But before Saul sent David out to fight he let him borrow his personal, kingly armor, which included a bronze helmet and a coat of mail. David put on the armor and tried walking around in it but found it to be too cumbersome and ill-fitting. Saul was a very tall man, the tallest in all Israel, and young David was much shorter. So David politely declined the offer and chose instead to arm himself with five smooth stones, which he placed in his shepherd’s pouch, and his sling. Of course, the rest is history.

I’m 45 years old now, and if I’ve learned nothing else about life I’ve learned one thing: You can’t be successful trying to wear armor that doesn’t fit you. You have to be yourself and strive to keep yourself in situations that suit you. Not every job is a good fit for you, even if the pay is good. Some neighborhoods just aren’t your style. Your relationships with certain people will never be quite right, no matter how hard you work at them. That’s just the way it is. The world has its Sauls, wearing their armor, and its Davids, carrying shepherd’s pouches and slings. People are different.

That’s why it’s so important that you learn to appreciate it when you find yourself in a good circumstance. Don’t be so quick to run off from a spot that is obviously well-suited to you. If you’ve found people with whom you can get along, stay with them. If you’ve got a job that provides you with not only a paycheck but also contentment, stick with it. If you’ve discovered an oasis in a desert of life’s barrenness, sink your roots down into it and enjoy it. There’s nothing wrong with maintaining your individuality and being true to yourself. After all, God is the one who wired you the way you are. So why try to be someone you’re not or force your round peg into a square hole? That won’t work for you any more than wearing Saul’s armor worked for David. And could it be that Goliaths aren’t getting slain in your life simply because you aren’t fighting in a style that suits you? Think about it.

As it turned out, she wasn’t interested in selling at that time, but the reason she gave fascinated me. Very politely she told us, “No, I don’t want to sell right now because from past experience I’ve learned that I don’t make good decisions in winter.” I have to admit that when I heard that answer I thought to myself, “Good for you! There are people who go their entire lives and never recognize such a pattern about themselves.” I actually admired her for being able to figure that out about herself. You see, she is the type of person who is prone to melancholy and depression, and winter weather causes that to bubble up in her all the more. But through much introspection and self-analysis, she had learned that about herself and come up with a way of limiting its damaging effects in her life.

Well, in the end, Tonya and I bought another house, and quite a few years have passed since. Still, though, I remember the line: “I don’t make good decisions in winter.” I think of it when I want to resign from a church during a rough stretch of attendance, spirit, and offerings. I think of it when I want one of the boys to quit a ball team because a coach isn’t doing him right. I think of it when I want to sell our current house because I’ve grown frustrated with all the renovating and repairs it needs.

“I don’t make good decisions in winter” simply means: Always be wary of making a major, life-changing decision during a difficult time. It’s usually better to wait until the sun is warm, the birds are singing, attendance is up, the spirit is good, the money is fine, things are going well for your kid, the repairs are finished, and your overall outlook on life is upbeat. Then, if you can still make the same decision, you know the course of action is right for you.

I want you to take a personal survey. No one is paying attention except you and God. Ask yourself this question: Is there anything in my life right now with which I am not content? Perhaps it’s your car. Perhaps it’s your home. Maybe it’s your job. Maybe it’s your financial situation.

As I was growing up, my dad would say to me on numerous occasions, “Russell, you can’t be satisfied with anything.” I remember how I always chafed at that accusation because I honestly didn’t believe that it was true. I used to think to myself, “No, he’s wrong. I can be content. I just can’t be content with what I’ve got to work with right now.”

Unfortunately, as I’ve grown older I’ve been forced to learn that my father was right about my contentment level. If it was a thermostat it would be set very, very low. It doesn’t take much to get me to looking over the hills and thinking, “Oh, how much better my life would be if I was over there.” If God had let me move every time I had a whim to do so, my vehicle wouldn’t be a Subaru; it would be a U-HAUL. As for Tonya and the boys, I guess they would feel like a military family that moves from one base to another, never staying anywhere long enough to put down roots and build lasting relationships.

Somewhere years ago I read a silly little line that has always helped me. It goes like this: “If the grass is greener on the other side of the fence it’s because it’s growing over a septic tank.” That line has often come to my mind when God has turned down my latest urge to bolt and run and seek my fortune elsewhere. Have I got problems in my current location? Yes. Would I be problem free if I moved to that latest place that has caught my fancy? Nope. It would just be a new set of problems, perhaps even worse than my current ones.

