The Monday Memo from John Stanko

WELCOME TO THE MONDAY MEMO

Welcome to the home of the Monday Memo! In 2001, I began writing the Monday Memo in response to people who had heard my purpose message but said they needed to hear more. They wanted more content to help them think through and then identify the purpose in their life, so I began writing a weekly entry to fill that need. My goal was to write six to eight paragraphs every week that focused on the topics of purpose and faith. Eventually I expanded the repertoire to include entries on creativity, goals, and leadership. Little did I know that the Monday Memo would still be going strong more than two decades later!

At first, I managed those who subscribed through Outlook, but before I knew it, I had 18,000 subscribers, and eventually my email program crashed under the "weight" of so many names and emails. Plus, it was a headache for me to manage the list—especially if someone wanted to unsubscribe. In 2006, I converted what I was doing to a blog format and have maintained that since then.

Eventually, I began gathering Memos of like theme into documents and turned them into books when they were long enough (a few are pictured here; all are available on Amazon). To date, I have published 15 books from Memo content with more coming, including my six-part Unlocking series (unlocking the power of your purpose, creativity, productivity, you, faith, and thinking). Now I have expanded my weekly entries to incorporate other themes, but purpose and creativity are still my main foci. I have told people as long as they keep reading, I will keep on writing.

If you check out the categories on the right side of this page, I'm sure you will find themes and topics of interest that will help you be more purposeful, creative, and productive. I would estimate about 90% of the Memos are original, with some borrowed from the archives around the holidays or when I was traveling. I welcome your comments and questions, for writing and talking about purpose never gets tired. You can also subscribe to receive the Memo every week on the top right side of this page.

I invite you to check out my website for more video content on similar topics and you can also download my free mobile app to have that content at your fingertips when you have time to watch or listen. Thanks again for visiting and remember, "You have something to do that only you can do, something for you to be that only you can be. God wants you to know what it is, so if your heart is to hear, His heart is to speak." Enjoy your purpose quest and if I can be of service as you seek, please let me know.

Monday Memo 1185: Follow Your Star

This week I present a New Year's Memo about the Magi from the Memo archives. I will resume writing fresh Memos next week, but
in the meantime, Happy New Year!

 

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WHO WERE THOSE MEN?

 

Who were those wise men known as Magi who came from the east to visit Jesus and bring him gifts? (You can read this brief story by at Matthew 2:1-12.) We aren't really sure. We also don't know what they were looking for as they studied the heavens and what kind of star they saw that caused them to follow it hundreds of miles to find an infant king.

 

There were probably more than three men who came to see Jesus, but we have numbered them as three since they brought three gifts of myrrh, incense, and gold. They rode on camels for days, weeks even, not sure of what they would find when they arrived. Now that's faith! When they did arrive, they checked in with King Herod, convinced that he would know where the royal infant was. It's interesting that the wise men knew more of what was going on spiritually in Herod's kingdom than Herod did.

 

By the time the Magi arrived, Joseph, Mary, and Jesus were living in a house, not in a stable. This means the men came well after the night the shepherds visited Jesus in the manger. Since Herod carefully ascertained when the star had first appeared and then had all the male babies two years of age and under killed in Bethlehem, the Magi could have arrived as much as two years after Jesus' birth. That's a long time to watch and follow a star.

 

FOLLOW YOUR OWN STAR

 

You'll need God's help if you're to find and fulfill your purpose. That's not a problem, however, for God is in the business of helping people like you clarify your purpose. When Jesus was born, His star appeared and led those who were interested directly to His home (which ruins the theory that the star was a planet in its natural orbit). The same thing can happen for you today. God can lead and guide you right where you need to be at exactly the time you need to be there. Often when you can't see your purpose, you aren't quite ready to find it—or you're afraid of what you'll find, afraid you won't be able to fulfill it. Yet if you keep searching and following just like the Magi did, your star will appear and suddenly your Purpose Quest will make sense.

