Shownotes
Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy
Welcome to Day 619 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.
This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom
I Couldn’t Care More – Mindshift Monday
Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 619 of our trek, and it is time to continue with our Mindshift Monday series that we began last week.
The more I observe people, the more I consider and ponder creating a living legacy, the more I am convinced that much of our life turns out exactly as we think it will. Your mind is powerful and can direct you towards a life of peace and success or a life of unrest, drama, and continual hardship.
As a human, designed to be God’s image bearer, He has given you a free will. As a human, you have the tremendous capacity to rationalize your behavior and actions and then convince yourself that it is truth based on what you allow yourself to think. In order to change your life, you must change how you think and what you think about.
Each week, the focus of our Mindshift Monday podcast and journal will be to provide you practical ways to make a mind-shift to a rich and satisfying life. Come along with us each Monday as we take our trek on the trails that will direct you to this destination. Of course, it is up to you to hike and complete the trails needed to make your mind-shift.
We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. The two chicks from our hawk family are growing rapidly, and I suspect that it will not be too many more weeks before they set out on a life of their own. The meal deliveries require both parents to be actively involved in more frequent and larger portions of food. It is enjoyable watching the activities that are involved in caring and preparing for the young hawks. We are blessed to have such a great view of the activities.
With our grandkids out of school for the summer and Hazel’s leukemia treatments set for once a week, our schedules are starting to settle into more of a routine. Our lives will never return to what they were previously, but that’s okay because we realize that life is always in a pattern of constant change. Some changes are more dramatic as we are experiencing now, but with the proper mind-shift, we can maintain the proper outlook on life. We are willing to invest whatever time is needed to pour into our children and grandchildren lives as part of our living legacy. The impact that we have on their lives each day is the only thing that we will truly pass onto them through the generations to come.
All of us go through experiences that will bring us joy and cause us sorrow. You must learn to change with the seasons of life, just as you change with the seasons of the year. Expect it, and prepare for it. You must first prepare in your mind before you can prepare and impact your world. A powerful mind-shift that most of us need to reinforce in our lives is our compassion and care for others. This begins by changing the way you think about compassion, especially to those who are less fortunate than you are.
Since your thinking has such an impact on your life and consequently on the lives of others that you impact, you need to know how to think properly, and what to think about. So on our trek today, we will consider how you can get to the place where you can say…
I Couldn’t Care More
How many lives are wasted and destroyed because the world’s attitudes and actions toward people in need shout to them, “I couldn’t care less”? How much better would the world be if these attitudes and actions were replaced in your life and the life of others where we reached the point of saying, “I couldn’t care more”? In order to change the world, you must think differently than the world. The only way this will happen is if you change the way you think about those less fortunate. The fundamental step as a Christ follower is to let God transform you as is taught to us in Romans 12:2, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
It certainly is possible for two people to view the same situation and see it entirely different depending on their mindset. If you are going to say to the world, “I couldn’t care more,” then you must open your eyes and look for hurting people. You must go to where they are. This is what we see in the example that Jesus showed us.
Matthew 9:35-38 illustrates this, “Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And he healed every kind of disease and illness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. He said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.'”
When God changes the way you think, you will experience a mind-shift which opens your eyes to see opportunities in every area of life.
Jesus was concerned that people see the hurts of humanity and respond with compassion. Too many times we, like the disciples, see only the problems of people, or we might even say we see people as problems. You feel the frustrations of their failures and the weight of their weaknesses. You have enough problems of your own and don’t feel that you have enough strength to deal with the weaknesses of others.
When you allow God to change the way you think, you gain strength that you do not realize you have. It is easy to forget that by helping others many times it results in helping yourself. The Apostle Paul taught us these principles in Romans 15:1-3 these principles, “We who are strong must be considerate of those who are sensitive about things like this. We must not just please ourselves. We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord. For even Christ didn’t live to please himself. As the Scriptures say, ‘The insults of those who insult you, O God, have fallen on me.'”
If you say to your neighbors and others you associate with “I couldn’t care more,” then you must open your heart and allow love for others, even when they are unlovely. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13:3, “If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.” It is not only about giving more material things – any relief agency can do that. While material items are needed in certain situations, they are a poor substitute for love and understanding. Most people don’t need more things. They need more tenderness.
As Christ followers, we need to stop copying the customs and behaviors of the world and let God transform us by changing the way we think. In doing so, our lives will start to show the fruit of the Spirit, which is listed in Galatians 5:22-23, “But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!”
What will it take for you to reach a place where you can truthfully say, “I couldn’t care more.” I know I certainly need to work my mind-shift in this area.
With these thoughts in mind, we will conclude our trek for today and let us ponder if our lives reflect the fruit listed above. If not, then continue your Mindshift by allowing God to continue to change the way you think. It is then that you will live the rich and satisfying life that is available to each of us.
Next week we will continue our trek of Mind-Shift Monday. On tomorrow’s trek, we will explore another wisdom quote. This 3-minute wisdom supplement will assist you in becoming healthy, wealthy, and wise each day. Thank you for joining me on this trek called life. Encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along tomorrow for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.
That will finish our trek for today. If you would like to listen to any of our past treks or read the Wisdom Journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. You can also subscribe at iTunes or Google Play so that each day’s trek will be downloaded automatically.
Thank you so much for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.
As we take this trek of life together, let us always:
- Live Abundantly (Fully)
- Love Unconditionally
- Listen Intentionally
- Learn Continuously
- Lend to others Generously
- Lead with Integrity
- Leave a Living Legacy Each Day
This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!