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Thursday, October 31, 2019

Sophist

A sophist was a teacher who used philosophy and rhetoric to teach virtue or excellence.


Photo by ROBIN WORRALL on Unsplash

I came across this term while looking for an "S" word to replace "Thinker"...

Storyteller. Writer. Thinker.

Storyteller. Scribe. S..... Sophist? Scholar? Seeker? Seer? Sage? Standard Bearer?

Still pondering...

What's interesting to me is that the term Sophist later became a derogatory term, to refer to someone who takes money and uses logical fallacies to deceives you.

The reason I find this fascinating... I've heard so many people get mad at a Kenneth Copeland or Joel Osteen because a lot of money flows through their hands. They get called heretics by the religious Pharisees of our day. But I've worked/volunteered around Kenneth Copeland, on his property for three years. I have more respect for him than most Church leaders, by a LONG shot.

They look at the money and think it's inherently evil. Which makes no sense.

Many of those same people might pay to go to a Tony Robbins event and not blink an eye. And they'd happily fork out loads of money to go.

Somehow, it's okay to have the knowledge and ask for money in return for that knowledge, unless it's related to the Bible?

I check my own heart and find this thinking still there to a degree, but I don't fully know why.

This specialty, like any other, still requires a great deal of time and investment and often more hardship than other careers. Why shouldn't money flow into the hands of someone who's laid aside more than most consistently?

Anywho, if the goal of communication is to be understood, and there's already a common negative connotation to Sophist, I guess I'll keep looking.

Too bad, I liked the word at it's base level.


Define: 

Sophist (n.)

A sophist (Greek: σοφιστής, sophistes) was a specific kind of teacher in ancient Greece, in the fifth and fourth centuries BCE. Many sophists specialized in using the tools of philosophy and rhetoric, though other sophists taught subjects such as music, athletics, and mathematics. In general, they claimed to teach arete ("excellence" or "virtue", applied to various subject areas), predominantly to young statesmen and nobility.

In modern usage, sophism, sophist and sophistry are used disparagingly. A sophism is a fallacious argument, especially one used deliberately to deceive.[24][25] A sophist is a person who reasons with clever but fallacious and deceptive arguments.[26][27]

sophisticated (adj.)

c. 1600, "mixed with a foreign substance, impure; no longer simple or natural," past-participle adjective from sophisticate (v.). Of persons, with a positive sense, "worldly-wise, discriminating, cultured," from 1895.

sophistication (n.)

early 15c., "use of sophistry; fallacious argument intended to mislead; adulteration; an adulterated or adulterating substance," from Medieval Latin sophisticationem (nominative sophisticatio), noun of action from past-participle stem of sophisticare "adulterate, cheat quibble," from Latin sophisticus "of sophists," from Greek sophistikos "of or pertaining to a sophist," from sophistes "a wise man, master, teacher" (see sophist). Greek sophistes came to mean "one who gives intellectual instruction for pay," and at Athens, contrasted with "philosopher," it became a term of contempt.

Meaning "worldly wisdom, refinement, discrimination" is attested from 1850.


Shalom: Live Long and Prosper!
Darrell Wolfe (DG Wolfe)
Storyteller | Writer | Thinker | Consultant @ DarrellWolfe.com

Clifton StrengthsFinder: Intellection, Learner, Ideation, Achiever, Input
16Personalities (Myers-Briggs Type): INFJ

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Seers are Seekers

Take away: Seers are Seekers


While I prayed about my role in the world, as a Storyteller, Scribe, and Sophist... I've always been drawn to the idea of the Seer. 

Some prophets don't just get words, they see things. I am among them. It's been Dormant for decades, willfully suppressed by hard heart and willful disobedience and disillusionment and bitterness..... But it's always there, underneath, waiting to be answered by the Noble me, hiding underneath the hard outer shell. The part of me that wants to love the people I'm arguing with online... (Sorry friends).... 