 

As we prepare to celebrate a new year, I urge you to follow in the footsteps of the Magi. Wise men and women still seek Jesus and, as they do, they find purpose. I pray that 2025 will be a year of creative purpose and productivity the likes of which you've never seen, imagined, or enjoyed. I also pray that when you find the star and follow it, you'll end up where the Magi did—worshiping the King and giving Him gifts. There's no greater gift than devoting and dedicating the fulfillment of your purpose to Christ and His kingdom. That's what I plan on doing in the year ahead.

 

From all the Stanko household, we wish you a very happy, prosperous, and purposeful New Year!

Monday Memo 1184: God Is With You

During this holiday season, I want to share a few observations about the significance of John 1:14: "The
Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." In a sense, God endorsed humanity as the crown of His creation when He willingly took on human form so we could behold His essence in a manner we could comprehend. This indicates that God is more comfortable with our humanity than we often are, wishing to change less about us than we are eager to change about ourselves.

The message of Christmas is that God is with us, as Matthew explained in his gospel when he quoted from Isaiah 7: "The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel (which means 'God with us')" (Matthew 1:23). Let's consider some other implications of what this concept of the Incarnation (which means the Word made flesh) represents for us as we pursue purpose and productivity.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

When God endorsed humanity by gracing it with His presence, He re-emphasized what He had said in the beginning: "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good" (Genesis 1:31). That meant all the activities of His humanity were also good, and that included sleep, work, eating, recreation, procreation, teamwork, communication, purpose, and creativity. When Adam and Eve sinned, those activities remained intact and were still good, but would constantly be fouled by sin.

I liken it to a computer that has a virus. The computer can still function, but its files and operating system are corrupted. Seldom is the computer discarded, but the virus must be found and eliminated. That is similar to the concept of salvation and sanctification (the process of holiness). God didn't discard mankind, but sent a remedy for the sin virus that has affected our operating system and files.

When Jesus was born, He came with the purpose of restoring things as they were meant to be in the Garden. Paul explained it this way: "For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross" (Colossians 1:19-20, emphasis added). Jesus did not come primarily to get you into a church (although that's important); He came to restore to their original working order your purpose, creativity, and all the other human traits He put into you and all people. This won't be completed in this lifetime, but the process has begun, and as God said in Genesis, "It is very good."

IMPLICATIONS

Often we believe that we need a complete overhaul before God can use us. That is not the case. Yes, you need your computer system upgraded and your files cleansed, but the essence of who you are is still God's idea. Your personality, gifts, thought process, likes, preferences, dislikes, and limitations are consistent with who God made you to be. God created you with your love for organization or your hatred for details. He made You an introvert or extrovert. He gave you your impatience for injustice or patience for the elderly. You were created not to be an end unto yourself, but were made to function best in a team where you can contribute who you are and rely on others for who you are not—with God in the midst of us all.

As I mentioned at the beginning, God is less interested in changing some things in me than I am. He has used my love of sports, my competitiveness, my writing gift, my lack of mercy, my love of travel, and my humor for His purpose and when I express them all, I am glorifying Him. When I try to change the essence of who I am, I am saying, "God, You made a mistake. You should have made me more like this or that." God knows best.

The message of Christmas is that God is truly with us. He isn't intimidated or offended by our mess or our humanity in its less attractive aspects. He's content to dwell with us; in fact He dwells in us, not after we get cleaned up but so He can facilitate the process. As you celebrate the birth of Christ and rejoice in who He is, spend time time rejoicing in who you are as well, for He came not because He tolerates you but because He celebrates you. If God is happy to live with you, shouldn't you be happy to live with yourself? Have a blessed week and Happy New Year.

Monday Memo 1183: Down But Not Out

I enjoy spending time in London, although I haven't been there in a while. One year, I went to see Handel’s Messiah at the Royal Albert Music Hall there. What a wonderful way to enjoy a timeless masterpiece of music and Scripture in the city where it was composed. That visit sparked one of my Christmas favorites from the Monday Memo archives, which I present to you again this year.