You can learn some things by watching childrens’television. I can’t remember if I was babysitting Ryan or Royce, but one of them was watching a kids’show one day when a thought-provoking cartoon segment came on. It was about a little girl who lived in an apartment building in the big city. Every morning she would look out her window and stare longingly at the building with the golden windows that sat on the other side of the city. Oh how she wanted to live in that beautiful building! So one morning she made up her mind to go and see the building up close. She got herself dressed and headed out to find it. All day long she searched and searched, but she couldn’t find the building with the golden windows. Then, late in the afternoon, just as she was about to lose all hope, she turned around and there it was. But it was way over on the other side of town. So she ran and ran and ran and ran until she finally arrived at the building. Only then did she notice that it was the building in which lived. She thought, “How is this possible?” Suddenly the answer came to her: The sun which cast its light upon the one building in rising in the morning was casting its light upon her building in setting in the evening.

Now why am I telling you all this? I’m doing it to help you realize that where you are right now is a wonderful place if it is where God wants to be. Does He ever relocate people and lead them to make changes in their lives? Certainly, but that’s a whole other post for a whole other time. Right now I’m saying that if He has you living in a certain place, working a certain job, maintaining a certain financial level, and driving a certain car, you need to learn to see the golden windows in those things. They are there. You just have to recognize them.

I’ll leave you now with some words from the apostle Paul. They are words that I know very well because they have haunted me many a time. The haunting stems from the fact that I still can’t truthfully make the statement that Paul makes. In Philippians 4:11, he says:

…I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.

I can’t speak for you, but I haven’t completely “learned” that yet. Without doubt, my classes are still in session. I’m hoping, though, that I can earn that degree one day. Until then I need to keep looking for those golden windows of where God has me.

“Stunned Turkish shepherds, who had left the herd to graze while they had breakfast, watched as nearly 1,500 others followed, each leaping off the same cliff.”

Incredibly, only 450 of the sheep died. The rest survived because their fall was cushioned by the bodies of the sheep that had jumped before them.

Here’s a typical parent-child conversation:

Jimmy: “Dad, can I take my skateboard and try a triple-spin reverse off the front porch?”

Dad: “No!”

Jimmy: “Why not? Tommy does it.”

Dad: “If Tommy jumped off a cliff, would you follow him?”

That comeback about jumping off a cliff really is the classic reason that parents use to keep a kid from caving in to peer pressure, isn’t it? It reminds me of the old “You’ll shoot your eye out” line from the movie A Christmas Story. Little Ralphie says, “That deadly phrase honored many times by hundreds of mothers was not surmountable by any means known to Kid-dom.”

Truth be told, though, parents have to warn their kids about jumping off cliffs because peer pressure is such a powerful force. In his book There’s A Sheep Born Every Second, David Kirkwood uses that A.P. story about those sheep and writes, “Imagine the peer pressure that last sheep must have felt. Surely 1,499 sheep can’t be wrong, can they?”

Since I’m currently raising a freshman and a 5th-grader myself, I feel that I can speak with some expertise on this subject. And apparently, if all the reports I’ve heard are true, there are some IDIOT parents running around out there. These parents lower the bar on standards, set bad precedents, create dangerous trends, and (in my humble opinion) should have their parenting licenses revoked.

So today’s post is a word of encouragement to all you parents who are still trying to hold the line. Keep up the good work. Don’t make the mistake of giving in to peer-pressure yourself, the pressure other parents put on you to let your kids: watch anything they want to watch, listen to anything they want to listen to, wear anything they want to wear, think anything they want to think, say anything they want to say, go anywhere they want to go, buy anything they want to buy, and do anything they want to do. Can 1,499 sheep be wrong? You’d better believe they can! And that’s why you can’t let your child be number 1,500.

This same idea also holds true for God’s will for your life. Oftentimes the most dangerous alternative to that will is not the one that is five hours off but the one that is five minutes off. For example, let’s say that it’s God’s will for a newlywed couple to buy a specific house, but the couple insists on looking at two other houses as well. One of those other houses is everything they ever wanted in a home, but it’s price is so far beyond their budget that it’s obvious they can’t afford it. So when they look at the house, there is a lot of oohing and aahing, but that’s as far as things go. They understand the house is a pipe dream for them.

But the second alternative house is one they can afford. It’s about the same size and style as the house that God wants them to buy and the prices are comparable too. Really, the main difference lies in the neighborhoods of the two houses. You see, what the couple doesn’t know is that the house that God wants them to buy sits in a neighborhood that features godly neighbors, solid churches, and schools with teachers that will better reach the two children that God knows is in the couple’s future. While the neighborhood for the other house is respectable enough itself, it simply isn’t as good a fit for the young couple and the plans that God has in mind for them.

But the question is, which of the two alternative houses offers the greatest temptation for the couple to miss God’s will in house-buying? It’s the one that is the most like the house that God wants them to buy. That alternative is just five minutes off while the other one is five hours off. It isn’t hard to discern the problems with a clock that is five hours off, but it is very hard to do so with one that is five minutes off.