But a Seer doesn't just See. If you want to activate the Prophetic gifting and really walk in it consistently, you must begin to SEEK. 

Seek and ye shall find... 

Seers are Seekers, first and foremost. Seekers not of visions for visions sake, or for fame or attention or so people can say "wow, cool gift".... All that will burn to ash. 

Seers Seek the HEART of God for a dying and broken world. As they see HIS heart, cry his tears, see the brokenness in all its ugliness then and only then can He show them his answer to the pain. They can see the move of God and declare its coming. Like John, preparing a way in the wilderness. 

Everyone can have a facet of this gift working in their lives, even if they have no specific calling to be a Seer. 

So the question is....

Will I, will you, SEEK so we can SEE?

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Friendship Return On Investment (ROI)

Are your friendships giving you good ROI, Return On Investment?

Thanks to Michael Henry for making this photo available freely on @unsplash 🎁 https://unsplash.com/photos/8TNbGM3iu9o

Shouldn't I be giving selflessly, not expecting anything in return?

I believe yes and no. 

After spending time reading works by Dr. Henry Cloud... In the Boundaries series... I've come to a realization.

There're certainly going to be occasions where you will invest in someone because you see their potential or because God asks you too. These may not seem like good investments and they may have no visible return that you can see. But they're good seed into God's work in that person's life and therefore still good investments.

But I believe those are the exception. 

In general, those investments above are not friends. Not really. Those are relational, maybe a brother or sister in God's great big family, one of his kids. But they're not friends. I think it's game changing to make that distinction.

By definition, friends are dualistic and symbiotic in nature. There is give and take. Breathe in and out. Ebb and flow. Investment and return. They feed you and you feed them. Yin and Yang. 

If that balance becomes unbalanced, if one side does all the giving and the other all the taking.... If there's no ROI... Then you may have a situation worth continuing (like a parent investing in a tiny baby)... But it's not a friendship. You must make that distinction. 

Why does this matter? 

Because your closest intimacy, the secret places of your heart, the people you spend most of your time thinking about and praying for (and with)... These should be your friends. 

You need to have relationships where your give and take are equally matched. 

If you don't, you'll be drained, weary, lonely, and wondering how you could keep giving and always feel it didn't matter.

If you're not being fed and feeding, you're out of balance. Find out which side you're out of balance on, and fix it. Stay in the symbiosis.

Your energy level, moods, and the amount of peace you walk in, your boundaries, will all be tell tale signs to let you know if you're in balance, if your ROI is working well.

Selah

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Friendship Lessons



Reflecting on friendship...

I've been making new friends the last 15 +/- months, learning about friendship again as a single adult (Widower)... I've seen a few lessons play out this year.

  • Keep  can your eyes open, friends can come from the most random unexpected places.
  • Keep your heart open, people of different politics and even faith backgrounds can teach you more about love then some of your own tribe.
  • Keep your heart protected, some that start out exciting may show they were never your real friend to begin with. Or at least, not a healthy friend you should keep around. Inner trust should be earned over time. Had to learn that with a few before I finally understood.
  • Keep valuing your heart and soul and time above all else. If they don't value you, walk away.
  • Keep your expectations in check, don't fall for someone's potential. I've watched friends make asinine decisions that either already turned out bad or are practically guaranteed to do so. 
  • Keep your opinion to yourself unless they ask, nothing you can do but watch it go bad, and shake your head. How do I congratulation someone for starting something that is guaranteed to be their 3rd divorce in the making? I hope your happy, I hope I am wrong, but I'm not. Ironically, this applied to more than two friends this year. 
  • Keep your opinions honest, for those who do ask. It serves them no good to nod and smile and secretly know it's a bad idea. Encourage some to push forward, if they're doing the right thing. Encourage others to run away or redirect or stop. Be blunt but kind.
  • Keep working and investing, you may need to suit up for your friends when it's inconvenient, but the good ones will suit up for you. Time and opportunity will show which ones were which.
  • Keep knocking but don't chase, some friends were self protective and needed coaxing and reassurance to come out of their shell, they may become fabulous friends even from a distance. But some never do come out, and those you should allow to stay hidden in their opaque glass boxes. Leave them alone. If they wanted your friendship, they'd meet you half way. They may come out later, when they're ready.
  • Keep in mind the opportunity your miss, I've found out my own kids make pretty awesome friends too. Don't ignore friends because they didn't come in the package you wanted. Water the seeds you're given. Or you may be missing opportunities in front of you to chase mirages that never were real. 
  • Keep conflict to a minimum. If conflict arises, do what the Bible says. Run to them, try to work it out with them. If you need to get others involved, do so. But if the person refuses, don't keep trying, walk away from them. Boot them from your life. Don't let them back without proof they're ready to change, and heal the past. Continuing to try will only make it worse for both of you. Walk away.
What about you? What lessons have you learned in making friends? 