 

MESSIAH

 

Messiah is considered by some to be the greatest musical feat in the history of mankind. Commissioned by a charity to produce a benefit concert, Handel wrote the Messiah in only 24 days. A musician once told me that someone trying to copy the Messiah could hardly do so in 24 days—that is the level of inspiration in which Handel operated when he wrote. Handel never left his house for those three weeks. His food trays remained untouched outside his office door. A friend who visited him as he composed found him sobbing with intense emotions. Later, as Handel groped for words to describe what he had experienced, he quoted the Apostle Paul, saying, “Whether I was in the body or out of my body when I wrote it, I know not.”

 

What’s even more impressive is that Handel wrote Messiah under extreme duress. The Church of England strongly criticized and opposed Handel and his previous scriptural works put to music. At the age of 56, he had no money, often going out only at night so as to avoid his creditors. Handel performed what he considered a farewell concert and went home, fully expecting to end up in debtor’s prison. Yet the first performance of Messiah in Ireland in 1742 raised almost 400 British pounds for charity and freed 142 other men from debtor's prison. Of course, the rest is history as countless millions have enjoyed and marveled at his work for more than 250 years. Handel also went on from there to enjoy tremendous success and popularity in his latter years.

 

So what does this have to do with you? Perhaps you are a person of purpose but you feel frustrated, even defeated in your quest for purpose. Maybe you find yourself down and out, discouraged and criticized, forgotten and a failure. Perhaps your finances are in poor shape. If any of those descriptions fit you, read on, for this Memo can restore your hope and faith. If that’s not where you are right now, read on anyway, for that will probably describe you one day as you pursue your purpose.

 

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU'RE DOWN AND OUT

 

As we close out 2024, I advise you to do three things if you're discouraged, disillusioned, or dismayed. And if you’re not, find someone who is—you shouldn’t have to look too long or hard—and encourage them in their dark time.

1. Renew your faith in God. Your success and purpose expression don’t depend on your faithfulness; they depends on God’s. Remind yourself that God can do anything, and then rest in Him. Handel went home to retire and perhaps thought it was all over for him. Yet God helped him when a group found and commissioned him, and God can do the same for you.
2. Keep preparing for your day of success. I don’t think Handel went home to abandon music. Don't you abandon your love for doing something either. Keep writing, reading, learning, and practicing. When the phone rings or the mail comes with your opportunity, you'll be fresh and prepared, having worked in faith for the day of success.
3. Be generous. Handel wrote Messiah for charity, even though he was destitute. What can you do for someone else even though you are down and out? It's a good thing to do the unexpected in hard times, and giving something away definitely fits the bill when you're in need yourself. What better way to express your trust in God?

I’m grateful for God's help as 2024 comes to an end. I hope you can find reasons to be thankful as well. If it's been a tough year for you, thank God for His faithfulness that kept it from being worse. At least you’re still alive and purpose eligible! Then take this Memo to heart or share it with someone who needs it. I pray that as you do what I recommend above, you'll see a purpose breakthrough in 2025. Thank you for allowing me to come into your life every week and thank you for being a fellow purpose pilgrim, searching for and seeking creative purpose. As I close this Memo, I wish you not only a great week, but a Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season.

Monday Memo 1182: Daylight on the Night Shift

I receive many requests every year asking how to find purpose. Many say they have "no idea" what their purpose is and ask me for help. While I respond as best I can, after all these years I know that I can't help anyone see their purpose. I know the One who can, however, and how He does it is reminiscent of the story of the shepherds at Christmas, something I call daylight on the night shift. Read on to see what I mean.

THE NIGHT SHIFT

The shepherds in the Christmas story were working the night shift, doing what they and their ancestors had
done for centuries. They went to work without any thought that anything extraordinary was about to happen. On the night Jesus was born, they were tending their flocks on the hillsides outside Bethlehem, minding their own business. Suddenly God sent them messengers, who brought great light to their night shift:

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."


Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger (Luke 2:8-16).

