In the Zone!

Most people have heard about an athlete being "in the zone." As in, Michael Jordan's famous Flu Game. He was really sick, running a fever, dehydrated and unable to miss. He was in the zone.

Most of the time, the athletes describe the zone as "everything slowing down." Baseball players see the ball quicker, sooner, longer because the pitch -- still at regular speed for everyone else -- seems slow. There is more time to react.

I've been in the sport's zone once that I can recall. Maybe it happened more than that, but this is the time that sticks out. It was my freshman year at tiny Belfry, MT. I was on the 8 man football team (we had 12 players total on the team and played area 8-man teams, mostly JV squads). All preseason we'd practiced our typical 4-2-2 defense and I was one of the 4 down lineman. We also had a rarely-practiced 3-3-2 where I played middle-linebacker. Most teams will run the ball in 8-man, because of the small pool of players from which to choose -- some of whom couldn't care less about football but where coerced into playing by their classmates, so there could be a team -- most of the teams ran the ball predominantly. Busby, Montana was the first team we played and they came out in what was clearly a pass formation. So my coach was yelling "3-3! 3-3!" frantically. My head was spinning with first game jitters, but I got out of my four-point stance and dropped back into the middle right as the ball was snapped. I dropped back for the pass that was coming and everything slowed down. I mean SLOW. It was great. I saw the drop-back, the small QB look right through me and then loft a pass over my head. My brother was one of the DBs -- the '2' in both formations were the defensive backs/safeties -- and he was covering a receiver going deep while I had the slot in the flat. The pass was out and high with no real speed. I raced back and just about got to the pass before it fell incomplete. My first football play in high school. Not a huge success, but I was IN THE ZONE. I loved it. The zone lasted a few more plays and Busby eventually stopped passing, for reasons the other 8-man teams didn't pass -- it was too hard to do well. We went back into 4-2-2, I went back to the line and we won handily -- one of two wins that year for our second-year program. That's that.

But that, the zone, is really cool, and worth wanting. Life slowing down. It's like being a super-hero or something. So, what does this have to do with anything? Just that my life has been slowing down lately, and here's why: I get up an hour earlier every day now, and I read, pray and wake up on a more human schedule. I still need my alarm, but I have almost 90 minutes before I walk out that door. This has stolen an hour from my busy schedule but has made my day, and that schedule, slower and rendered me more effective. Perhaps it's my personality. Though type-A, OCD, I am less-so when given time in the morning. Everything slows down. I'm not "in the zone," those times are rare and more intense. But everything slows down, my heart-rate, my attitude, my pace. If you are like me, you also need that extra hour.

I'll promote it to those religious and not. If you believe in God, you'll find the extra first hour twice as nice if spent in prayer and reading (I have read my One Year Bible and two short Christian books in the three weeks I've been doing this). I've always shoe-horned my OYB reading into each morning, but never with time for reflection and curiosity. It was a chore. Give God your first hour, deep in authentic prayer, and I believe you'll see big dividends in your life and your attitude.

Hoping for Something Bad to Happen

Until recently -- really recently -- I kept hoping bad things would happen to me so I could get drunk. I am a binge drinker, which is a nuanced difference from being an alcoholic. Fundamentally, though, I can't enjoy a beer with dinner. I want them all, however many are in my fridge.

I responded long ago by just not buying beer. That's worked pretty well. I have not been 100% perfect, but mostly I don't drink anymore (Note: Satan, this is NOT a challenge!). However, I kept wanting to drink.

Disclaimer: This isn't a blanket statement about drinking. If you are the type of person who can have a beer and stop there, good for you. This isn't about drinking, per se. This is about people like me that use it as a crutch and if they have a beer, they want two. If they have two, they are already planning on beer number four or wondering if they should walk down to the corner store for another six-pack lest they run out. People who aren't having a beer, but getting drunk. Jesus drank wine in the Bible. It's not the drink, it's the people, like me, drinking.

And, it's the wanting to drink. I actually would avoid praying for strength in this area because I didn't want strength, I did want to drink, even if I didn't actually break down and do it. I still had that nugget of rebellion, and I cherished it even as it was one of the major things between me and God (the rebellion, not the drinking). Will I ever drink again? Well, you know, there's a pretty good shot that I won't. I want to do what I always do and say "you never know" because it that statement softens failure. But, since I've been actually seeking to NOT want to drink I've had it a lot easier. Yes, I'm praying not to be tempted, but not being tempted only means I'm not fully in the game. Bruce Wilkinson writes that we are tempted and challenged by our Enemy (ole "You know who") if we pose a threat to him. If I'm not tempted I'm not posing a threat, and oh how I want to pose a threat. So, yes, I have been and will again be tempted, but the other thing I have been doing lately is immediately praying for help.

