“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Growing Dominion, Part 44 Heavenly things drive earthly things. What we assume about ultimate reality is going to dictate how we behave in day-to-day matters. If we assume that the whole idea of “rewards” is somehow less than spiritual, then we have to …
Altruism and Self-Interest
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Growing Dominion, Part 43 A businessman cannot function without a prudent sense of self-interest, and one of the reasons many Christians struggle in their oversight of business is that they do not understand this virtue properly. And the reason they do not understand …
More on Self Interest
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Growing Dominion, Part 42 Self-interest is built into us. We do not have to create it, and it is not possible to annihilate it. It is fixed; it is a given. This means that when I have a toothache, I know instinctively that …
Selfishness and Self-Interest
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16 11) Growing Dominion, Part 41 No one needs to teach us the arts of selfishness, and the related arts of rationalization. No one has to have special classes for the toddlers in the nursery in order to teach them how to grab for toys, …
Giving Away the Store
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Growing Dominion, Part 40 God blesses open-handedness, and yet there is such a thing as giving away the store. What is the difference between the two? The law of God requires open-handedness, and a generous spirit. The gleaning laws of the Old Testament, …
A Divine Comedy
In the resurrection of Christ from the dead, we see the banishment of the old pagan idea of tragedy. The history of the world, in the light of the resurrection, is actually a divine comedy. And Christ rose from the dead in the middle of human history so that we might know the end of …
Luck
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Growing Dominion, Part 37 As we labor in our various callings and businesses, we have to remember that there is no such thing as luck. Neither good luck nor bad luck exists. The fortune that one man experiences and another man misses are …
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Discrimination
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Growing Dominion, Part 36 Discrimination used to be a good word, and it is still possible to use it that way in some settings (e.g. “He is a man of discriminating taste.”) But for the most part, our modern thought police have seen …
Faithful in a Little
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Growing Dominion, Part 35 Jesus teaches us that if we are faithful in little, we will be able to be faithful over much (Luke 19:17). Someone who was a slouch as a teen-ager with his paper route is likely to be a slouch …
Big and Little
“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11) Growing Dominion, Part 34 Radical individualism wants to believe that those who are faithfully living together in community are actually sowing seeds of discord in community. But life together does not mean overlooking everything. One of the basic principles of life together in …