These shepherds were doing what they knew to do at that time in their life and God interrupted them with a special news report. This both scared and thrilled them. That's how it is when you find your life purpose. Often you're doing what you know to do at the time in a job or role that's less than fulfilling. Suddenly God, the Great Communicator, breaks into your conscious being and brings a message of purpose of what He has always wanted you to do. That not only terrifies you but also gives you a desire to clarify and fulfill it.

That night the shepherds went to work like any other day. God spoke to them, however, and they were never the same. They started by sitting on a hillside in chilly weather; they ended by finding a great treasure in Bethlehem, a treasure that hadn't been revealed to anyone else but them.

YOUR PURPOSE QUEST

Maybe you have been in a desperate search for your purpose and its expression. As we end this year, be encouraged as you remember the shepherds. Finding your purpose doesn't depend on your diligence; it depends on God's grace. Yes, you must search for your purpose, but only God can reveal it to you on a cold, dark night when you are going about your business like countless other nights. At that point, God may send His messenger and change your life forever. I don't know when or how He will do it, I just know He will.

Therefore, have faith and relax this holiday season as you seek your purpose. Keep asking God to help you understand who you are and what you were born to do and, after that, trust Him. You may even want to thank Him for your purpose whether or not you understand what it is. He wants you to fulfill your purpose more than you do and will show you in the fullness of time. He will bring you daylight even if seems lik you are working the night shift where purpose is concerned.

When He does, you will join with the shepherds as laborers who found more than business as usual one night when they went to work. May the God of purpose speak to you soon and may you have the courage to believe what He says! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Monday Memo 1181: Mary

As we enter Advent and the holiday season, I will post some of my favorite Christmas entries from years past in the coming weeks. We'll start a new series in January, but for now, it's time to glean some purpose lessons from the Christmas story and the lives of those who played a part. Let's start this week by looking at the purpose story of Mary, the mother of Jesus, from my series, "Never Too Young for Purpose."

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Mary was a teenager when she gave birth to Jesus, so she certainly is a person of purpose from whom we can learn a lot in our own search for purpose.

THE ANNOUNCEMENT

Here is the announcement that ushered in the Christmas story:

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.” “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her (Luke 1:26-38).

God made a decision that Mary was to be the mother of Jesus, and sent Gabriel to make the announcement. We don't know much about Mary since this is the first mention of her in the Bible, but put yourself in Mary's place. She was a young adult. This was undoubtedly her first encounter with an angel. She was engaged, but the angel informed her that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit. With all that background, Mary asked one question and only one: "How can this be?"

THE ANSWER

The angel gave her a simple answer: "The Holy Spirit will come upon you." Mary had as much information after the question as before she asked, for she did not have an understanding of the Spirit that we have today. All she understood was that God was going to make it happen. It's fascinating that she did not ask another question, but simply responded, "May your word to me be fulfilled." That represents great faith, which is required for anyone to find and fulfill their life's purpose.

You may think that Mary's purpose was to give birth to Jesus, but it was bigger and more significant than that. To identify her purpose, we go a little further into Luke's gospel to see the words of Elizabeth, Mary's cousin, that define Mary's purpose: "Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” It was Mary's role to oversee in faith the promises and mission of her son, Jesus.

Mary was there when the shepherds came to see Jesus, when the Magi came to worship Jesus, when Herod came to kill Jesus, when the elders of Israel listened to and marveled at 12-year-old Jesus, when Jesus began His public ministry, when Jesus hung on a cross, and when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the day of Pentecost. If Mary's purpose was to give birth to Jesus, her purpose was finished the day He was born. Her purpose was more than that, however. It was a lifelong role of believing God for her Son's protection and ministry completion.

THE APPLICATION

Perhaps God has shown you something about your future, but you want more information. He has showed you that you will own a business, but your family is poor or not business people. You have asked "How can this be?" and received the same answer as Mary did: "God will accomplish it." But that doesn't mean you don't have anything to do even while God is accomplishing it. You now have to learn how to run a business by studying or working in a business for a season.

Maybe God will help you invent something which you will then use to start of your future business. If it's not business, then perhaps it's something to do with music, education, or sports. I hope you get the idea. God will show you something about your future, He promises to help you do it, and then you get to spend your time cooperating and fulfilling what God showed you. That's how God works, no matter how young or old you are.

