Of two evils, choose the least. Erasmus

How many times have we overheard someone say that they chose the lesser of two evils, as if they had just accomplished something noble?

My wife and I were at a restaurant  with a menu containing a list of food that we normally wouldn't have consumed on a bet. Instead of ordering a couple of cokes (or just leaving as soon as the waiter's back was turned) we ordered the least offensive item we could find. Then, after choking down something we would have  probably ordered our two year olds (in years gone by) to throw back on the ground, we paid an exorbitant price with a nice tip for something that, for all we knew, was bio-hazardous waste.  People do strange things in the name of polite behavior.

How much better it is to simply refuse the choices offered when confronted with such a poor selection. When we find ourselves in unpleasant circumstances and want to rise above that state, we will have to make choices superior to those that put us there in the first place. By continually choosing the least distasteful course among bad choices, we will remain on a path that takes us to places we don't want to go, be with people that we really shouldn't be with, or eat things that are best left uneaten.

If you continually find yourself dissatisfied with you lot in life, maybe it is time to upgrade your choices. Since the creation, God has allowed man to choose his own path, but not without consequence. He will allow us to continually choose from a wide array of evils that can only lead to death, but what He really wants us to do is to choose life. Which... will you choose?

This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him.  For the LORD is your life... Deut. 30:19-20, NIV

The last acceptable form of bigotry is that of bias against Christianity.

I was watching Bill O'Riley last night and he had a clip from the show, "Saturday Night Live". The clip showed an actor who was playing Christ and mocking Christianity. Now, if you were to ask the people who put on this little skit, they would likely claim that they were not mocking Christ - rather, they were making fun of a popular quarterback by the name of Tim Tebow.

Perhaps that is what they were trying to do - I won't argue their point. But the effect was to mock Jesus, and they are not the only ones doing so. In fact, countless people, from ESPN anchors to so-called "serious journalists", have used the "Tebow" story as an opportunity to mock Christ and His followers.

How sad!

How sad it is for their to be such an attitude of hostility against Christians. It seethes beneath the surface, but comes out quickly whenever anyone dares to bring up Jesus in a serious manner. It infuriates these people - often they can barely contain their scorn as they rail against anyone who would dare to acknowledge the name of Jesus in any way other than in the form of a curse.

So, what should our response be? How should Christians react to such open bigotry? While I cannot speak for others, I can tell you what I intend to do: I intend to pray for them. You see, Christ died for their sins. He died for those who spit on Him, and who cursed Him, and who struck Him, and who mocked Him, and who crucified Him. In fact, while He was dying on the very cross they nailed our Lord and Savior to, He asked God to forgive them because they did not know what they were doing.

I think the same is true of most of those who put down Christians (and the Lord whom we follow) today: They just don't know what they are doing. Does it make us mad? It should! But it should also make us hope and pray that they will repent, for most of the people who involve themselves in this last acceptable form of bigotry are just like we used to be: Ignorant and in danger of being lost for all eternity. And, like us, they need to repent. I pray that they will!

"But I tell you who hear Me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you." Jesus, as recorded in Luke 6:27-28, NIV

If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Frederick Douglass

In Happy, Texas, our biggest rival has been a team located 25 miles away in Nazareth. The Nazareth girls have won 17 State basketball titles - more than any other team in America. The boys team has also won its share of state titles in recent years. For some, it would be just fine if Nazareth were in a completely different state instead of in the same district as our hometown of Happy, but I am convinced that this competition has made us better - both as a basketball team and as people.

Why is that, you might wonder? It is because of the importance of the struggle.

It is the struggle to get out of the cocoon that gives the wings of the Monarch butterfly the strength to fly 3,000 miles. Any attempt to "help" the butterfly by tearing open its cocoon would ease its struggle, but would also render it incapable of flying even a few feet.  It's the struggle of tearing through its shell, digging out of the sand and racing to the water that gives the great sea turtle its strength to swim vast oceans. Take away the struggle and you would steal a vital step to its being able to survive and thrive.

Too often, we as parents want to remove the struggle from our children's lives. From the coaches that demand excellence to the teachers who demand perfection, we are quick to rush to our "babies" rescue. By doing so, we often doom them to mediocrity, for it is the struggle that makes them strong. Now, I am not suggesting for a moment that we put up with abusive or unreasonable behavior in the methods of our coaches and teachers and parents. What I am suggesting though is that we not only tolerate the struggle , but that we encourage it as well, for the struggle is one of the key ingredients in any recipe for excellence and high achievement.

Incidentally, don't you think that God recognizes the importance of the struggle?  Couldn't that be precisely why He built-in the struggle for everything from the Monarch butterfly to the Great Sea turtle? And... might not that be the reason that He allows us to struggle from time to time? Perhaps our loving Father is preparing us for excellence in some great purpose that He has in mind for us.

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving us for an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. II Corinthians 4:17, NIV

Get the facts. Analyze the facts. Make a decision. Act on that decision. Socrates

While old Socrates had a great framework for handling problems, his formula was missing something - God and prayer. One of the most valuable pieces of advice that I have come across is from Larry Burkett, and it was essentially this: If you have an important decision to make and are not sure exactly how to proceed, then pray for wisdom and go in the direction that gives you the most peace.

I have taken this advice on many occasions - and always with good results. The reason is that the decision making process calls for a conclusion - often among competing solutions that seem equally reasonable. So, what do you do? You pray for God's direction and then choose the one that gives you the most peace of mind when compared to the others. A practical example might help to illustrate this principle.

Say you get a call from the police informing you that your child has been arrested for drunk driving. Your first impulse is to kill the child, but calmer heads prevail and that option is reluctantly discarded. But what do you do? Do you punish him with an iron fist? Do you hug him and say all is well because everyone makes mistakes? More than likely it will need to be a combination of the two extremes, but which combination and how do you come up with it? This is where Larry and the old Greek guy blend so well.

1. Get the facts: Your child was arrested for drunken driving.

2. Analyze the facts: Something has to be done and punishment is in order, but your child needs to be shown that you still    love him.

3. Make a prayerful decision: This is a pivotal moment in your child's life and you must make the best decision you can. So you pray for guidance and then choose the solution you feel most at peace with. In this case, you might see the need to mix justice with mercy.

4. Act on your decision: You have tried to make the best decision that you can in God's eyes, so it will be a good one. In this case, you let your child know that you love him more than ever, but that serious transgressions require serious attention and serious penalties. So you mix justice with love and mercy and then you go on with life.

The fact is that there will be difficult decisions in life that we may never know the exact solutions to. However, if we will seek God's help and direction in every important decision, we will not only come out better than we could hope for otherwise, we will also have the peace of mind that God will help us every step of the way.

Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. James 5:13, NIV