by Mark West | May 30, 2016 | Courage, Freedom, Jesus, Liberty, Love, Sacrifice, Service
On this Memorial Day, our collective thoughts as Americans turn to those men and women throughout the history of our nation who gave their all so that we might continue to enjoy the “blessings of liberty.” Whether those unselfish patriots laid down their lives in 1776 as a result of “the shot heard ’round the world” or perhaps more recently as our fellow citizens gave their lives half way around the world, or even here in Chattanooga last July, there is no greater act of love, sacrifice or commitment than the one they demonstrated.
Clearly on this Memorial Day, there is no more fitting act of honor or tribute than for each of us to take some quiet time to reflect on their lives, their heroism and their legacy.
As I’ve reflected about these gone but not forgotten patriots, their acts of sacrifice should cause us to feel a sense of great responsibility and accountability. Should we not then respond in some deliberate manner to acknowledge the worth of their lives and the value they placed on our country?
One life is of immeasurable worth. Exponentially though, over a million lives, sacrificed for our nation over these 240 years, demand our attention and our action. We must go beyond an annual recognition that honors our fallen heroes and make our own “sacrifices.”
While most of us will never be called to lay down our lives for our nation, surely we can lay down a TV remote, or a golf club and at least give back a few hours a month to the nation in which we have been so blessed to live. There are hundreds of ways that you and I can rise up to defend and protect our nation’s future on a daily basis but we must be intentional about doing so. As you do so though, I encourage you to share your commitment and your plans with a friend or family member and then together, step up and give back to this wonderful nation.
Finally, this day of reflection reminds me of another Truth expressed 2,000 years ago by a man whose life exemplifies love, sacrifice and commitment. This God-man we know as Jesus, left the blessings and comforts of heaven and declared this Truth:
“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (John 15:13)
But Jesus did not just speak this Truth. He too sacrificed His life for you and me, so that we could also enjoy the blessings of liberty by embracing Him and His message.
On this special day, as we remember and honor our fallen service men and women, let’s also honor the One to whom we ultimately owe the blessings of liberty: Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
by Mark West | Feb 23, 2016 | Action, Constitution, Courage, Freedom, Service
It was the summer of 1775, and the colonists in America were facing the growing threat of tyranny by their government. The new life they sought was in serious jeopardy by King George III, a man whom the colonists one year later described as having “a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object an absolute Tyranny.”
During that same summer, the New York Legislature sent a letter to General George Washington, who had just recently been appointed the Commander in Chief of the Continental Army. In the letter, Washington was commended for “taking up arms… in the glorious struggle for American Liberty.” The Legislature acknowledged the reality that Washington had the “character of our worthiest citizens” as he was answering the call of a people in trouble.
Washington’s response to the NY Legislature’s letter was a short 159 words, but the message he delivered is one, I believe, many Americans have forgotten but need to hear:
“When we assumed the Soldier, we did not lay aside the Citizen; and we shall most sincerely rejoice with you in that happy hour when the establishment of American Liberty, upon the firmest and most solid foundations, shall enable us to return to our Private Stations in the bosom of a free, peaceful and happy Country.”
In his letter, Washington was affirming that while he was indeed a citizen, he had also assumed the role of “soldier” given the reality that his homeland was threatened by a government that sought to squelch the liberties of its citizens via the unjust laws and tyranny it imposed. While Washington acknowledged that he looked forward to returning to his status as mere citizen, he clearly viewed it as his personal responsibility to defend liberty and combat tyranny.
Fast forward 241 years to 2016.
In our modern era of every imaginable convenience and comfort known to man, I fear our nation has produced too many “citizens” and too few “soldiers.” By soldiers, I do not mean the brave men and women who have been defending our nation from enemies abroad. These men and women of our military deserve, without question, our unwavering admiration, loyalty, and support.
But the soldier to which I speak are the men and women who understand the times in which we live, they see the threat posed to our individual and corporate liberties, and they realize that their status as citizen is only secure if they willingly rise up as soldiers to defend the foundations upon which their citizenship relies.
