Royal Redeemer Lutheran Church
When has a gift become a burden?
When has a gift become a burden?
Psalms 127:1-5 NIV
Matthew 5:14-16 NIV
“We defy anyone who goes about with his eyes open to deny that there is, as never before, an attitude on the part of young folk which is best described as grossly thoughtless, rude, and utterly selfish.”The Conduct of Young People, Hull Daily Mail, 1925
“A few [35-year-old friends] just now are leaving their parents’ nest. Many friends are getting married or having a baby for the first time. They aren’t switching occupations, because they have finally landed a ‘meaningful’ career – perhaps after a decade of hopscotching jobs in search of an identity. They’re doing the kinds of things our society used to expect from 25-year-olds.”Not Ready for Middle Age at 35, Wall Street Journal, 1984
“Every generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it.”― George Orwell
A Practice to Help
Pareto Principle - 80%/20%
The Pareto principle states that for many outcomes, roughly 80% of consequences come from 20% of causes. Management consultant Joseph M. Juran developed the concept in the context of quality control, and improvement, naming it after Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who noted the 80/20 connection in 1896.
But this is true in other areas. We wait and save for a great vacation, and then it rains for two of the days. We finally get our dream job, but our boss is demanding and there are long hours. Our jobs, homes, churches, and children are often a mixture of good and bad. 80/20. So what happens is that, we can become fixated on the 20% that’s wrong, and allow it to change the way we view the other 80%. If we aren’t careful, we may actually throw away the 80% that’s good to go find the missing 20%.
Focus on the 80%
1. Sit at a window or outside and name all the things you can see, taste, touch, feel that you are grateful for.
2. When the sun goes down...go sit outside and be in the presence of the night and the stars and just feel the bigness of God’s power. He’s got you and he’s got our children, in his hands.