life is brief
and enormous
sweet, sad paradox
Showing posts with label Perspective. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Perspective. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Monday, May 07, 2007
church perspective (Mayhew)
"The church is not an institution 'out there', which I support. It is the community that enfolds and identifies who I am as an individual."
Ray Mayhew
Ray Mayhew
Monday, March 13, 2006
James [Mr. Buzzkill] part two
“...man’s temper is never the means of achieving God’s true goodness.” James 1:20
As much as I affirm this statement, it also bums me out. My temper has been a potent energy source over the years, so it costs me something to set it aside.
Quick to listen, slow to employ the tongue... This is what James proposes as an alternate source of energy; essentially, it is the power of story.
If I will hold my tongue long enough to hear where you’re coming from, I will begin to perceive your perspective more dimensionally. Once I’ve taken that step inside your story I might still become angry, but I will probably be less likely to lose my temper.
Another facet: Even if I consider my temper-flash to have yielded a desirable effect, it will not have been “God’s true goodness”. My assessment of the outcome is misaligned with God’s.
As much as I affirm this statement, it also bums me out. My temper has been a potent energy source over the years, so it costs me something to set it aside.
Quick to listen, slow to employ the tongue... This is what James proposes as an alternate source of energy; essentially, it is the power of story.
If I will hold my tongue long enough to hear where you’re coming from, I will begin to perceive your perspective more dimensionally. Once I’ve taken that step inside your story I might still become angry, but I will probably be less likely to lose my temper.
Another facet: Even if I consider my temper-flash to have yielded a desirable effect, it will not have been “God’s true goodness”. My assessment of the outcome is misaligned with God’s.
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