This soldier does not bear arms with actual bullets and bayonets. But he does arm himself with the truths of our founding. He is prepared to engage to inform and educate the youth of our nation, who sadly, in too many instances are being offered distorted lessons of our nation’s heritage. This soldier engages in the marketplace of ideas, confronting views that seek to malign our nation at every turn. This soldier will even step forward to answer the civic call of duty, whether in elected office or simply by engaging with other citizens to enlist them in this battle.
While we do find evidence of such soldiers still engaged in the battle for the soul of our nation, they are sorely lacking. Truthfully, I fear we have too many citizens and not enough soldiers in this seminal battle to push back those ideologies and institutions which seek to undermine our foundational liberties and principles.
Without Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Madison and so many more of our founding fathers, we would not be experiencing the blessings we enjoy in this 21st century. But the truth is that there were thousands of other unnamed soldiers who stood alongside our founding fathers. These nameless soldiers willingly set aside their status as mere citizens, and they picked up the mantle of soldier. And to these thousands of unknown soldiers we owe our very existence and the blessings of liberty that we still enjoy to this day.
But what about our offspring in 2116, one hundred years from now? Or what about our children and grandchildren just a decade or two from now? Will they continue to benefit from the liberty that we have so abundantly inherited? Or will the flame of liberty flicker and be extinguished on our watch?
The answer to these questions can be summed up in one question that only you can answer. Will you pick up the mantle of soldier and engage in the battle that is likely determining the very survival of our Republic? Or will we continue to suffer excruciating losses as too few citizens fail to answer the call to engage as a soldier in this battle?
There is a verse in the Bible that refers to a group of very astute men who also recognized the dire needs of their nation. In 1 Chronicles 12:32 we read this: “the sons of Issachar, men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do…”
Are you such a person? Do you understand the times in which we live? If so, then I pray that you will step forward and enlist in this epic battle. There will be ample time in the future to return to our role as citizen. Today though, a soldier is desperately needed. Will you enlist?
by Mark West | Jan 27, 2016 | Courage, Dream, Leadership, Mentor, Retirement, Service, Success
This last week I had the opportunity to view the newly released Hollywood movie, 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi. Having followed the tragic circumstances surrounding the loss of four Americans in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012, I was eager to view the movie. The film tells the true story of four Americans killed, including our Ambassador, during an attack by Islamic jihadists at a US compound in Libya, as a security team struggled to defend the lives of several dozen Americans.
While there were several scenes and lines that stood out to me in the film, one in particular is the subject of my post today. The main characters in the story, Jack Silva and Tyrone Woods, were retired Navy Seals and long time friends.
In the relevant scene, the two are sitting on the rooftop of one of the building in the compound they are defending, following an intense battle in which they and their small team had just survived one of what was to be several waves of attacks from dozens of heavily armed Islamists. As Jack recounts his frustration with having left his wife and children behind in the US to sign up for another stint on the security team, he expresses his bewilderment at what drives him to continue to return to the battlefield. In response Tyrone explains that, “Warriors aren’t trained to retire.”
If one isn’t paying attention in the movie, it would be easy to miss this line that succinctly explains the behavior of these Navy Seal warriors. But the line, “Warriors aren’t trained to retire” is also a statement that bears examining for possible application to our lives.
No matter where you are in life, the concept of retirement is one that has crossed your mind. In our culture, it’s commonly accepted that all who work will eventually retire and begin a life of leisure. Typically the word retirement is tied to two variables: age and economics. And it generally looks like this. A person will work 40-50 years, create sufficient assets and related income, so that when they are 60-70 years of age, they can “retire” and live happily ever after.
The “happily ever after” can change from one person to the next, but for most it ranges from moving to Florida, playing golf several times a week, traveling, or a host of other R&R type activities.
But this “conventional” approach would seem at odds with the point Tyrone was making to Jack, that warriors just don’t know how to retire because it isn’t something that is taught, or perhaps more importantly, even contemplated. While becoming a warrior involves training and know-how, to be an effective warrior it also requires a certain type of spirit or mental attitude that never quits. A warrior understands that there is always another mission and his skills and know-how are not expendable; rather, they are desperately needed by others.
