Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 584of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom

Fairness – The Tools in Gramps’ Backpack

Thank you for joining us for our 5 days per week wisdom and legacy building podcast. This is Day 584 of our trek, and it is Motivation Monday. We are hiking a series of trails called The Tools in Gramps’ Backpack. Each Monday for a total of 20 weeks we will explore a different tool that is needed to motivate and equip parents and grandparents to train their children and grandchildren to be successful on their trek of life. If you don’t have children or grandchildren of your own, use these tools to train others that you do influence. Today the 15^th tool from Gramps’ Backpack is Fairness. 

We are broadcasting from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. When this trek is released, I will be back in Arizona for a week to continue our work on our construction projects there. If all goes as planned, I will invest much of the week preparing the contract for Phase II. If the contract is accepted, we should be able to move forward with construction within the next 60 days.

One conclusion that I have come to over my years of observations in business and indeed all of life is that life is not always fair. Not everyone has the same perspective about life, and it will usually stem back from lack of ethics, lack of compassion, and lack of understanding when dealing with others.

As parents, grandparents, and mentors to others, we need to teach those we impact that life is not always fair while still teaching and practicing fairness in our own lives and interactions in all areas of life as we deal with others.

While others and life itself may not always seem fair, the tool that we want to use and pass on to our children, grandchildren, and others is…

Fairness

You make many decisions each day, and as much as humanly possible, you need to be fair to everyone, including yourself.  You need to be savvy, but fair to manage the affairs of daily life, including the affairs of your family life.

With all of the political correctness and situational ethics that seem to drive most decisions today, where can you turn for deciding what is fair and what is not? Gramps’ backpack that contains all of the tools we are exploring is God’s Word, the Bible. It is God’s timeless guide for decision making and being fair in the decisions that you must make each day. This applies to your dealings with family members, friends, associates, and even your business decisions. In Proverbs 11:1 King Solomon told us what God expects in business, but applies to all of life, “The Lord detests the use of dishonest scales, but he delights in accurate weights.”

Instead of being anxious or fretting over whether your decision making is fair in all your dealings, go to the Bible for guidance, especially in the book of Proverbs for practical, everyday tips on many of life’s issues. As a parent or grandparent, it can be very tough to be fair in each situation, but as much as possible, you need to pass on balanced fairness to those that you teach and train.

Jesus should be the preeminent one in our lives, and because of this, we should practice his teachings. We should love each other, submit to each other and treat each other fairly as Jesus taught us.

A sound practice from Isaiah [1:17] gives us a brief outline:

“Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows.”

It could be said that every person is as holy and full of the Spirit as they choose to be. A person may not be as full as they wish to be, but as full as they desire to be. The Prophet Micah also gave us a template to live a life that displays fairness to all in 6:8, “No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”

On a personal level, I would rather be taken advantage of in most situations if it extends and the opportunity to be fair and loving to others. It would be better to adopt the practices taught by Jesus than having someone believe that you were unfair or took advantage of them. In Matthew 5:38-42 Jesus instructed us, “You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow.”

When you are training your children, grandchildren, and others how to be fair with everyone you will do well to choose gentleness. Nothing of value needs to be won by force. Choose to be gentle and only raise your voice to praise another. Instead of clenching your first, fold your hands in prayer. If you make a demand, may it be only on yourself.

With these thoughts in mind, we will conclude our trek for today and close Gramps’ backpack. Before I do, I will pass the tool of Fairness on to you. Once you have this tool in your backpack, it is up to you to daily practice being fair with everyone that you deal with. As you teach your children, grandchildren, and others how to be fair, you will also be training them how to live the rich and satisfying life that is available to each of us.

Next Monday we will investigate the 16^th tool in Gramps’ backpack, which is Renewal. 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.

If you would like to listen to any of the past daily treks or read the daily journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. You can also subscribe on iTunes and Google Play so that each day’s trek will be downloaded automatically.

Thank you 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:

1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
2. Love Unconditionally
3. Listen Intentionally
4. Learn Continuously
5. Lend to others Generously
6. Lead with Integrity
7. 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!