Wisdom In All Things

Asking for wisdom is necessary, but asking the right person is crucial. King Solomon’s demonstrates for us that we should not only be willing, but that we ask for wisdom from the right person. Read the transcript for Ask for Wisdom as Solomon Asked for Wisdom Sign up for the Wisdom in All Things email.

I think it goes without saying—the world we live in is increasingly wolf-infested, and growing more so by the week. While we have our challenges and opposition to face, one could argue that the disciples had it even worse. Setting aside their obvious lack of creature comforts and technological advances, they were surrounded by a hostile culture and government—I have yet to hear of anyone in these...

Marriage was designed as the sole place for the purpose of venery to be satisfied. At least what Franklin points out—personal health and the wellbeing of a family—are realized when the expression of our sexual desires remains within the context of marriage. If not for chastity, our unbridled expression leads to depletion. We’ll have less excitement, strength, peace, reputation, and most discouragi...

Clean, like, really clean—the way mom would clean something—is clean in back, and underneath, not just where someone might see. To do that, you need to pick up whatever you’re cleaning and inspect it. Cleanliness is being thoughtful, meticulous–and thorough. A quick dusting just doesn’t cut it. While most of the virtues are applicable across our lives, I find that this one, in particular, is made...

Franklin’s admonition is to “keep calm and carry on”. We can’t allow trifles and those events and circumstances that are common and unavoidable to trip us up or pull us away from what is actually important. The inability to find tranquility can develop into a perpetual state of being perturbed. Read the transcript for Benjamin Franklin's 13 Virtues - Tranquility Sign up for the Wisdom in All Thing...

Both Merriam-Webster and Franklin are in direct opposition to the mindset, and behavior, of exactly where our culture has been tracking for some time. Now, moderation is what you avoid, while extremes are what you embrace, pursue, live for—as if to argue that moderation is an extreme to be avoided. More to the point is that moderation is to be applied broadly. That is, we are to moderate the expre...

Unfortunately, we don’t hear much of duty these days. I feel that the idea of duty has been absorbed and used as a form of narcissism. That is, we have a duty unto ourselves to ensure that we get justice. However, Benjamin rightly prescribed justice as being toward others. The responsibility we have to be “morally right and fair” is outward-facing. What he doesn’t state, but I believe he would agr...

We do have the option of not speaking. Fewer words are normally more prudent. And, our being “slow to speak” (James 1:19), gives speaking and acting with sincerity its truest aim. Franklin’s first four words ("Use no hurtful deceit") really describe a principle. The foundation on which we should first, govern what we think, and then, guide what may follow from those thoughts. Read the transcript f...

First, consider that there must be no room for waste in being industrious. No minute is left unscrutinized or unaccounted for. If you’re going to spend any time, spend it constructively. Time is not lost or wasted, as long as we’re moving forward on what is worthwhile. Industry requires that we be vigilant as with a machete, whacking away at anything that resembles the unnecessary. Read the transc...

There really are two aspects to enabling growth. Stop doing what you shouldn’t, and start doing what you should. It would be counterproductive to only do one or the other. Pursuing frugality should lead us to “backfill the hole”, but also produce a level of wealth and autonomy that puts us in the driver’s seat. Being free and clear puts us in a better position to say 'yes' when presented with the...

To not have the right understanding of what “ought” to be, you, well, end up with what Nike declared in 1978: Just Do It. What’s it? Anything you want it to be. Essentially, Benjamin is saying: get ‘it’ right–with conviction. Acknowledgment, or intellectual assent, is not the same as having a resolve. Like a soldier under command, our conviction should lead to the commitment of carrying out the ri...

Benjamin hoped having order “would allow [him] more time for attending to [his] project and [his] studies.” To ensure that order would allow him the space to tackle more pressing and valuable concerns. I was immediately taken by the fact that he had an excellent morning routine, not to mention that he allowed 3 hours for it! He started his day with the proper order of things. Read the transcript f...