I urge you this holiday season to reconsider Mary and her role not only in the Christmas story but also in the life of Jesus. Observe her reactions and responses, and apply them to your own life. Your role is not just to give birth to your purpose; your role is to raise it to maturity so it can bear fruit. May God be with you as we end 2024 and help you make progress on your purpose path in the coming year as never before. Have a blessed week.

Monday Memo 1180: A Time to Die

When I was younger, I would read Solomon's words in Ecclesiastes and think he had a fatalistic and pessimistic view of life. Now that I'm older, my perspective has changed—on life, death, and his words. How so, you may ask? For the answer, let's look at another one of Solomon's conclusions for one last lesson in our 'Never Too Old For Purpose' series. I hope you'll see, as I have, just how wise he really was:

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build (Ecclesiastes 3:1-4).

None of us are getting out of here alive. What's more, while we're here, we're going to experience tears, setbacks, failures, which we dread, as well as the things we love, like family, work we enjoy, and simple pleasures such as nature and food. While it's important to determine how we will live, it's also necessary to determine how we will die. No, I don't mean the way we will die, but the attitude we will have toward it.

As I write, I'm sitting with an elderly relative. I'm watching this person process their current situation and they have questioned why God would allow this to happen to them. I'm not judging this person, for I ask myself, How would I face and react to what they are going through? Can I decide now how I will do so? I've determined so far that I'm a teacher and I've spent most of my time teaching people how to live. Now I must teach people and those closest to me how to die, and much of that involves a mindset that faces the reality of their and my mortality. Solomon wrote,

I also said to myself, “As for humans, God tests them so that they may see that they are like the animals. Surely the fate of human beings is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; humans have no advantage over animals. Everything is meaningless. All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return. Who knows if the human spirit rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?” (Ecclesiastes 3:18-21).

Notice that Solomon "said to myself." That meant he was evaluating what he saw and was turning it into a life-and-death philosophy that would be of benefit to others. What was his conclusion?

"So I saw that there is nothing better for a person than to enjoy their work, because that is their lot. For who can bring them to see what will happen after them?" (Ecclesiastes 3:22).

Do you enjoy your work? Are you preparing for your inevitable end? How are you doing that? Are you giving thought to how you will die? I pray you have many years left on earth, that this is a time to live for you and those closest to you. But eventually, you will have to face the fact that there is a time to die. There's no better way to prepare for that day than to leave a legacy of joyous purpose work produced with an eye toward eternity. Doing that will equip you with the life philosophy that has been the theme of this series, and this is that you will never be too old for purpose. Have a blessed week.

Monday Memo 1179: Decide Now

As we close this series on 'Never Too Old for Purpose,' let's look at the words of Jeremiah, the prophet who God sent to His people with a word that would be ignored to their doom:

"He has made my skin and my flesh grow old and has broken my bones. He has besieged me and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship. He has made me dwell in darkness like those long dead" (Lamentations 3:4-6).

As Jeremiah looked back over the years, the verses above were his summary of his condition which seemed bleak and depressing. He further wrote,

"I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope" (Lamentations 3:19-21).

As I write, I'm sitting in a hospital room with an elderly relative and this would perhaps be their testimony as well. They are suffering physically after the end of a long, painful life, The problem for this person, however, is that they can't finish the story as Jeremiah did, for after all was said and done, Jeremiah offered this conclusion:

"Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “'he Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him'" (Lamentations 3:22-24).

As you grow older, you can easily have quite a collection of disappointments, failures, mistakes, and painful memories. You will then have two options of how to assess a life that perhaps fell short of your expectations. You can either be resentful, angry, or disillusioned, or you can take the position that Jeremiah took. You can trust and have hope in the Lord to the end, even if it is bitter.

We can now thank God for Jeremiah, for his testimony and faithfulness have been an encouragement to God followers for more than several millennia. God put him through a lot, but he emerged victorious not for his contemporaries' sake but for ours. The time to decide how you will die is while you are still living, while you have energy and mental clarity. You can decide to be a person of purpose to the end, even if God uses you as an example for others in your latter days.

