In his bestseller "Blink," Malcom Gladwell discusses the effects of the human subconscious on everyday decisions, some of which are good and others bad. A positive example is when a music producer feels that an unknown artist has special talent and his hunch turns out to be correct when the artist records a hit. A negative example is when people exhibit racially discriminative behavior even though they perceive themselves to be against racism.
It is commonly believed that the more medical tests and opinions gathered for patients, the more accurate the diagnoses. But Gladwell claims that this is not always the case. Too many tests and opinions ...
Read More
Many people suffer from depression, some occasionally and others frequently. What is the cure for depression? There is no simple answer because the causes vary.
However, there is one sure cure: gazing heavenward. When you’re depressed, what are you occupied with? Probably yourself and your own circumstances. God created human beings to love, which means that our interest should be directed toward God and other people, not ourselves. We get depressed when our gaze is focused inwards, because it’s against God's design. God also made us to live in the heavenly realms, and when we live completely worldly lives, depression sets in. If we want to be ...
Read More
A while back, I bought a DVD player. Soon after buying it, it stopped working. It was under warranty, so I took it back to the store where I bought it. The attendant looked at my receipt and said that she couldn’t exchange it because the warranty had expired two days prior.
I was upset. Sure, I had brought it back after the warranty expired, but the machine started malfunctioning a long time before that. She could have filled in the damaged date retrospectively and exchanged it for a new one. Wouldn't that be true customer service?
As time passed, I realized that I was wrong to be upset. I was at fault for neglecting to bring in the broken DVD ...
Read More
People frequently fall in love for trivial reasons. I know a man who fell in love with a woman because of her dimples. I know a woman who fell in love with a man because she liked the way he held an umbrella for her so that she wouldn't get wet.
I fell in love with two people recently for similarly trifling reasons.
The first is Gary Kubiak, head coach of the Houston Texans. When he took the job, the Texans were the worst team in their division. In four years, he’s made the team a playoff contender.
His contract expires this year. Acknowledging his contributions, the team owner gave him a 3-year contract extension. He was actually offered a more ...
Read More
My mother-in-law, who lives in a senior citizen's apartment, asked me on behalf of a gentleman who lives there if our church could reimburse him for the $70 he spent to fix his TV. He said that the TV had been donated by our church and that Seoul Baptist is rich enough to pay for it.
In general, I believe that once we donate something, we’re not responsible for its repair afterwards, but I thought I would give him the money out of my pocket. But after thinking about it, I decided against it. I was bothered by the last thing he mentioned, that “Seoul Baptist is rich.”
Our church has been able to help other people and organizations by tightening ...
Read More
One of our deacons recently shared a personal testimony during a Saturday morning prayer meeting. He had been assigned to a task group at his company. When he later moved to a company he had admired and wanted to work for, they hired him because of his experience in the task group. After switching jobs, the task group he was a part of disbanded. And each of the 4 people at his new company who contributed to the decision to hire him retired or changed jobs soon after he joined; none of them remain at the company. He said that it seemed like God formed the task group in his former company and kept the 4 people who hired him in the new company just for ...
Read More
Jesus says that whoever wants to be the first must become a servant of all (Mark 10:44). This used to make me feel guilty, because as the pastor of a church, I should be the servant of every church member, but I didn’t feel like I was. To me, servants were people who made others' wishes their commands, and I wasn’t able to do that.
I later realized that I was misunderstanding Jesus' words. Jesus didn’t behave that way himself. Servants don’t put others’ wishes first, but their needs. They consider their master's needs more important than their own. To me, true servants are people who help those around them become more successful. According ...
Read More