Comment on this post and let us know.

Shalom: Live Long and Prosper!
Darrell Wolfe (DG Wolfe)
Storyteller | Writer | Thinker | Consultant @ DarrellWolfe.com

Clifton StrengthsFinder: Intellection, Learner, Ideation, Achiever, Input
16Personalities (Myers-Briggs Type): INFJ

Friday, October 11, 2019

Why... That's the question.

Why?

Photo by Ian Schneider on Unsplash


Why do I have to get up today? Why keep doing things, waking up, going to work, eating... just to pay bills, just so I can keep waking up, working, eating... round and round.

It's monotonous.

I'm in communication with my advisors right now on this question.

Forbes has an interesting, if superficial, article on Finding your why.

Up to now, from early childhood to today, my current relationship was my why. Whoever I'm loving and they're loving me, is why. But as a Widower with no real prospects of Chapter Two on the Horizon, that why is no longer available. My kids feel like they "should" be my why, but they're moving toward independence as teens/preteens. In a few years, they'll be off and running into their lives and I'll be here at the house alone.

What is my WHY?

I don't know. Honestly. At the emotional/gut level. I have intellectual answers but no satisfying why.

My post yesterday addresses this in part; however, although I know I can make choices I don't know what the next choices are.

To Be Determined...




Shalom: Live Long and Prosper!
Darrell Wolfe (DG Wolfe)
Storyteller | Writer | Thinker | Consultant @ DarrellWolfe.com

Clifton StrengthsFinder: Intellection, Learner, Ideation, Achiever, Input
16Personalities (Myers-Briggs Type): INFJ

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Fatalism: When bad things happen

Fatalism is not the answer!

I've had no less than four or five conversations around this general topic recently, so I decided to say something about it. Although I have several friends I want to say this to, the primary audience for this speech today is me. I spent all of yesterday in a fatalistic funk. Today, I'm choosing to make a new choice.

You are not living the life you live because of fate. Period. 


Photo by Greg Rakozy on Unsplash

God. The Stars. Fate. They did not create the hardships you face today. There were some factors outside of you that contributed, often in major ways. But you ultimately choose how you will respond from today forward, not Fate.
Fatalism: a doctrine that events are fixed in advance so that human beings are powerless to change them. Websters
Fatalism is exactly the opposite of Truth. God empowers you, he does not disempower you. If you believe you are the way you are, living the life you live, because of Fate, you are believing a LIE of Satan. That lie is keeping you bound instead of setting you free, as God intended.

