her computer settings, and found out that she had a huge quantity of photos and movies on her hard drive.
I spoke with the girl and her mom for the next couple of minutes, trying to determine whether she wanted to get the MacBook Pro model with the most storage space. The mother clearly didn't want to spend the money on that model, since it costs a few hundred dollars more than the other models. The girl seemed insistent that she "needed" the extra storage space. Knowing that the mother would ultimately be the one paying for the computer, I tried my best to convince them that the girl could use an external hard drive to store all of her photos and movies, but the girl claimed that this would be an inconvenience that she couldn't live without. After some more back and forth, the mother finally decided to buy her the computer that she wanted.
You might think that this is just a story of a spoiled girl who got something she probably didn't need or deserve. To some extent, that conclusion is true. However, as I reflected on this experience, I realized that this girl's mother teaches us something profound about God. The mother was very reluctant to buy her daughter the computer that she wanted, but the mom ultimately decided to buy it anyway. Even though the girl did nothing to deserve anything from her mother, her mother still treated her well.
How does this relate to God? Just like that girl, we all have done nothing to deserve anything good from God. However, just like the mother, God treats us as His children. Even when it hurt, God spared nothing to save us. However, there is one difference between God and that girl's mom. God works everything for our good, even if it doesn't make us feel good. The girl's mom did something that was both for the girl's good and comfort. The computer was something good that the girl needed for her schoolwork. Having an expensive computer with the maximum storage space was not necessarily for her good as much as it was for her comfort. She only wanted the storage space because it would make it comfortable for her to manage her pictures and movies.
Unfortunately, God doesn't always work for both our good and comfort. There are many examples in the Bible of people that God allowed to go through times that were not comfortable, but ended up being good for them. I've been reading (on and off) the early books in the Bible where God leads the Israelites out of the Egypt. It's obvious to readers like us that this was for their good, since they escaped the harsh conditions of slavery in Egypt. However, time and time again, the Israelites complain to God about their situation. Why? The Israelites were free but they weren't comfortable. They didn't feel good. The desert was harsh and God's laws were numerous. What the Israelites failed to realize was that even in their uncomfortable circumstances, God was working everything for their good.
God works everything for our good, even if it doesn't make us feel good. Often times we think that something that is good should also feel good. We easily complain like the Israelites in the wilderness. What's fascinating to me is that we should know from our experience that what is good doesn't always feel good. Think about exercise. Exercise is good for us, but it doesn't always feel good. Or think about food. The healthiest foods often don't taste the best. Why shouldn't the same be true of the rest of our lives? Be encouraged that even when things don't seem to be going well, God is always working for your good. One of the lines from the song "Good Good Father" gives us one more word of encouragement: "Cause You (God) know just what we need before we say a word."
-Smart
-Romans 8:28
Back when I was in college, I worked at my school's technology store. The store mainly sold computers to students and faculty. One summer, I was working at the store when an incoming freshmen girl and her mom came in. I went over to help them, thinking it would just be a typical computer sale. They let me know that she was looking for a computer that she would use over the course of her college career. I asked her the usual set of questions that I would normally ask to gauge what computer would be best suited for her. I don't remember exactly how she answered the questions, but I recall that she had no real need for the model she was asking for- the MacBook Pro. Despite me thinking this, it was my job to make sure the customers were happy, so I went along with her request.
After determining the computer she wanted, I asked her which configuration of that computer she wanted. The main difference in the configurations is the storage space, so I asked her how much storage space she thought she would need. As was the case with most customers, she said she didn't know how much storage space she needed. I proceeded to go through the next series of actions that I normally did, which included looking at the storage space on her current devices. To my surprise, she was using almost 500GB of storage space on her current computer. I asked her if she knew what was taking all of this space, to which she again replied that she didn't know. I opened her computer settings, and found out that she had a huge quantity of photos and movies on her hard drive.
I spoke with the girl and her mom for the next couple of minutes, trying to determine whether she wanted to get the MacBook Pro model with the most storage space. The mother clearly didn't want to spend the money on that model, since it costs a few hundred dollars more than the other models. The girl seemed insistent that she "needed" the extra storage space. Knowing that the mother would ultimately be the one paying for the computer, I tried my best to convince them that the girl could use an external hard drive to store all of her photos and movies, but the girl claimed that this would be an inconvenience that she couldn't live without. After some more back and forth, the mother finally decided to buy her the computer that she wanted.
You might think that this is just a story of a spoiled girl who got something she probably didn't need or deserve. To some extent, that conclusion is true. However, as I reflected on this experience, I realized that this girl's mother teaches us something profound about God. The mother was very reluctant to buy her daughter the computer that she wanted, but the mom ultimately decided to buy it anyway. Even though the girl did nothing to deserve anything from her mother, her mother still treated her well.
How does this relate to God? Just like that girl, we all have done nothing to deserve anything good from God. However, just like the mother, God treats us as His children. Even when it hurt, God spared nothing to save us. However, there is one difference between God and that girl's mom. God works everything for our good, even if it doesn't make us feel good. The girl's mom did something that was both for the girl's good and comfort. The computer was something good that the girl needed for her schoolwork. Having an expensive computer with the maximum storage space was not necessarily for her good as much as it was for her comfort. She only wanted the storage space because it would make it comfortable for her to manage her pictures and movies.
Unfortunately, God doesn't always work for both our good and comfort. There are many examples in the Bible of people that God allowed to go through times that were not comfortable, but ended up being good for them. I've been reading (on and off) the early books in the Bible where God leads the Israelites out of the Egypt. It's obvious to readers like us that this was for their good, since they escaped the harsh conditions of slavery in Egypt. However, time and time again, the Israelites complain to God about their situation. Why? The Israelites were free but they weren't comfortable. They didn't feel good. The desert was harsh and God's laws were numerous. What the Israelites failed to realize was that even in their uncomfortable circumstances, God was working everything for their good.
God works everything for our good, even if it doesn't make us feel good. Often times we think that something that is good should also feel good. We easily complain like the Israelites in the wilderness. What's fascinating to me is that we should know from our experience that what is good doesn't always feel good. Think about exercise. Exercise is good for us, but it doesn't always feel good. Or think about food. The healthiest foods often don't taste the best. Why shouldn't the same be true of the rest of our lives? Be encouraged that even when things don't seem to be going well, God is always working for your good. One of the lines from the song "Good Good Father" gives us one more word of encouragement: "Cause You (God) know just what we need before we say a word."
-Smart
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