Keep this in mind whenever you find yourself trying to discern God’s will regarding multiple opportunities. Very few people step out of God’s will by chasing opportunities that are hopelessly far-fetched, but many people step out of it to chase those that are very doable. It’s the difference between driving a Ford or a Dodge, between attending one in-state school or another, or between working in an office building on 1st Avenue or one on 2nd Avenue. But God knows that just that little bit of difference can make all the difference in the world.

-If you are doing it because no one else will, it’s a job. If you are doing it to serve the Lord, it’s a ministry.

-If you are doing it just well enough to get by, it’s a job. If you are doing it to the best of your ability, it’s a ministry.

-If you’ll do it as long as it doesn’t interfere with other activities, it’s a job. If you’re committed to staying with it, even if it means letting go of other things, it’s a ministry.

-If you quit because no one praised you or thanked you, it’s a job. If you do it because you know it needs to be done, it’s a ministry.

-It’s hard to get excited about a job. It is almost impossible not to get excited about a ministry.

-People may say “well done” when you do your job. The Lord will say “well done” when you complete your ministry.

-The average church is filled with people doing jobs. A great church is filled with people involved in ministry.

McConnell ended his article by saying:

If you have a job in the church, give it up and find a ministry! God doesn’t want us feeling stuck with a job, but excited, fulfilled and faithful in a specific ministry.

About all I can say to that is, “Amen!”

Bruce Catton, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and Civil War historian, wrote the following about Lee’s words of wisdom:

To deny himself…..Unexpected words, coming from a great soldier? One wonders how the young mother felt, hearing them. Even more, one wonders how this advice would strike the average parent of today.

We don’t emphasize self-denial very much these days, either for our children or for ourselves. Instead, we concentrate on our wants. We seem to have the notion that the world owes us all manner of good things, and we feel abused when we don’t get them. Self-discipline is a bore; and as a result, we are perilously close to winning an unwelcome fame as a land known for its spoiled children and discontented adults.

To learn to get along without, to realize that what the world is going to demand of us may be a good deal more important than what we are entitled to demand of it – this is a hard lesson. We have not been working very hard at it in recent years. Instead, we have developed a moral and intellectual flabbiness that could be fatal to us as individuals and as a nation.

For the world itself is really no easier now than it was in General Lee’s time. It offers rich opportunities; but above everything else, it offers a struggle, a struggle that will never be won by the self-indulgent. More than anything else, we need to relearn General Lee’s lesson.

To deny ourselves…That we may miss a good many of the nice, easy things that it is so pleasant to have. But we end up serving something bigger than ourselves. We can finish by attaining greatness.

If Catton’s words sound like they have a Biblical scent to them, there’s probably a reason for that. His father was a minister. And I can’t help but suspect that Catton knew the words of Jesus:

…whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:26-28)

]]> http://russellmckinney.com/2011/05/11/a-great-lesson-for-your-kids/feed/ 0 russellmckinney http://russellmckinney.com/2011/04/26/the-test-of-prosperity/ http://russellmckinney.com/2011/04/26/the-test-of-prosperity/#comments Tue, 26 Apr 2011 16:02:12 +0000 russellmckinney http://russellmckinney.com/?p=2364 ]]> Quick, name the toughest test to pass spiritually. Did you say, “Disease”? Did you say, “The death of a loved one”? Did you say, “Troubles?” Did you say, “Disappointment”? Well, there’s no doubt that none of these tests are spiritual gimmes, but would you believe that for many people the correct answer would be, “Prosperity”?

King David was just such a person. Study his life sometime and you will see why I say that. When he was a young man, he was such a spiritual wonder that God Himself rated him as a man after God’s own heart. David was most likely still in his teens when he was anointed by the prophet Samuel as the king of Israel. Not long afterwards he brought comfort to the demon-tormented Saul, the sitting king, by playing soothing music on the harp. Not long after that he slew the giant Goliath. David was on a spiritual roll!

Then began the long years wherein Saul tried to kill David, years which saw David and his personal army living in constant hiding from Saul and his troops. Was David’s behavior perfect and above reproach during those years? No, not by a long shot. But was he always God’s man, a man whose basic spiritual center was right? Yes. And David remained that way all the way up through: those years on the run from Saul, Saul’s death, David’s ascendency to the throne of Judah (the southern part of Israel), and seven years later his ascendency to the throne of all Israel.

