Accentuate the Positive!

If you have the responsibility of supervising employees, you might want to check out an article I stumbled across a few days ago.  The author acknowledged that being the boss can be a real challenge—especially coping with employees who do their jobs well; but are equally skilled at annoying both you and their colleagues. This article shared one consultant’s list of the six most common problem personalities: The Gossip, The Grump, The Overachiever, The Suck-up, The Slacker, and The Clown.

If any of these people were not performing adequately, the author admits the easiest solution might be to fire them. You might be tempted to think that you would just be better off without them. As much as you might wish you could do everything yourself, the truth is you need other people to help you complete the work.

While the advice for how to deal with each of these different personality types was slightly different, the consistent theme was to redirect each person’s energies toward a specific task that would benefit them and the rest of the team. Encourage employees to talk about the things they have in common to strengthen relationships with one another. Make sure people who seem unhappy or insecure feel heard and that their contributions are recognized. Find ways to give people tasks that connect with their passions and interests so they have a reason to be more engaged and less disruptive.

Years ago Johnny Mercer wrote a song several artists made popular, “Accentuate the Positive.” You may remember the chorus:

You've got to accentuate the positive,

Eliminate the negative,

Latch on to the affirmative,

Don't mess with Mister In-Between.

Telling people only what you don’t like about what they are doing is rarely effective in altering their behavior. When you can show them a better way to accomplish their objectives, everyone benefits. That strategy works personally, as well. If you spend all your energy punishing yourself for some persistent bad habit without identifying a positive alternative, you are most likely to end up disheartened and discouraged, if not defeated.

Lent is an appropriate time to consider any habits you might have that are keeping you from becoming the person God created you to be. It is also a great time to adopt a discipline that will put you in a better position to accept the freedom and power God wants to give you, so you can experience every blessing God has prepared for you.  

Finding the Courage to Say "No!"

A friend was sharing his frustration the other day. He confessed that he might not be making the best use of his time. A lot of his work is done on the computer, and he uses the internet to access some of its resources. His concern was that there seemed to be more and more times when something would distract him and take him to another site where he would find something else that seemed interesting; and much too quickly, thirty minutes—or an hour—had passed and he still had not completed his original search. He asked me to pray for him.

When Jesus left his disciples for the last time, he gave them pretty clear and concise instructions: “Make disciples.” They had been following Jesus down a very particular path for a few years. They had heard Jesus teach others about God’s love and God’s intention that people love one another. They had heard Jesus invite others to follow him. They had witnessed Jesus sacrifice everything to demonstrate God’s love. From its first days, the church has embraced the mission to make disciples—people who faithfully follow the way of Christ.

Like my friend there have been times when the church has been distracted from its primary purpose. It has become fascinated with different media and methods, with a variety of liturgy and architecture, with nuances of theology and doctrine.

Individuals who make the commitment to follow Christ also find themselves wandering off the path from time to time—chasing after other pursuits that seem to promise profit, prestige, or power.

Sometimes the best way to get back on the path is to recall the commitments you made when you began. During Lent, the church has focused on teaching persons how to follow the path of Jesus. The keys to avoiding distraction and staying focused are central to the baptismal covenant. That’s why focusing on living out those vows in our everyday life can be a meaningful practice during the season of Lent.

I pray this will be a season for you to reflect on the path you are following. Are there things that are distracting you from keeping the commitments that are most important to you? May you find the courage to renounce and reject those things, so you may walk in the way that leads to life. 

Love One Another

Valentine’s Day is coming up in just a couple of weeks and there are lots of marketers aiming for your wallet. They hope to convince you that spending a few dollars to purchase their product will touch the heart of your true love.

Showing your love for others is important—and not just to those whom you might expect to return the affection. Jesus says a lot about love: love for God, love for our neighbor, even love for our enemies. And when you think about the love Jesus demonstrated, you begin to understand that Jesus is not just talking about having a positive regard for others. He is talking about doing something practical to improve the quality of their life. Jesus fed people who were hungry. Jesus healed people who were sick. Jesus people welcomed people who were left out. Jesus restored the hope of those who were drowning in despair. Furthermore, Jesus says that the way everyone will be able to tell if we are really committed to faithfully following him, is when we love each other (John 13:35).

John Wesley found a slightly different way to talk about how important love is: “In a Christian believer love sits upon the throne which is erected in the inmost soul; namely, love of God and man, which fills the whole heart, and reigns without rival.” For Wesley, too, this love had real world ramifications. Reflecting on Chapter 13 of Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, Wesley writes, “The love of God, and of our neighbour for God's sake, is patient toward, all men. It suffers all the weakness, ignorance, errors, and infirmities of the children of God; all the malice and wickedness of the children of the world: and all this, not only for a time, but to the end. And in every step toward overcoming evil with good, it is kind, soft, mild, benign. It inspires the sufferer at once with the most amiable sweetness, and the most fervent and tender affection.”

This kind of love goes way beyond stuffed animals, bouquets of flowers, heart-shaped boxes of chocolates, or frilly cards. It is also much more costly. But without this kind of love, all the other is just claptrap and garbage that will be discarded in a few days. Loving others the way Jesus has taught us will make an everlasting difference in us, in those we love, and in the world.