Have a heart!

Having recently had heart surgery I am first of all amazed and humbled by the number of people who have sent me cards, telephoned and stopped my wife in the street to wish me a speedy recovery and to check up on my progress.

Secondly, I am amazed that after a billing of being ‘turned off’, chest opened, ribs removed and heart cut open so they could sew a patch between left and right hand side of my heart the reality was just under an hour and a half in the theatre and no scars! Clever or what?

We take so many things for granted these days and just as we seem to think that doctors can do anything with their new technology and clever tricks. We also appear to assume that by throwing money at a problem we will have created a solution. This is not just aimed at the financial world and the crisis it finds itself in but every sector and every type of problem.

When I worked in the world of engineering it was often the case that when a project started going wrong or looked like it would fail to deliver the promised results the first response was that of throwing more money at it. We brought in more people, got more sophisticated equipment and paid large sums to ‘experts’ (be warned – ‘ex’ means ‘has been’ and ‘spurt’ is a drip under pressure!) to solve all of our problems.

It was during my time in electronics research that I learnt a valuable lesson which I’d like to share with you. It goes like this:

When a plan starts to go wrong:
1. Stop and think about what result you wanted,
2. Take a look at what you have done so far and ask yourself ‘Why have I done this?’
3. Ask yourself if you have consulted the right people (i.e. with the right knowledge, skills and abilities) to help you achieve your goals, and
4. Look and see where you have cut corners or where other people have been ‘clever’ to bring about the desired result.

These four questions apply very much to everything we do. These days we find all too often that the ends justify the means. This means that as long as the right result is achieved it doesn’t matter how we get to the place we want to be. Generally speaking this is wrong thinking and as Christians such thinking is even more wrong (or as one of our kids used to say “wrongerer!”).

If you are looking for solutions to problems, first STOP and ask yourself what the right result should be. This is the result that achieves for you (or the person with the problem) a result that fits in with what God wants for you (or them).

Then reflect (this means think about) what you have done and why you have done it. Do the things you have done fit in with what Jesus would have done and what the Bible tells us to do? If not, then regardless of the outcome you want – you are wrong. STOP and change direction seeking advice as necessary (go on, bother your clergy!).

Consulting the right people starts with God. Tell Him your plans, needs and problems and listen. Reading the Bible and talking to His people will usually make the right direction to take obvious. Prayer should be the first thought and not the last resort!

Decide to stop cutting corners or ‘helping God’ to make things work. He doesn’t need the help we often bring and often it diverts or damages rather than help. This doesn’t mean we ignore commonsense just common practice (anger, revenge, getting even, lying, cheating, stealing, etc.)

The Bible says that we can come to God and ask for anything and He will answer. How about giving it a try, perhaps before your plans have even begun rather than after they have gone off the rail.

Vic