This is a Test... Loyalty

If Humility means to stay low – Loyalty means to stay faithful. Loyalty is the second area of testing. You can not fulfill your destiny in Christ alone. Your destiny is intrinsically linked to those who have gone before you, those around you now and those who will come after you.

All of us, we are part of something vastly bigger than ourselves. Hebrews 11:39- 12:1 say it so very well…

“These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”

Our destinies are linked to theirs, this great cloud of witnesses. Like a grand cosmic relay race the baton has been passed to us and we will pass it on to the next generation, only together will we be made perfect. May we run our leg of the race to win!

Truly we are one body with many parts (1 Corinthians 12). The eye needs the foot who needs the hand. The evangelist needs the pastor who needs the prophet. God designed it just that way – we NEED one another. We can not do it alone. Medical science has a name for radical cells that do not work in cooperation with the rest of the body – they’re called cancer.

God is searching for people with loyal hearts… “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” 2 Chronicles 16:9a (NKJV)

God himself is loyal; it’s one of his finest attributes. He promised (or is it a threat?) that he will never leave us or forsake us -Hebrews 13:5. God is faithful even when we aren’t. “if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.” 2 Timothy 2:13

To be a good leader - you need to be a good follower. To be a good follower you need to be loyal. Loyalty is all about relationships and that’s exactly where loyalty will be tested - your relationships… with God, your spouse, friends, coworkers, employer, pastor or leader.

Loyalty is tested in the hard times not in the good times, hey, let’s be honest… it’s easy to be loyal when everything is going well. Loyalty is tested when you’ve been offended or wounded or betrayed. Loyalty is tested when a stronghold is exposed… your’s or the other person’s.

Loyalty is tested when you have the opportunity to be disloyal. Will I stick the knife in their exposed back? Will I cover them or uncover them?

Loyalty is tested when your leader is going through trials. He’s making mistakes and you don’t know why. Could it be that your leader’s in the dark night of the soul and is being crushed by Gods formative process? Maybe they need your loyalty more now than ever?

The Church has a great future; to get there we need to be one. Father, answer Jesus’ prayer, amen.

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” John 17:20-21

My next post will address the test of Longevity.

© Tom Zawacki 2007

This is a Test... Humility

In my last post I mentioned that we are in a season of testing. The first of these tests is humility. It is impossible for us to fulfill our destinies in Christ without humility. Why? Because 1 Peter 5:5 tells us that God opposes the proud. Think about it, how can we possibly accomplish anything, let alone fulfilling our destinies while being opposed by God? We can’t. My experience has been that it’s hard enough with His grace.

Humility is tested in many different ways here are a few…

Jealousy
Ask yourself these questions:
How do I respond when I get passed over or over looked?
How do I respond when someone else gets what I believe I have a right to?
How do I respond when someone else is blessed and I’m still waiting on my promise?

Selfish Ambition
It’s rampant in the church and it deadly. James 3:16 says: “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing”. Every evil thing! Why would I want to engage in any activity that makes place for every evil thing? Self ambition is when we are more concerned with building our kingdom (ministry, reputation, church) instead of His Kingdom.

Strong’s concordance defines this word as “partisanship” or “a self-seeking pursuit of political office by unfair means”, in other words a dirty politician. No wonder every evil thing exist where selfish ambition is found!

Self Righteous
Simply put, self righteousness is when we choose being right over love

Pride
Pride is really the root of the other three - jealousy, selfish ambition and self righteousness. A friend of mine says that “Love always looks like it’s losing” Pride wants to win at all cost just like a dirty politician.

The answer is humility, here are a few practical tips:

Stay low
Jesus said in Luke 18:14 “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." I’ve never met anyone who responded poorly to humility be it parents, pastors, employers or any leader. Let others exalt you.

Wait
Wait for God’s timing, 1 Peter 5:6 reminds us to “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time”. Pride runs ahead of God’s timing. Wait for favor, both with God & with man. Favor with God lets you know you have a gift. Favor with man reveals the timing of that gift’s release and the scope of it’s influence. With favor things are VERY easy. Without favor it’s like banging your head against a brick wall

Serve
Have a servant’s heart. In Mark 9:35 Jesus said to his disciples "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." Serving is an excellent way to practice humility.

Love
It’s the most important of all. St Paul puts it well in 1 Corinthians 13 Love is…
Not jealous (vs.4)
Not prideful (vs. 4)
Unoffendable (vs. 5)
Not selfishly ambitious (vs.5)
Always wins (vs.8)
Love is the secret to passing the humility test

My next post will address the test of loyalty.

© Tom Zawacki 2007
Art Credit Unknown

This is a Test...

Tests aren’t good or bad. Tests aren’t punitive. A test is only a test. They’re given that we might know where we stand and often they’re given just prior to promotion.

All about me people are in the midst of finals, spiritual finals, emotional finals and relational finals. Promotions and graduations can’t be far off.