Fatalism and Job


People often mention Job, the oldest book in the Bible. Poor old Job. Suffering Job. I've studied that book more than any other book. I've read it and nothing else for about three years straight once. Here are a few things to consider:

  • Job was blessed, he lived a RICH and blessed life before the hardship arrived. He wasn't "suffering for Jesus" as some religious people say. He was blessed.
  • Job suffered TEMPORARILY. Most Hebrew scholars agree that the duration of his suffering was probably about nine months, less than one year. He didn't suffer forever, indefinitely. His suffering had a clear beginning and an even clearer end. 
  • Job was Re-Blessed. He was restored at the end of his suffering with a double portion. His end was more blessed than his beginning. Suffering did not mark Job's entire existence, it marked a season and a season only. God's will is not never-ending suffering for any of his kids, not even Job.
  • Debatable Opinion: The following are my opinion, but they're supported by scripture, I think.
  • Satan has been after Job long before we start scene one. Throughout the story, even before the first calamity, we see "curse God" is on Job's mind. That's Satan's attempt to get to Job. We see it in his sacrifices to his kids, in his wife's words, in his own words, in his friend's words. It's literally the entire struggle inside of Job during the whole story. He's trying desperately not to curse God, but still work out the suffering questions.
  • Job broke his own hedge. The Bible says that whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. Job's sacrifices daily were not from faith, but fear. You can see "what if my kids cursed God?" is on his mind. Fear broke down Job's hedge. 
  • God did NOT hand job over to satan. God said, "Have YOU considered my servant job?" He wasn't bringing Job to satan's attention he was pointing out a fact that already existed. Satan had been considering Job, see the bullet above. When God said, "He's in your hands" wasn't him handing Job over, he was acknowledging the hedge was already down. God won't lie for anyone, not even his favorite kids. 
Bottom Line: Job isn't your excuse to go on suffering indefinitely. If you want to be like Job, then you need to point out to me and yourself a CLEAR point of begining and ending in your suffering story, a season not a lifetime.


Instead of looking to Fate or God or "reasons for the suffering", let's take a look at the real reasons hardships and "bad" come.

This World Is Broken


This is a broken world. It broke in Genesis 3 and won’t be fully restored until AFTER the Tribulation and Millennial Reign of Christ. We’re a minimum of 1,007+ years from the permanent restoration of all things. In the meantime, we live in a broken world.

The answer to “Why do bad things happen?” is simple, but wholly unsatisfying to the part of us looking for a "reason" for things.

In a broken world, things break. Period. 

Bad things didn’t come to teach you a lesson. God didn’t need another angel. Nothing that happened was to make a point or example of you, in you, or through you.

Bad things happen because we live in a broken world and in a broken world, things break. Period. That’s it. That’s the whole answer…. Except, there’s a component of the brokenness that requires some extra attention.

Free Will Means Choices


Despite what some well-meaning but very mistaken Calvinists would tell you, Free Will is the epicenter of the Human Experience.

God did not make robots. He does not make our choices for us. He WILL NOT make our choices for us. He flat refuses. He’s so committed to free will that he is willing to let Hell be the result for millions who choose it. He's so committed to free will that he gave his son so that we would always have a choice and never be bound by "fate".

But how does this complicate our Broken World?

Sometimes we suffer from other people’s choices


Other people choose things. They may choose to make you an omelet or hit you with the frying pan. Either way, they chose. There are things in their life or heart that influenced their choices. There are things we sometimes do to influence their choices.

In most cases, their choices were made completely independent of us and there was nothing we could do to stop their choices.

The drunk driver didn’t crash into that car to teach you a lesson or make you more patient. The drunk driver made a broken choice and you suffered the consequences of another human's free will.

Maybe you suffer from a combination of other's choices. A person decided not to take care of themselves the way they should and the doctor missed an opportunity to address an issue that was major, and the person died... I'm living in this one right now.

It sucks, sometimes we suffer from other people’s choices.

Sometimes we suffer from our own choices


You jumped off a ledge and broke your leg. God isn’t trying to teach you anything. You simply made a choice and suffered a consequence of that choice.

We make choices. You slept with someone and got pregnant. You swung that golf club without stretching and pulled a muscle in your back. You ignored the feeling in your gut that said to turn left and ended up in a fender-bender.

