TGIF, Take 2

A while back, in a post labeled TGIF, I discussed a friend of mine who owns a company and continually wore black each Friday until some of his employees noticed. When asked why he was doing this, he responded by saying that, “I’m sad that the weekend is coming and I will have to wait till Monday to see all of you again.”

I commented that that was a great attitude, an attitude we all should aspire to. We all have a purpose in our work that goes beyond our paycheck.

I received an interesting comment from Sam Van Eman who shared a similar post on his very well done Blog. It included the video clip of one of the better commercials from this year’s Super Bowl (shown above):

Click here to check out his excellent comments.

Fools

Have you ever tried to win an argument with someone who was not open to looking at any other side than their own? It's frustrating isn't it?

You may know that you are right and be able to back up your position with Scripture, but they are adamant that their stance is the correct position. What should you do?

This person who takes this stand might be known in Biblical terms as a fool. I always thought the Bible was pretty clear on what to do when you are dealing with a fool.

However, I read something recently in a TGIF devotional from a friend of mine, Os Hillman that says we should be discerning in figuring out the type of fool we are dealing with. This will enable us to treat this person the way the Bible instructs us to. This is what he had to say:

Marvin Wilson, author of Our Father Abraham, has written incisively about the various meanings for our word "fool":

In Biblical wisdom literature, the pupils of the sages and mentors are the unwise, often termed "fools" (Prov. 1:7) or "simple one" (1:22). In wisdom literature, the different levels of fools - both young and old - are the raw material on which the sages had to work, and they represent the varying degrees of rawness. Perhaps as much as anything else, the term fool is descriptive of an attitude, bent of mind, or direction in life, which needs correcting. The various Hebrew words for fool occur more than a hundred times in the book of Proverbs. [Marvin Wilson, Our Father Abraham (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1989), 284-286.]

The reference to someone being a fool was not necessarily a negative term. A simple fool, or peti, was a person who made mistakes, but quickly righted them and was restored to fellowship with God and with others. King David was a simple fool, one who made mistakes, but kept a repentant heart toward God. This is why God did not turn away from him for his many sins.

The hardened fool, kesil and ewil, makes mistakes, but never learns from them and will not listen to others. Such people can expect God's reproof to continue and will eat the fruit of their own way (see Prov. 1:31-32). The hardened fool "returns to his own vomit." King Saul was a hardened fool, one who made mistakes and continued in them even after realizing he was wrong. We're going to err in our ways. The question is, once we know we have made a mistake before God, do we make the necessary adjustments that will allow Him to intervene on our behalf? And will we avoid the same course of action in the future? God says that if we do, He will pour out His Spirit on us (see Prov. 1:23). He will make known His words to us.

The third level of fool mentioned in Proverbs is the mocking fool or letz. The mocking fool mocks the things of God. This word means "scoffer" or "scorner." When you encounter cynical people who disregard the things of God, you know these people are "mocking fools."

The fourth level of fool is the God-denying fool or nabal. This term relates to the morally wicked person who ignores the disgrace he brings on his family and who despises holiness (see Prov. 17:21). This person says, "There is no God." By failing to acknowledge God for who He is, the nabal declares himself to be a "God-denying" fool.

I have found that it is helpful to try to understand if people are teachable. Are they simple fools, those who make mistakes but seek to learn from them? I can work with those people. But if I sense I am working with a hardened fool, I know I should not spend much time on that person. Jesus did not spend much time trying to convince the rich young ruler. He presented truth, and let him make his decision. Some people must get broken before they can become simple fools. Sometimes it is simply better to let satan chew on people until the ground is fertile enough to present truth to them.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. Proverbs 1:7

TGIF Part 2 - Get To vs. Have To

Yesterday I talked about how we can change the acronym TGIF from "Thank God It's Friday" to "Today God Is First."

I just read an article written by Jon Gordon, the author of The No Complaining Rule, Positive Ways To Deal With Negativity At Work which shares another change we can make in our attitude which can help us to change the TGIF acronym. In the article he talks about an important distinction between "get to" and "have to":

Who knew that two simple words could change one’s mindset, perspective and approach to work and life? Just two words have the potential to enhance joy, productivity, performance and change a complaining voice to an appreciative heart.

So often we say things like, "I have to take the kids to practice." "I have to go to this meeting." "I have to finish this project." "I have to go to work today." "I have to take care of this customer." "I have to share this new information with my team." "I have to see my family this weekend."

We act as if we don’t have a choice. As if we are imprisoned by a paycheck and the expectations of a world that forces us to do things we don’t want to do. But in reality we do have a choice. We can choose our attitude and our actions. We can choose how we view our life and work. We can realize that every day is a gift. It’s not about what we have to do. It’s about what we get to do.

We get to live this life while so many like Tim Russert and my Mom have left this world far too early. We get to drive in traffic while so many are too sick to drive a car. We get to go to a job while so many are unemployed. We get to raise our children, even if they drive us nuts at times. We get to interact with our employees and customers and make a difference in their lives. We get to use our gifts and talents to make a product or provide a service. We get to eat three meals a day while millions of people are starving. We get to work on projects, answer phone calls, serve customers, participate in meetings, design, create, share, sell, lead and suit up every day for the game of life.

Yes, there will be challenges and life isn’t easy, but each day we wake up we get another opportunity to make today better than yesterday and tomorrow better than today. We get to uplift, inspire, encourage, and impact others. We get to live this life. Let’s make the most of it by remembering that life is a gift, not an obligation.

TGIF

A great friend of mine owns a business in my community. He told me that for about ten straight weeks he would wear all black on Fridays. At about week seven, one of his employees noticed and said, "Bob, why are you always wearing black on Fridays?"

Bob responded by saying, "Because I am sad that this week is coming to an end and I will have to wait until Monday to see all of you again."

Kind of different, huh? And, very cool!

It seems in the workplace that everyone can't wait for Friday. In fact, I have seen studies which show that the highest incidence of suicide is on Sunday nights because people generally dread Mondays. Sad.

We all seem to live for Friday...for the weekend. TGIF is a famous acronym and I think we all know what it stands for. A restaurant chain has even become famous using it in their name.

Bob's attitude above is a tremendous one we all can adopt about our work. You see, Bob gets it. He realizes that his work has a much greater purpose than just providing a paycheck for him and his family.

We have influence over others each and every day and when we begin to realize this, we know that we can have an affect on their lives. It is our choice as to whether we make a positive or negative impact on them. God wants us to choose to have a positive impact.

If we can really get this, each and every day we can say, "Thank God It's Today!"

So let's change our thinking from "Thank God It's Friday" to "Today God Is First!" And who knows...you may even start singing like the Seven Dwarfs, "Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Off To Work I Go!"