Praying for help is an option that almost never comes to my mind first. I'm getting better, but often I'll be trying to work but have my mind on, um, other things. You know, things you can find with a quick Google Image search. Or, I'll be stressed out by work, the kids, or whatever and start thinking about how great a beer would taste. Nowadays, for whatever reason, I remember to focus on God for a moment -- a moment is all it takes -- and then later that night or the next day I think, "whoa, I forgot all about that craving." I kid you not. It works. Yeah, I know... duh, but I didn't really think of it as an option. It is an option. It should be your first option.

I can't do any of this on my own. I've tried, I've failed. I'll always be tempted, but the combination of my desire to not drink (because I'm a binger) and the help from my Lord, I'm going to be fine. We'll know when I die.

Borrowing a Favor

I'm reading the two year bible. That's the One Year Bible read over two years. Last year I read each day's New Testament and Psalm & Proverb. This year I'm focusing on each day's Old Testament reading. I've read the bible through several times now, and I wanted to spend more time in each passage. Thus, I adopted this slower reading method. It also allows me more time in bible commentary.

Yesterday, Jan 10th, was Genesis 23:1-24:51. Right at the beginning, we hear that Abraham's wife Sarah died at age 127. Abraham, living in basically a land foreign to him, needs a place to bury her. The leaders of the land offer him any tomb he wants and he chooses one from Ephron. Ephron hands it over free of charge but Abraham says he wants to pay. It almost turned into one of those "who pays the check" situations when you are at dinner with someone, but after a couple rounds Ephron agrees to a bro deal and Abraham gets the tomb.

As I read this, I wondered why Abraham didn't just accept the land and say thanks. The Hittites, leaders of this land, told him he was a prince among them and they would be honored to give him the "finest of our tombs." I believe there was a good reason, and one we can all learn from.

I think Abraham didn't want to "owe" anyone. Once he accepts that land for free, he's indebted to that person. It's implied, if not explicit. Perhaps later Ephron might have come back and said, "remember when I gave you that tomb?" and asked for a favor of his own. Someone asking a favor is fine, maybe even good. You should help if you can, that's biblical ("Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act." - Proverbs 3:27, NIV) But if you "owe him one" you are more likely to fulfill a favor that you shouldn't, a favor they do not deserve. Maybe you do something risky, or illegal, or loan him money. This is a good lesson for all of us. If you are able to pay for it or obtain it yourself, often it's in your best interest to do so. Don't be a borrow or a lender; don't even borrow favors.

$,$$$,$$$

One of my mother's cousins won a lottery in Montana a couple of days ago. He won $1,000,000. That's a lot of money, but not really the "big" money by today's standards. My mom emailed me, my brother, her sisters and their kids with the news and one of my aunts replied with a very telling sentence. Paraphrasing, it said, "I'm happy for him, but I can't call him and tell him or else he'll think I'm wanting his money." I had the same thought.

In fact, winning the lottery is among the last things I would want. Sounds pretty noble, doesn't it? It's not. I don't want it because I think winning a lot of money would be such a huge headache that I'd probably end up ruining everything I have now, losing my loved ones, being worried about every "friend" old and -- especially -- new. What peace would I have with even $1,000,000, much less $30 or $100 million? People would want to "borrow" but probably wouldn't worry about paying you back, after all, they only borrowed $500,000 and you have $30,000,000! But you won't have very much after taxes, the three new homes and 20 "friends" and relatives (including the ones who are distantly linked, they may not even be primates) borrowing. But you will have a trail of resentful people if you don't "loan" out the money.

I don't even want to earn that much money. I know that if I somehow managed to earn and store away $2,000,000 over the next couple of years, I would shift into "worry about not losing all of my money" mode. I'd rather have just enough every day, every week, every year. Just enough is just a little bit less than I want, but more than I need. God has His spreadsheet pretty well set up.

The bible says that we can't serve two masters. This is true in all cases, but double true about money. Most people think Matthew 6:24 (see below) is about debt, meaning that you shouldn't get into debt because you will be serving another master, the lender. But it is also about having too much money. How reliant on God will you be when you win the lottery? How much more worried will you be about the money than you will be about God? If your spouse wants to "loan" money to her sister and you don't, will that spell the end of your marriage? What about when you want to loan to your Dad and your spouse doesn't?

"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." -- Jesus, in Matthew 6:24 (NIV)