Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 2. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. (Colossians 3:1-4)
“Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.” Now there’s some advice that cuts right through all the nonsense in this world and hits the nail dead on the head. Paul’s words above rank near the top of the best advice anybody could ever receive.
What other wise advice have you been blessed with… Advice from your pastor, your father, or maybe a coach—wise words that have stuck by your side like a childhood best friend.
We can see from above that great advice doesn’t have to be some extravagant thing: a scientific revelation, some grand theory or idea… No, we usually find that just simple thoughts, those that get straight to the point, are the ones that work best as we navigate our way in this world.
“How you start is important, but it’s how you finish that counts.” Have you ever heard this advice before? I certainly have; my father used to say it a lot. I never asked Dad when or where he first received this piece of wisdom, but it was obviously important to him.
When my father gave advice, it was always short and straight to the point and wasn’t always, but usually, delivered on a playing field. I think athletics is where my dad shined the most, and I loved hearing his advice as he coached: “Jimmy, keep your head up when you’re making a tackle, and your head on a swivel at all times on the field.”
His tackling advice turned out to be short-lived in my life—the last thing I tackled was a big meal, and I don’t particularly remember keeping my head up. However, “Keep your head on a swivel” is advice I still follow every day.
God has given me many gifts, but it’s His gift of the talent to build beautiful things that brings me the most joy. I feel extremely blessed to be a carpenter, and as my carpentry skills have grown, they’ve enabled me to build a wide range of things. First, furniture and dog houses, then docks and decks, and then the next thing you know, I was building houses and then subdivisions, including their water systems and roads. Recently a friend has enticed me with miniature golf courses—what’s going to be next?
God has graced me with a uniquely diverse building career and a heart and mind that find all construction to be interesting and fun. But, I think out of all that I build, I like to help build godly people the most.
As far as I can tell, things like nails, concrete, and wood aren’t able to show emotion. However, if a nail did show emotions, it certainly wouldn’t spend its time sitting around worrying about getting pounded all day.
Just like a nail, construction for me has never been an extremely emotional thing. I love it to death, and it brings me great joy, but I don’t stress much if things don’t go exactly as planned. However, when you build a house, there often comes a point where others affect your emotions—where the world rears its ugly head. It’s at this point where you and your team, the men who built the house, will need divine wisdom the most.
People are variables, and just like in sports, you are not alone on the field. So you need to be able to handle the curveballs and fumbles that will be coming your way. I think it’s all part of God’s plan. It’s truly the nature of the beast when you create beautiful things.
When the soon-to-be new homeowner walks in the house, it’s like when a designated hitter struts to the plate. During most of the game, both the buyer and the hitter stayed on the sidelines; now they are needed, which gives them some control and a big stick in their hands.
You typically know that the ballplayers thought is to swing for the fence. However, the homeowners thoughts are harder to figure—sometimes out of nowhere, they swing for your head.
One afternoon, I saw one of my young superintendents sitting in his truck. He was nearly in tears and shaking like a leaf. One of our new homeowners had just swung their stick and connected with his head.
When people with bad intent swing their stick, it’s as if they’re trying to say, “Don’t hold your head so high; it’s just going to get in my way. I’m in charge now. I’m going to swing at you hard, so you better duck, or better yet, you better bow down.”
Boy, did this light me up. It was all I could do not to run to that house and set those animals straight. But I had been through this before, so I took some deep breaths and got a hold of myself.
The memory of us sitting at the side of his car and expressing our thoughts is as fresh in my mind as if it happened today. He told me about the blow that he took to the head. But even confused and enraged, he still got it right; he proved the man we all knew him to be, and he got out of that house without a fight.
We spoke about how important it was to keep a level head when those around you are swinging their stick. We must always remember that their values are theirs and theirs alone and that we cannot control what they do or what they say. Through our faith and control, we show that their stick could never hold any power over us.
I told him, “Jesus took it all…all the hate of the world. You’ve shown the same strength and courage. I love you, and I’m proud that you’re committed to doing it right. The start of anything that’s worthy is very important, but in the end, it’s how you finish that counts! Good job! Our thoughts are of Heaven—we do it to glorify God and nobody else!”
Those may not be the exact words we used, but they were the truths we shared that day.
Today that young superintendent continues building the kingdom as well as homes—thank you, Jesus, for witnesses like him. Through God’s grace and a heavy dose of his own, he glorified God as he took the hit but didn’t bow to the stick.
We all have a start and a finish, a birth and a death. We have no control in the start—our birth is totally out of our hands. The finish is different; we have total control of all we do. God created it that way. God gave man dominion over the world and free will to choose which way it would end. Heaven or hell, the choice is totally yours.
The world is not lacking for knowledge, and it’s becoming more accessible every day. What’s needed in this world is wisdom… The wisdom that comes from knowing God.
I like to think of the canon of the Bible as the written archives of God’s wise advice. And just like I heed my father’s advice to keep my head on a swivel. I’m honored and graced to receive God’s advice to do the same: Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. (1 Peter 5:8)
I love reading my Heavenly Father’s wise words in the Bible. His words hold the wisdom we need to overcome this world. And they provide us the exact advice we need to glorify Him in all we say and do.
Why are we here—what do we exist for? When you “Think about the things of Heaven,” it’s all so clear: We are here to Glorify God in all that we do and all that we say.
For the Lord grants wisdom!
From his mouth come knowledge and understanding. (Proverbs 2:6)
“I tell you the Truth”
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