It should be clear that Franklin is not intending that we become a quiet person, as there are certainly  times to speak up.   It is speaking with a purpose that distinguishes this virtue and avoiding those situations when you would be drawn into inane, unimportant, or trivial discussions. This way, you benefit from your listening, and others benefit from your speaking. Read the transcript for Benj...

Benjamin Franklin believed that temperance “tends to procure that coolness and clearness of head which is so necessary where constant vigilance was to be kept up, and guard maintained against the unremitting attraction of ancient habits and the force of perpetual temptations.” Read the transcript for Benjamin Franklin's 13 Virtues - Temperance Sign up for the Wisdom in All Things email

What was once the norm, is now rapidly becoming the exception. And those who are “conforming badly” are no longer just insisting you join them, but are forcing compliance. To resist isn’t futile. For to remain steadfast, is to save. Consider the lemming that stops, turns around, and starts yelling, “go back the other way!” It would seem that not conforming may very well be salvific. Read the trans...

Regardless of its depth, persistent doubt is certainly devastating, as even infrequent, ill-timed bouts can needlessly delay, derail, or even slowly destroy us. The idea that we should ask for help with our unbelief is just one crucial element in properly addressing doubt. Read the transcript for I Doubt It Sign up for the Wisdom in All Things email

"Be still and know that I am God (Psalm 46:10)."  Doing nothing leads to nothing. Being still leads to knowing. This is the crucial difference between doing nothing and being still. Doing nothing misses the “something”. Consider this: be still, or, you won’t know that He is God. This would be a devastating “miss”. Without being still there would be significant “misses” all throughout our lives. Re...

If happiness shouldn’t even be a goal, then it should certainly never be a purpose: “I exist to be happy.” It’s a little easier to see how ridiculous that sounds when you put it like that. But unfortunately, in big and small ways, that is have become our belief. Maybe this is the sign you are looking for. The sign that you need to ask yourself, perhaps again, for the first time: Why am I here? And...

From the perspective of being as valuable as an expert, David W. Maister (and others) developed a “trust equation” which looks like this: Trustworthiness = credibility + reliability + intimacy / self-orientation. Essentially, credibility and reliability are being commoditized, leaving intimacy (emotions) and self-orientation (motives) as the means of remaining valuable and influential–and employed...

In his article, 5 Wrong Ways to Talk About Sin, Derek Rishmawy describes one of the ways we avoid using this “S” word.  He calls it “The Youth Group” way, which, “treats [sin] more like chewing your nails…”  And then nails the reason why we need to–because it is “a serious, soul-destroying plague with real-world (in this and the next) repercussions.”     That is precisely why we need to use it mor...

Not to go all ‘Matrix’ on you, but there are both “seen and unseen” forces on our lives.  This fact is quite clear from verses like Ephesians 6:12.  “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”  We face relentless attacks that requi...

You’ll also want to put in view only that which should be focused on.  Everything outside the frame is not an option. If there is any hacking to be done, it may be that you hack away those feelings and distractions that are keeping you from doing. Read the transcript for Hack Your Way to a Better Life Sign up for the Wisdom in All Things email

Does a drip worry about the size ripple it will make?  I’m pretty sure that “making an impact” doesn’t even cross its little mind.  It’s something that happens naturally. What matters most is that it dripped.  And if it desires to continue to have a rippling effect, it just needs to keep dripping. Read the transcript for How Should We Understand Making an Impact Sign up for the Wisdom in All Thing...

Nothing like a good tussle.  And in this case, Jacob was past liking the idea and truly wanted God to respond.  So much so, that even though God physically weakened him (dislocated hip), he remained physically, and spiritually, persistent–until he received what he wanted. Read the transcript for Wrestle God? How Bad Do You Want it? Sign up for the Wisdom in All Things email

Laboring in vain is not limited to our trying to fix something that is broken, it also applies to our reaching forward to create and do good. We can just as easily look to ourselves to fix problems, as we can to know and do what is right. Read the transcript for Careful, You Just Might Be Laboring in Vain Sign up for the Wisdom in All Things email