It's up to you to make the Choice Now

"Don't change the mission to concentrate on the mistakes, Concentrate on the mission and change the mistakes"-John C. Maxwell

This quote comes from the book I'm reading Be a People Person: Effective Leadership Through Effective Relationships. As I've read this book, I've began reading critically. I believe through reading this way, I've gotten more out of this book, than previous books I read.

When I first read this, I was blown away. We are confronted with this everyday, whether people realize it or not. A great way I can relate this statement, is the progress (and lack thereof) that I have had in the Botball competitions that I have been in over the past five years.

In our first year of competition, we were all jumping at the bit, concentrated on the mission and what we could do complete it. FYI Botball seasons are comprised of a given mission for the six weeks, and the same mission carried on to Nationals six months later. So our first year, we were set on the mission, we had no idea what we were doing, but we knew what we wanted to do. In the end, if we hadn't made a crucial mistake between the seeding rounds and head-to-head we would have been in the top three. But this mistake landed us second to last.

Going into our second year, we changed our mission. Instead of being concentrated on the mission, we concentrated on the mistakes we made the previous year. This got us no where, on sheer luck we were able to make it to the top six. Mainly from some good work in an added scoring section of documentation.

Our third year, was our final year as a group. We came to the realization, we needed to stay focused on the mission, we knew what our mistakes were, and fixed them. With this in mind, we stole the show. In our first seeding round, we scored more than all the other ten teams combined scored the entire day. It was one of the most lopsided regional competition in Botball history. We placed first in all three sections of competition. We then decided to go to Nationals, where we placed tenth out of nearly sixty teams. We would have ended higher if it hadn't been for a judge breaking the rules.

In my fourth year, I competed with my school. We started out with fifteen kids. But only four of us were dedicated to the mission. With myself, and one other the only two truly dedicated to building and programming the robots, but we stayed focused on the mission, doing our best we placed third overall.
I continued on by myself with a group of people to Nationals that year. The robots though did not fare the flight well, and being by myself had a hard time getting the robots back in working shape.

In my fifth year I worked with another team. In working with this team, I worked on one robot, while some of the other kids worked on the other robot. I trusted them to finish the robot in time, but it was not completed, in the end I built a robot the day before competition. Without this robot, we would not have been able to place second overall. Placing second overall is something that was extremely hard, with only limited support from one other team member. I had the opportunity to go to Nationals with them, but I abandoned the mission, because carrying a team on your own can be hard. As I had learned from the previous years Nationals.


What I learned through all this, is that if you are conscious of your mistakes, and stay concentrated on the mission, you are apt to go a long way. If you concentrate on the mistakes, you lose sight of the mission and are unable to complete it to your best ability. When you attempt to carry a group mission on your own, you can't do it. If you are on a mission, that is for a team, you need a team. If you cannot gain a team, it is best to abandon the mission, or acquire new members.




(Title from Free to Conquer by Subseven)

I confess I don't have alot, but what I've got is because of YOU!

Why is it that we want to be recognized for our works?

I mean given, some people like to stay in the back and not be noticed, but deep down inside we want to be recognized. We want to be appreciated!

James 1:9-11
"9 The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position.
10 But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower.
11 For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business"

Proverbs 16:5,18-19
" 5 The LORD detests all the proud of heart.
Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.

18 Pride goes before destruction,
a haughty spirit before a fall.

19 Better to be lowly in spirit and among the oppressed
than to share plunder with the proud. "

Proverbs 31:30-31
"30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

31 Give her the reward she has earned,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate."

2 Chronicles 15:7-8
" 7 But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded."

8 When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of Oded the prophet, he took courage. He removed the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the towns he had captured in the hills of Ephraim. He repaired the altar of the LORD that was in front of the portico of the LORD's temple."

Proverbs 13:13
"He who scorns instruction will pay for it, but he who respects a command is rewarded."

Ecclesiastes 2:9-11
"9 I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.

10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my work,
and this was the reward for all my labor.

11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;nothing was gained under the sun."

I could go on with the verses all day, as a matter of fact in the NIV the word "reward" in all its forms appears seventy five times throughout the scriptures.

I'm reading this book, "Be A People Person" by John Maxwell. I've stated this in previous notes as well. Anyway, there is a chapter on Encouragement in the book. This is where I was reading today when I had these thoughts.

Why do we only reward the children?
Why do we loose focus on God and focus on our works?
Why are we seeking a worldly reward and not a heavenly one?


In response to my first question posed. In the church (Southern Baptist) we have AWANA's and RA's(Royal Ambassadors) ect. Where children are rewarded for the Bible memorization, and other good merits. Once we graduate to Youth, College, and even Adult Small Groups, there are no rewards. As a matter of fact, typically we loose the accountability that we had in grade school, for reading the Bible, and maintaining a daily walk with Christ.

Why don't we do homework handouts for everyone? Why not every week memorize a verse as a church or a youth group? Why not work on memorizing an entire passage of Scripture over a period of time? Do you know how much heavenly reward we could gain from this? Not only that, but we could allow for an "earthly" reward for the person who does the best. An incentive to try harder. But we have to be careful and not build too much into it. Not to take our focus off of Christ. But wouldn't it be great if we could find that medium, and everyone in the church body memorizing Scripture and growing in Christ in ways they haven't known since grade school!


Now on to the second question. Ego maniacs, self-righteousness. Why? Solomon himself in Ecclesiastes said that it was meaningless. Everything that the Bible talks about on the subject, talks about how dangerous it is. A straight path to destruction. Why would we want to reward ourselves, bring a focus onto us away from God? This is just lessening our reward. Oh it may be great to be noticed here, right now, for what we are doing for Christ, but wouldn't you much rather want a heavenly reward than an earthly one? I know I would.

There I go, I've summed up questions two and three in one paragraph.

But seriously. The Lord rewards us for keeping our focus on him. As stated in Proverbs 31. Why not live all out for Him and get the heavenly reward, than to stay focused on the world, and receive an earthly reward.

As stated in Hebrews 11

"If they had dwelled on the old country they could have stayed there, but they didn't, they were looking for a new one, and for this God was proud, and had a heavenly home prepared for them"
(that is extremely paraphrased)


(Title from the song Because of You by Keith Green)