Too Good To Be True

January 25, 2010 — Craig T. Owens

You know the old cliché: If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Yet time after time we buy into the hype –

  • “I get all of this for free!”
  • “I’ll be able to make this big score and it’s gonna cost me next to nothing.”
  • “He agreed to help me out with this, just because he likes me. He’s not charging me a dime.”
  • “I think they really want to be my friend.”

It never works out that way, does it? Because if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Do you know when those with these great offers show up? Right after you’ve done something well. Like Abraham in the Bible when he had just won a dramatic victory.

Here’s what happened. The bad guys swept in, defeated the good guys, and in carrying off the loot from their victory, they took Abraham’s nephew Lot with them. Abraham called out his special forces team and conducted a surprise night raid on the bad guys’ lair. He not only rescued Lot, but all of the other captives too.

Abraham comes back loaded with everything he’s just recovered, and the King of Sodom comes out to meet him. This king is a big shot. It would be a career-advancing move to get in good with him. The King of Sodom says to Abraham, “Great work! Just let me have all the hostages, but you can keep all of the other loot. Even the stuff that was mine that the bad guys stole, I’m going to let you keep it.”

But Abraham knew that if it sounded too good to be true, it probably was.

Abraham wisely answered, “I’m God’s man. I’ve given Him my word. I will accept nothing that belongs to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’”

Smart move. Those things that seem to be free always come with strings attached. How much better to simply trust God for everything. So when God makes you successful, no one else gets the credit but Him.

Here’s the simple decision: Trust God or rely on “freebies” from men. Who are you going to trust?

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Sharper

December 18, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

Yesterday was one of those days that I was on “receive” mode. As a pastor I usually spend more days in the “dispense” mode: teaching, counseling, advising. But yesterday I was blessed to sit back and soak in some great counsel. And I’m sharper for it.

It’s too bad that many people never take the time to allow others to advise them. Or, if they do go through the motions of “listening” to advice, they never put that counsel into action.

I met with a seasoned pastor yesterday morning. He asked me several questions to assess where I was personally and professionally, and then he gave me some invaluable insight. He’s one of those “been-there-done-that” guys who has learned the lessons of history well, and he was gracious to share with me.

Last night I invited my Impact teaching team over to my house. After sharing dinner together I listened as they weighed in on our upcoming series in our youth services. Since they are closer in age to our students, their insight into the teenage mind was so keen. They were able to help me better understand the challenges and culture of middle and high school students. And I’m sharper for it.

A few thoughts from some other wise counselors…

“A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels.” – Proverbs 1:5 (KJV)

“Those who will not be counseled, cannot be helped. More souls are ruined by pride than by any other sin whatever.” – Matthew Henry

“Without good direction, people lose their way; the more wise counsel you follow, the better your chances.” – Proverbs 11:14 (The Message)

“Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.” – Proverbs 15:22 (NIV)

“To accept good advice is to increase one’s own ability.” – Goethe

Are you getting sharper? Are you listening to good advice?

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Derailed (book review)

November 16, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

Derailed

As I read Dr. Tim Irwin’s latest book, Derailed, I thought about a quote from John Maxwell: “A wise man learns from his mistakes. A wiser man learns from others’ mistakes. The wisest man learns from others’ successes.”

The subtitle of this book is “Five lessons learned from catastrophic failures of leadership.” In this we learn from others’ mistakes. But then Dr. Irwin goes on to show us successes that we can learn from as well. Combining the insight from successful — or should I say “non-derailed” leaders — with his own discernment, Dr. Irwin shows us how to stay on the rails.

When I first noticed that the examples in the book were all high-profile CEOs, I thought, “What could I learn from them? After all, I’m not a CEO of Fortune 500 company.” But Dr. Irwin does an excellent job of bringing the four qualities of character — authenticity, self-management, humility, and courage — down to a pedestrian level where even we non-CEO-types can benefit from his wisdom.

Although the principles in Derailed can benefit anyone in leadership, or aspiring to a leadership position, this book still might not be for everyone. The six case studies in the book are all derailed CEOs, and unless you have a penchant for the business world, you might not find them very enjoyable reading. However, for those of you who enjoy business history, there is much to gain from a careful reading of Derailed.

I am a book reviewer for Thomas Nelson.

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Is It Selfish To Pray For Success At Work?

October 7, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

“Dear Lord, I pray that You will help me be successful on my job today. Help me to make that sale [close that deal, get the promotion, earn the raise]. Bless me today. Amen.” All over the world today people at work are praying something similar to this. Does God notice? Is this a prayer God wants to answer?

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. I’ve been wondering if asking God to bless my sales efforts is praying a selfish prayer.

That well-known prayer by Jabez sounds very similar, doesn’t it? “Oh, that You would bless me and enlarge my territory!” This prayer must have pleased God because the verse ends with, “And God granted his request.”

In the life of Joseph the phrase about his on-the-job success is repeated again and again. First in Potiphar’s house, and then in prison, and then in the royal court we see the phrase “Joseph prospered” (for those of you keeping track at home, that means Joseph was a success at the office). We don’t see Joseph praying for this success, but we see him walking in it nonetheless.

But here’s the key component: it’s all about your heart attitude. In other words, it’s all about how you intend to become successful and what you plan to do with your success.