You did something you knew had a possible outcome and that outcome came. You ignorantly did something you didn't know would have an outcome but the outcome came anyway because ignorance doesn't excuse you from consequences.

The answer is not “Why are you giving me this __(fill in the blank)__, God? You know how stressed I am already!”

The answer is “I made a choice, and now I have a consequence. This may turn out to be bittersweet and beautiful in the end, but it’s a simple consequence nonetheless. God isn’t trying to teach me anything, he didn’t give me this to make an example of me, he’s not trying to show me anything…”

It’s a simple (sometimes awful, sometimes profound) consequence of a choice.

Stop looking for meaning or purpose in “bad things” and start looking for opportunities.


Once we know that bad things happen for no other “reason” than we live in a broken world and in a broken world, things break; we can stop looking for “why” or “what are you trying to teach me” and simply accept that it happened and grieve the losses associated.

Once we know that Free Will adds a component to this broken world because often Free Will leads to broken choices, we can begin to accept that some things just are; and we can stop blaming God for Human Choices.

Once we accept that some things happened to us because someone else made a choice we couldn’t stop them from making; we can grieve what was taken from us.

Once we accept that some of our own choices led to some of our own consequences; we can repent of those choices and either ask God to heal them or make peace with living with those thorns.

Once we accept this broken world is full of free will, we can grieve the losses. However, there's a flip side. Because we're not subject to "fate", and we do live in a world of Free Choices, we can grab a hold of a silver lining that turns out to be a rope and not just a thread.

The result of facing these realities is more empowerment


Once we stop blaming God, or Fate, or looking for "reasons why", once we stop resigning ourselves to the outcomes we've lived because "I guess it was meant to be"; we can start to take responsibility for making new choices from today forward with the opportunities in front of us.

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

We are living in a combination of Broken World, Other's Broken Choices, and Our Broken Choices. That's the reality we cannot change.

We do have choices in front of us we can begin to take advantage of, even if we are not yet awake enough to our reality to see them. That's the reality about the things we can change.

We must now take a good, hard, honest, sober look at our circumstances, weigh the consequences of each choice, then make a decision. When the consequence (good or bad) hits, we do not blame God or Fate, we say:

"I made a choice, this is the outcome of that choice. Now what choice will I make next?"

Free Will is the key to our Free Will Problems

We suffer because we live in a broken world full of free-willed people making freely willed choices, some of those choices were our own choices. But this knowledge also gives us the key we need to move forward empowered.

We are free-willed people. We can make new choices. And if we start getting wise input from safe people in our lives, and from God himself, we can begin to walk out new choices and take empowered responsibility for the next phase.

From this moment forward, you are not living in Fate. You are making choices. You may have been dealt some SUCKY hands that lead you to today. You may, in fact, be living in the worst life anyone could have. But you still have choices. It's time to start making some. Start small. Choose one thing. Then another.


Shalom: Live Long and Prosper!
Darrell Wolfe (DG Wolfe)
Storyteller | Writer | Thinker | Consultant @ DarrellWolfe.com

Clifton StrengthsFinder: Intellection, Learner, Ideation, Achiever, Input
16Personalities (Myers-Briggs Type): INFJ

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Holy Spirit > Righteousness > Peace > Joy


For the kingdom of God does not consist of food and drink, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Romans 14:17 NET Bible

Lexicon at Bible Hub:
but righteousnessδικαιοσύνη
(dikaiosunē)
1343: righteousness, justicefrom dikaios
and peaceεἰρήνη
(eirēnē)
1515:  of uncertain derivation, perhaps from eiró (to join): lit. or fig. peace, by impl. welfare
and joyχαρὰ
(chara)
5479: joy, delightfrom chairó


Righteousness: I AM, right now, regardless of failings or faults, the RIGHTEOUSNESS of Jesus in the eyes of God. I stand before my Father in right standing not because of a single thing I've done except that I accepted his Son standing in my place. When he sees me, he sees his son, in whom he is well pleased.