How and when will you die? No one knows the specifics but we can decide the conditions where we are at right now. Will you be a person of purpose to the end? That you can decide. I invite you to join me in that pursuit as we seek to honor God with all our days, both the ones with youthful vigor and the ones with diminished capacity. When we decide to do that, we will certainly prove that no one is ever too old for purpose, for God to use them (and us) as He sees fit. Have a blessed week.

Monday Memo 1178: A Crown of Splendor

This week and next, I’m going to finish this series on “Never too Old for Purpose” the way I finished the previous series, “Never Too Young for Purpose,” and that is by focusing on the wisdom books of the Bible, of which Proverbs is a part. Proverbs addressed many aspects of life including finances, leadership, family, and business, and specifically contrasts the life of the wise and their antithesis, the fool. This week, let’s look at a verse that speaks to the young and not-so-young: 

The glory of the young is their strength, the gray hair of experience is the splendor of the old (Proverbs 20:29).

As I write, I’ve just returned from a missions trip to Kenya with a group of 15 of which I was the oldest member. At one point, we planted some trees at a building dedication and someone took a picture of me while I was bent over, capturing a view of the top of my head which I can’t see in the mirror. When I saw the picture, I saw all gray, thinning hair. Another translation of Proverbs 20:29 says gray hair is a crown. If that’s true, then I am sporting a pretty healthy crown right now.

The good news is we had some young members with us or as I like to refer to them, “young legs.” They could run and jump and not get tired, whereas the older members who had made the trip before provided the guidance for their youthful energy. We made a good team not only because of our diverse gifts but our diverse ages.

It can be difficult for the old to admit that they have lost a step, both physically and mentally. We can’t do what we used to do—or at least I can’t—so we should stop trying and instead give younger team and family members with more strength the chance to excel. I see this in ministry where my aging colleagues continue to serve, convinced they’ve still “got it” when they don’t.  

Some continue on to collect a paycheck, using up ministry resources that could and should be used for other activities. People love and respect these leaders, however, so there is no one with the courage or heart to tell them it’s time not to retire necessarily but to transition to a different role. And what role would that be?

It's the role of the advisor, the coach, the mentor. It’s the role not of the quarterback or the captain, but the role of one who comes alongside others to provide a voice of reason and experience. And what if the organization someone with gray hair is in isn't interested in their wisdom and experience? Then it’s time for the gray-haired one to find a way to share what they have to a new audience in a different organization or through social media or writing.

Ten years ago, I left a position in a church where I was well paid, making a positive contribution. I was 64 years old, but I felt it was time for someone younger to gain the experience I already had. It wasn’t about keeping my salary (and the church paid their pastors well) or hanging on until I couldn’t function any longer. It was all about stepping aside and allowing someone younger with more “strength” to get the experience. Now I travel, teach, write, and publish. I keep busy and had a chance on this last missions trip to share my wisdom in Africa with people who were eager to hear it.

Do you have a crown of splendor, or in other words, is your hair gray, representing many years of life? If so, are you ready to accept a new role, making way for the young? Or perhaps you are still young working with those who are older? Then you should keep in mind that you need the wisdom of the aged while accepting that your “young legs” will be the ones to run the race while your elders cheer you on. And of course, you’re taking one step closer every day to the time when you will have that crown of splendor.

As you read this, know that your crown of gray hair is on its way, if it’s not already here. Whenever it comes, know that it’s time for you to graciously accept the role that age gives you, which is cheering the runners on. The young and old can make an effective team, but only if the old don’t pretend that they’re young when they’re not and the young don’t pretend to have the wisdom that only years of life can provide. Have a blessed week.

Monday Memo 1177: Term Limits

In Numbers 4, the Lord addressed the duties of the clans and families of the Levites. The Lord directed Moses to

"List all the men between the ages of thirty and fifty who are eligible to serve in the Tabernacle" (Numbers 4:3).

