Comments on: Deathbed Wishes

By: Joe Booker

Joe Booker — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:23:06 +0000

Great post David! Figuratively speaking, we are all at this very moment on our "death beds" and must at some point take responsibility for the choices we make.

I hope and pray every day for the strength and wisdom to eliminate the "I wish I would have" moments from my life.

By: Eric Pennington

Eric Pennington — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 12:57:29 +0000

Thanks for a great post Dan. Your friend is a symbol of our culture. As someone who has spent some time re-learning that God makes the life and we’re to go live it, I can say the battle is intense for identity. Not to mention our legacy.

It’s not an either or equation. God made us to "work hard/play hard." But not at the expense of our identity, which is supposed to be rooted in how Jesus lived.

I write not in judgement. Our Father pulled me away from the fire just in time 4 years ago. I’m still learning how to live "differently." But even with the trips, missteps, failures and joy, I know I’m supposed to walk in the way of Colossians 3:23-24.

By: Marcus Goodyear

Marcus Goodyear — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:19:40 +0000

God created us to work. He created us in his image (while he was at work). So working is part of our purpose in life.

For me the issue is not spending less time at work and more time at home, but being fully present wherever I am.

Working from home on my smart phone, checking email while the kids are in the tub… this is not a healthy thing for me.

By: Glenn

Glenn — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:05:57 +0000

Great post, David. Based on what the Scriptures teach, work is service. Service is the expression of love. Jesus said that those who serve are the "greatest" in his kingdom. So when we work hard, we’re fulfilling his command to love our neighbor. I’m also moved by what Jesus said about his own work: "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work." He THRIVED on his work.

By: Dan

Dan — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 23:31:00 +0000

Tension

Thanks for your honest expression of this tension. I don’t think I’ll ever get over it. In fact, it almost seems like these tensions (different from stress) are safeguards. Sometimes I wonder if a synonym for faith is tension. It’s the tension that keeps me trusting God, and turning away from just trusting myself. Formulas, programs, pat answers are all designed to do away with tension…and perhaps faith.

The apostle Paul expressed this tension in Romans 15 when he discusses the interplay of what he is called to do, colored by his ambition and desires of how to express it, and his obligations to others (in his case the family in Jerusalem).

So we trust God, beginning where we are and with what we have at hand.

I spent a lot of years trying to make a difference and ended up neglecting my own family. Now I am overwhelmed at the privilege and joy of taking care of my own in a way that I don’t think I could have appreciated before.

Thanks for the reminder.

By: Breadcrust

Breadcrust — Wed, 30 Aug 2006 03:04:00 +0000

Regrets, John Wood

This letter and the article about John Wood combine to illustrate the tension that I feel. I am encouraged by the article about John Wood. I particularly like his entrepreneurial approach. When I hear about John Wood, Bill Gates, Oprah, Bono, Dikembe Mutumbo,etc. I find myself thinking, "I’d do that too if I had that kind of wealth." This thinking is not only contrary to Scripture, but it is really an excuse for inaction. I do feel the tension between "doing something that matters" and providing for my own family.