Now pay attention, I’m about to offer you some vital information. Consider for a minute, if I were a course professor and I told you we were having a test at the end of the week... and, if I provided you with the specific topics to be covered. Needless to say this would give you every opportunity to be well prepared and to pass the test. I’ve been able to identify three current areas of testing:

Humility, Loyalty & Longevity.

In my next few posts I plan to cover each in greater detail. For now, suffice it to say that humility means to stay low, loyalty means to stay faithful and longevity means to simply stay.

Now go study…

© Tom Zawacki 2007
picture credit: Gary Larson's the Far Side

INFJ - The Protector

Earlier today my wife sent me a link to an online personality test. I love these things. It’s been a while since I’d taken one so I filled it out and was quite impressed with the accuracy of the results. Here they are:



INFJ – The PROTECTOR
~ You live your life with integrity, originality, vision, and creativity.
~ Independent and stubborn, you rarely stray from your vision - no matter what it is.
~ You are an excellent listener, with almost infinite patience.
~ You have complex, deep feelings, and you take great care to express them.
~ You would make a great Clergyman, Teacher, Medical Doctor, Photographer, Musician or Artist

To take this quick personality test yourself click here: Blogthings

If you take the test please leave me a comment with YOUR results!

For detailed information on the 16 personality types click here: Personality Page

Have Fun!
Tom

(For those of you who might be curious about the inner workings of who I am, you can find INFJ info on the following links…)

Portrait of an INFJ – “The Protector”
Careers for INFJ
INFJ Relationships

UPDATE: Here's a more detailed test...

Actualized Type: INFJ (who I am)
Introverted (I) 62.07% - Extroverted (E) 37.93%
Intuitive (N) 51.52% - Sensing (S) 48.48%
Feeling (F) 53.85% - Thinking (T) 46.15%
Judging (J) 63.64% - Perceiving (P) 36.36%

INFJ = "The Author". Strong drive and enjoyment to help others. Complex personality. 1.5% of total population.

Preferred Type: INFJ (who I prefer to be)
Introverted (I) 60.71% - Extroverted (E) 39.29%
Intuitive (N) 56.25% - Sensing (S) 43.75%
Feeling (F) 56.76% - Thinking (T) 43.24%
Judging (J) 58.33% - Perceiving (P) 41.67%

Attraction Type: ENFP (who I am attracted to)
Extroverted (E) 56% - Introverted (I) 44%
Intuitive (N) 65.71% - Sensing (S) 34.29%
Feeling (F) 60% - Thinking (T) 40%
Perceiving (P) 56.25% - Judging (J) 43.75%

ENFP = "The Journalist". Uncanny sense of the motivations of others. Life is an exciting drama. 8.1% of total population.

(Take this test here: similarminds.com)

Update #2 The Can Opener Boy

Here's a post from a good friend and fellow INFJ:

"Apparently I'm more like Garfield than I ever realized"

Thanks Keith!

The Price of Freedom

While on Michelle Malkin’s blog I found an excerpt of a speech given by President Bush last September. It touched something deep inside me. The President is honoring the lives and service of Navy SEALs Matthew Axelson and Danny Dietz (photo).

"I think of two Navy SEALs named Matthew Axelson and Danny [Dietz]. In June of 2005, they were part of a SEAL team operating deep in the mountains of Afghanistan on a mission to kill or capture a Taliban leader. They were discovered, and they were soon surrounded in a mountain ravine by 30 to 40 Taliban fighters. During the firefight that ensued, Axelson urged an injured teammate to escape, and he provided cover before suffering a mortal wound. Fighting nearby, his partner [Dietz] was also mortally wounded, but he too stood his ground and kept firing until finally, he finally died.

Because of the courage of Petty Officers Axelson and [Dietz], their wounded teammate made it out alive. For their heroism, these two Petty Officers were awarded the Navy Cross. But I want you to hear what Petty Officer [Dietz]'s wife said about her husband and his comrades in arms. She said, "Danny and his brothers went toward evil and ran forward and gave their last breath."

We live in freedom because of the courage of men like Matthew and Danny. And we will honor their sacrifice by completing the mission. (Applause.) From Afghanistan and Iraq to Africa and Southeast Asia, we are engaged in a struggle against violent extremists -- a struggle which will help determine the destiny of the civilized world. We've borne these responsibilities before, and we have seen our faith in freedom vindicated by history. In this young century, a new generation of Americans is being called to defend liberty -- and once again the cause of liberty and peace will prevail."

In a fierce battle against evil these two brave men, Petty Officers Matthew Axelson and Daniel Dietz sacrificed their lives so that their friends might be set free and live. I aspire to be a man like these men, a man who will run to the battle and not from it. A man who willingly lays down his life so that others my live free. Oh that God would use me to rasie up a generation of men and women with this same passion for freedom!

Oh dear God, put to death in me selfishness and cowardice. Make me to be so much more like Jesus, willing to lay down my life for my friends. Lord have mercy on Matthew and Danny’s families, honor their lives. May we never forget the sacrifice they made so that we might live free, amen.

“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends”
Jesus ~ (John 15:13)

© Tom Zawacki 2007