Peace: Eirene/Shalom: Nothing Missing. Nothing Broken. Everything Whole and Complete. This is the wellness of spirit, soul, body, mind, finances. It's an all-encompassing peace. I need not have it functioning to understand it belongs to me. I have tools I don't use in my toolbox, I still own them. This is a tool I need to be more thoughtful and purposeful about taking advantage of.

Joy: This word Chario is a derivative of the word Charis (Grace/Favor/Gift). He apportions to each one of us a Gift (Charis). We find ourselves overwhelmed by his Grace/Favor toward us and it brings us Joy, even in the midst of heavy and sorrow-filled times.

Each Element is a pre-requisite for the one before. Each begets the next.

Righteousness > Peace > Joy

But the preemptive element to all of this is the Holy Spirit. Without having an active working relationship with God, allowing the Holy Spirit to work in and through me, my mind is dulled to my right standing, my peace is not enforced, and my joy is vacant without the first two.

So it is actually: Holy Spirit > Righteousness > Peace > Joy

Each item causes the next, in succession. You cannot have Joy without Peace, or Peace without fully knowing your Right Standing, and you cannot know your Righteousness without a working relationship with the Holy Spirit.

Okay, so all of that is fine and well, but how do I activate that?

Each of us is different, there's no cookie-cutter answer that I can provide.

What I can say, is that I am at my best when I go for a walk every morning and speak to Him and let Him speak to me (the second being more important). Things just tent to fall in line better when I do that.

How can you make a little room for the Holy Spirit to speak to you today? I guarantee that once he does, these other three will begin to make room for themselves.

Maybe start by completing this sentence three times:

  1. I am at my best when.... 
  2. I am at my best when.... 
  3. I am at my best when.... 


Shalom: Live Long and Prosper!
Darrell Wolfe (DG Wolfe)
Storyteller | Writer | Thinker | Consultant @ DarrellWolfe.com

Clifton StrengthsFinder: Intellection, Learner, Ideation, Achiever, Input
16Personalities (Myers-Briggs Type): INFJ

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

Even if I am right, I guess I can still be wrong... sometimes.

Note

*This is to be read with a certain self-sarcasm, a facetious tongue-in-cheek haughtiness.*


Photo by Belinda Fewings on Unsplash
Now receive the one who is weak in the faith, and do not have disputes over differing opinions. NET Bible Romans 14:1

I got an attitude check last night. 


Often I'm so sure I'm right about some point (and I usually am) that I make blanket statements other's either misunderstand or vehemently disagree with.

Among other issues, they couldn't possibly come to the same conclusion I had about this issue unless they had first come with me on the journey for all the other revelations leading up to it.

Also, there may be more loving less dogmatic ways of communicating this new insight without alienating well-meaning (if wrong) people.

Furthermore, I can communicate an accurate statement in a wrong attitude and by extension be wrong myself. For attitude, not facts, is the bigger and more important sign of spiritual and emotional maturity.

In addition, it's possible (however unlikely) that I am wrong about this new insight, or at least (more likely), I'm not seeing all there is to see about that thing.

Lastly, if I am loving people well it means I must be open to seeing what they see. I may even deepen my understanding of a thing if I listen to their perspectives instead of arguing with them. Sometimes I may even change my mind. In rare instances, I may even help them see my perspective. In the rarest of instances, they may even come around to my way of seeing it.

In any event, the person and not the fact is the real point of any communication. If you beat people down with your facts and lose the person, you have lost that round of communication; no matter if you were "right".

Even if I am right, I guess I can still be wrong... sometimes.

Thanks for indulging me,

Shalom: Live Long and Prosper!
Darrell Wolfe (DG Wolfe)
Storyteller | Writer | Thinker | Consultant @ DarrellWolfe.com

Clifton StrengthsFinder: Intellection, Learner, Ideation, Achiever, Input
16Personalities (Myers-Briggs Type): INFJ

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