What happened next? Oh, the story keeps getting better. As king of all the land, David unified Israel’s fiercely independent twelve tribes. He led his army in the conquering of Jerusalem. Then he expanded Jerusalem and built it into his capital city. A major part of that was him bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. We can truthfully say that, during those days, David’s decisions were, for the most part, dead on. His army was unbeatable. All the people loved him. And God was pouring out His favor upon him. God even made a covenant with him that David’s royal line would be established forever.

You see, after all the years of struggling to formally claim his annointing as king and make the nation of Israel the greatest and most godly nation on earth, David had now “arrived.” His life was just as he wanted it to be. He had remained true to God during all the trials and troubles, and now he was living in a season of major prosperity.

But guess what story from David’s life comes next. Tragically, it’s the one about how David had a one-night-stand with Bathsheba, the wife of one of David’s most loyal soldiers, Uriah. That one-night-stand resulted in Bathsheba getting pregnant. David then indirectly had Uriah killed and hastily married Bathsheba to prevent a royal scandal. You see, David emphatically failed the test of prosperity.

Noted pastor Chuck Swindoll has said, “When testing comes we get purified, but when prosperity comes we get vulnerable.” How true. So tell me, is your life looking pretty good these days? Are you enjoying more ease, comfort, and worldly blessing than you have ever known? Would you call it a season of prosperity for you? Then you’d better put in extra effort to stay on top of your game spiritually. Please don’t pull a David and forget the Lord in the midst of all that prosperity!

But what if your life isn’t looking very prosperous right now? What if you have more in common with David when he was on the run from Saul than when he was reigning as king? Well, if that’s your situation, could it be that God knows that you aren’t ready yet to handle the test of prosperity? Maybe you need some more spiritual maturing and seasoning. I know that’s not what you want to hear, but that doesn’t make it a wrong assessment. So my advice is: Don’t be so quick to gripe and complain to God that your life isn’t exhibiting much prosperity. The fact is that might just be nothing less than an act of mercy on His part.

]]> http://russellmckinney.com/2011/04/26/the-test-of-prosperity/feed/ 0 russellmckinney http://russellmckinney.com/2011/03/13/find-that-treasure/ http://russellmckinney.com/2011/03/13/find-that-treasure/#comments Sun, 13 Mar 2011 04:10:25 +0000 russellmckinney http://russellmckinney.com/?p=2225 ]]> William Randolph Hearst, the legendary newspaper publishing magnate, was one of the wealthiest men of his time. His great wealth allowed him to spend millions of dollars collecting art treasures from around the world. One day he read the description of a valuable piece of art and promptly dispatched his agent abroad to locate the piece and buy it. After months of searching, the agent finally reported that he had found the treasure. Where was it? To Hearst’s great surprise, it was stored in one of his own warehouses, having already been purchased by him years earlier.

There are many applications we could make to this story, but let me just offer this one: Sometimes the treasure you seek is one you already have in your possession if you only knew it.

Christian, what does God’s word say about being content with the things you have? The passage is Hebrews 13:5-6:

“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’So we may boldly say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’”

The teaching is: If you have Jesus, you have the Creator of the universe on your side, and that’s plenty of treasure for anyone.

]]> http://russellmckinney.com/2011/03/13/find-that-treasure/feed/ 0 russellmckinney http://russellmckinney.com/2011/03/09/a-new-shirt/ http://russellmckinney.com/2011/03/09/a-new-shirt/#comments Wed, 09 Mar 2011 15:50:47 +0000 russellmckinney http://russellmckinney.com/?p=2214 ]]> Sally Haack tells the following story:

“Last summer one of the local civic clubs of which my husband was a member sponsored a camping trip for underprivileged children. Upon arriving at the camp, each little boy was given a Frisbee and a t-shirt.

When the weekend was over and the boys were boarding the bus to go home, one little boy ran up to my husband and handed him his t-shirt, which was rather soiled and wrinkled but nevertheless neatly folded and placed in its plastic package.

My husband told the boy that the shirt was his, that he could keep it. Big tears welled up in the boy’s eyes as he said, “Thank you. I’ve never had a new shirt before.”

My husband swallowed the lump in his throat and told the boy to be sure to come back next year and he could get another new shirt. The boy thought for a moment, then looked up and said, “No. I don’t think I will come next year.” “Well, why not?” asked my husband. The boy replied, “I think I’ll send my little brother. He’s never had a new shirt either.”

What all is currently hanging in your closet? How many pairs of shoes do you own? What’s inside your refrigerator right now? How much food is on the shelves of your pantry or cabinets? Are your bills paid up? Do you have some money in the bank? Be thankful. Remember that 1 Thessalonians 5:18 is still in the Bible:

“in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

You see, whatever else might be the specific will of God for your life, I know that it His will for you to be thankful for what you have. Work on that today.

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