Jabez wanted to be successful so he wouldn’t be a burden to anyone else. He asked God to give him success in a way that benefitted others. So, too, with Joseph: at every mention of Joseph’s success there is a corresponding phrase like, “The Lord was with him” or “The Lord gave him success in everything he did.”

When Jabez and Joseph were successful on the job, everyone around them knew it was because they did things God’s way. And everyone around them got to share in the blessings of their successes.

Do you want success on the job? Go ahead and pray for God to “enlarge your territory” or help you to “prosper.” Then do things God’s way, and be sure to give Him the credit for your success. I believe that God wants to give you more and more on-the-job success so that He is glorified, and so that others around you recognize God’s provision.

Keep praying for success. I’m praying that for myself and for you too. Feel free to share your thoughts on this.

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Fall Down Attitude

August 25, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

Fall

This Sunday at Calvary Assembly of God we start a brand new series called Fall: We all fall, but falling doesn’t have to be fatal. If we have the right attitude about it, the times that we fall can be some of the most instructional times of our lives.

A man with a great fall down attitude was Thomas Alva Edison. Check out these snippets from this inventor’s life —

“If I find 10,000 ways something won’t work, I haven’t failed.” — Edison’s answer to a newspaper reporter’s question about how he felt about his 10,000 failed attempts to perfect the incandescent light bulb.

“Son, there’s great value in disaster. All our mistakes are burnt up. Thank God we can start all over again.” — Edison, at age 67, speaking to his son Charles while they were watching his laboratory being destroyed by fire.

“I’ve had a lot of success with failure.”

Falling down doesn’t have to be fatal. With the right attitude, falling down can be one of the most instructional times of our lives. Come join me on Sunday morning at 10:30am to hear more about the attitude that makes success out of failure.

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Burn, Baby, Burn

August 12, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

It’s been a debate around golfing circles for years as to which PGA pro gets credit for responding to a fan who quipped, “That was a lucky shot!” The famous reply (variously attributed to either Gary Player, Arnold Palmer or Lee Trevino) is, “You know, the more I practice, the luckier I seem to get.”

Regardless of who said it, there’s so much truth in that statement. Here’s what I’ve learned about success —

NO ONE is an over-night success. “The heights of great men reached and kept // Were not attained by sudden flight // But they, while their companions slept // Were toiling upwards in the night.” — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

NO ONE is a half-hearted success. “Success is the maximum utilization of the ability that you have.” — Zig Ziglar

NO ONE is successful on their own. “Leaders will not experience long-term success unless a lot of people want them to.” — John Maxwell

SUCCESS requires a high price. “Achievers choose what losers won’t and pay the price that others don’t.” — Anonymous

SUCCESS takes dedicated time. Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers quotes the 10,000 Hour Rule. He writes, “The biggest misconception about success is that we do it solely on our smarts, ambition, hustle and hard work.” Instead, he says that highly successful people have put in a minimum of 10,000 hours in a single area (think the Beatles with their music or Bill Gates with his computer programming).

SUCCESS starts with personal initiative. “Success isn’t a result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire.” — Arnold H. Glasow

John Wesley explained how he drew such large crowds in the First Great Awakening by stating, “I set myself on fire, and the people come to see me burn.” If you want to be successful, you must set yourself on fire, pay the price, and do the time.

Are you ready? If so, then burn, baby, burn!

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Success Is Going

June 4, 2009 — Craig T. Owens

King David is one of the most well-known characters in the Old Testament. Such incredible stories are told about him that his life can be summed up in one phrase that occurs four times in Scripture —

The Lord gave David victory everywhere he went (2 Samuel 8:6, 14; 1 Chronicles 18:6, 13).

When David was faced with a challenge or an enemy, he threw himself fully into meeting the enemy head-on, and he was always successful. There is no record of David ever being defeated in battle. If he went out, he won.

Aha, key word alert — The Lord gave David victory everywhere he went.

The only times David was defeated was when he stopped or stayed —

• When his son Absalom killed another of David’s sons, Amnon, David didn’t do anything. Even when Absalom returned from exile, David stayed home and didn’t reconcile with his son (2 Samuel 13-15).

• David’s son Adonijah behaved inappropriately and eventually rebelled against David, too. But David “never interfered with him by asking, ‘Why do you behave as you do?’” (1 Kings 1:6).

• David lusted after and then committed adultery with Bathsheba when, “In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, Joab led out the armed forces. …But David remained in Jerusalem” (1 Chronicles 20:1).

• David angered God by ordering that a census be taken of all of the men eligible for military service in Israel. “So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, ‘Go and count…” (1 Chronicles 21:2). In other words, David stayed while others went.

Solomon correctly noted, “The path of life leads upward for the wise to keep him from going down to the grave” (Proverbs 15:24, New International Version). There are only two directions: forward (or up) OR backward (or down). There is no staying.

The Lord gave David victory everywhere he went, not everywhere he stayed. To stay is to begin to go backward.

Is there a battle you need to fight? Is there a challenge you’ve been avoiding? Is there something you need to complete? Are you waiting for something to happen? Are you content just to stay?

Stop staying and start going! If you are following God, He will give you victory everywhere you go.

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