Notice that these men were to be between the ages of 30 and 50, not too young but not too old. As the duties of the tabernacle and eventually the Temple were better defined, we don’t see that this age category for service was changed. It seems like Levites went into semi-retirement after the age of 50 and became elders who ruled by nature of their experience and the wisdom they hopefully developed through living a godly life.

I'm not writing this week to suggest that 50 is a hard-and-fast age at which someone should retire or step away from leadership or meaningful work. But I am writing to suggest that the Bible recognizes there comes a time when those who are older must acknowledge an important truth: They are old and won't live forever. They then must be open and willing to pass on the mantle of responsibility and authority at some point as they age.

No one owns their position, whether they work in a church or business. There's a season when they have energy and creativity to fulfill certain roles but when that energy and creativity wanes, it must be recognized as happening. That can occur when someone is 50 or 60 or 70 but it will happen. And when it does, they must not allow fear to motivate them to hold onto something for selfish reasons. We saw this earlier in David’s life when at the end, he almost didn’t promote Solomon to his rightful place as king because David was focused on his own needs.

Are you open to the fact that one day your capabilities will diminish, and you may not be aware of it? Do you have someone who can tell you if and when that happens? Will you make it easy for people to take over for you, or will you hold on to the bitter end? Will you allow your feelings to be hurt when for the good of your family or your organization or your church, others decide it’s time to change the role you have had?

The good news is that God isn’t finished with you. Allow Him to move you into new opportunities where your wisdom and experience are most needed and welcome. The Levites were still involved after 50; they just weren’t carrying the heavy loads. Their season in ministry had term limits. As I write, I have a flourishing publishing business. i do relief work in Africa. I travel to speak and share my wisdom on life purpose I have gathered over the years.

I'm busy and happy, but I don’t do what I once did as part of a church organization. I promise that God has the same for you, but you must face the fact that whatever you are doing or will do has term limits and one day you will have to stop doing it. Make sure you cooperate with that day and don’t oppose it by insisting that others honor your years of life. Accept your limitations and continue to serve the Lord in the ways you can. Have a blessed week.

Monday Memo 1176: Share Your Wisdom

There's an old adage that says, "you should respect your elders." I would agree but it's always best if an elder is respected not because of their past but because of their ongoing service to others. We read in Job that those up in years should have one important thing to give people:

Wisdom belongs to the aged, and understanding to the old (Job 12:12, NLT).

We need the wisdom and experience of those who have gone before us, but later in the book, a caution is issued concerning the old:

“I am young and you are old, so I held back from telling you what I think. I thought, ‘Those who are older should speak, for wisdom comes with age.' But there is a spirit within people, the breath of the Almighty within them, that makes them intelligent. Sometimes the elders are not wise. Sometimes the aged do not understand justice (Job 32:6-9, NLT).

Being advanced in years is no guarantee of wisdom and understanding. What's more, if someone has the wisdom and understanding, what are they doing with it? How can they make it available to others who need it? What are some ways to make one's wisdom available to those who need it?

Teaching is one way, but not just face-to-face but through technology and social media. But there's the problem, for many of those who are older are not in tune with technology while others are afraid of it and its implications. They don't want to lose their privacy. They don't wish to be "tied down" to using it regularly. They're afraid they won't do it properly and won't have enough energy or creativity to sustain their presence long term. Perhaps you share some of these concerns.

If that's not an option, then what about writing? Can you start to develop your writing skills so that you have something to say and know how to communicate it? The most important point in all this is to accept that you do have wisdom to share but you must be passionate, desperate even, to share it. If you have that attitude, then you'll find ways to broadcast what you have, perhaps teaming up with a younger person who can keep you current on how to use technology while you provide the content. If you don't want to write, then find every teaching opportunity that you can.

So what's it going to be? Will you sit in a rocking chair, wishing that someone would respect your gray hair, or will you give them a reason to sit up and take notice that you have something to say? I know for me, I plan on being active and sharing my lessons that my gray hair have brought me. I invite you to join me in that venture, no matter your age. Have a blessed week!