What You Control

Let’s face it, you do not control very much in your life. One of my favorite parts about being a chaplain in the Army is that I will never have to make a command decision. I have absolutely no power. In fact, if I were in a situation where a big decision needed to be made on the battlefield, and it was just me and PVT Snuffy, he would be telling me what to do and not the other way around. Which brings me to the part that I like least in the Army, which is, I will never have to make a command decision.

It’s pretty humbling to know that I do not control much. And, that is not just in the Army, but life in general. I would venture to say that no matter where you are in life, you do not have as much control as you might like to have. Whether it is your work, family situation, or even a group that you volunteer time at.

What I do control is my attitude. And, by learning from men and women who know much more than me, peers that care a ton about my growth in all areas of life, and Scripture, I know that one principle remains constant. That is, God is the one that has real control in my life. My question to you is, have you taken a long hard look at what you actually do have control over, and separate it from what you think that you have control over? Once you put your trust in God, and know that he is the controller of not just your life, but of all creation, it might give you a different perspective.

“All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations.”

Psalm 22:27-28

Beware of the Man with Infinite Wisdom…

Beware of the Man with Infinite Wisdom…

It always amazes me how so many people have so much to say about stuff that is clearly out of their purview.  What I mean by that is, it doesn’t matter where I am – standing in line, at the grocery store, whatever – someone is always giving their opinion to somebody else.   John Maxwell once said that if we spend as much time taking our own advice that we give to everybody else, we would be much better people.  Let me give you a little bit of context.

Every now and again somebody tries to chime in with their important wisdom and knowledge into something that they believe I need to change.  I usually just smile and accept whatever nonsense they are telling me.  But then there are those that are really adamant about how wrong that I’m doing life, and that they have the answers.  Let’s not even get into the life choices that these individuals that always seem to have the best wisdom are actually making themselves.

Most anybody who has ever spent time with me has heard me say the following, “I really only care about the opinions of five or so people in my life, and you are not one of them.”  Yes, I know.  There is something that I can and should learn from everybody.  But, I can usually do that on my own.  So, next time you want to give me your important insight, just remember that you should probably deal with your own stuff first and then come back to change my life.