When thinking of your own circumstances, I’d like to challenge you to consider what you will do with your life once you are no longer gainfully employed. Many eagerly await that day, believing that punching out that last time will be the start of all things new and better, anticipating that the grass is greener on the other side.
But I’d suggest that if we are working today to simply stop working tomorrow, we are overlooking one of life’s greatest purposes. Despite our 21st century way of thinking, the world hasn’t always considered that when one reaches a certain age or economic status, he can then simply turn his attention inward, seeking to devote much of his waking hours at that point to his own fancies and pleasure.
To the contrary, I would suggest that at the point one leaves the office for the last time, it is then that one’s experience, wisdom and perhaps even passion have likely reached a crescendo. And if we believe the truth that “to whom much is given, much is required” then we will be compelled to share the wisdom and life experiences we have gained with others in need. Those “others” could be a young man who is just beginning his family and career, or a woman who is facing a difficult midlife challenge, or even an organization that is in desperate need of our expertise.
I have a friend who is an honorably discharged twenty-three year combat veteran of the US Army who beautifully exemplifies the idea that warriors don’t retire. Rather than head for the golf course or sandy beaches, Bob in his post-retirement years launched a new non-profit organization with a two-fold, synergistic mission: “To support military veterans by training and employing them in schools as classroom volunteers, tutors and mentors.” And today, Bob and his colleagues are making a huge difference in the lives of veterans and school children in my community.
So what about you? No matter whether you are in the first half of your career, or approaching those final years in your job or business, it’s never too early, or too late to be thinking about and planning for life after employment. I encourage you to seriously consider how you will invest into the lives of others in a way that will have deep and lasting impact for good… because “warriors aren’t trained to retire.”
by Mark West | Jan 13, 2016 | Action, Courage, Flaws, Humility, Trust
Boom! As I sat staring out the window of our twin engine plane, I could hardly believe my eyes. The engine just feet from my window had exploded, with parts and fluids blowing through the cowling (cover) of the engine. The plane began to veer hard to the right and was losing altitude. I looked around at the other passengers, some of my closest friends and employees, and I saw a look of fear, concern and perhaps even panic by some. Could this really be happening to us?
But let me back up and start at the beginning. In the mid-1990’s my business partner and I had decided to purchase an airplane to get around to the properties we owned and managed in a more efficient manner. When we began discussing which plane to purchase we quickly determined it must be a twin engine plane, for the simple reason that if we were to ever lose one engine, we’d still have a second one with which to try to make a controlled landing.
We had purchased our plane, a Cessna 421B Golden Eagle, three years earlier from Burt Reynolds when he and his wife, Lonnie Anderson, were going through a divorce. There was no mistaking the plane due to its Florida State Seminoles colors, with the entire fuselage painted garnet and accentuated with gold arrows painted down the side.
On the day of our “incident” we had fully loaded our eight-passenger plane, including 2 pilots. Technically we only had seven people on board but we also had quite a bit of cargo. We took off from Chattanooga Lovell Field headed towards Birmingham and everyone was cutting up but looking forward to a productive day. We had just cleared Lookout Mountain when our right seat pilot turned around and blurted out, “Guys, we’ve got a problem and we’re going to have to cut off our right engine.”
No sooner had those words left his mouth than the engine exploded right next to me. Our two regular pilots, both close friends, began to deal with the repercussions of flying a maxed-out plane on one engine. As they turned the plane back towards Chattanooga they radioed our emergency situation to the Chattanooga tower. While the plane continued to fly on the one remaining engine, it was clear that we were not maintaining altitude. As I looked at the terrain below, it seemed to me that the obvious choice would be to simply land on any empty road below. But the pilots thought otherwise and as we returned to the airport we had just left 20 minutes earlier, we could see emergency vehicles lining the runway.
Thankfully, our two pilots did a masterful job of not only flying a wounded airplane back to base but they also touched the plane down as smoothly as if we had both engines functioning. Needless to say, the moment that our wheels touched the runway, all of us breathed a heavy sigh of relief and we openly thanked God for the safety He had offered to us that day.
Loading up our Cessna 421B Golden Eagle
The interesting part of this whole story though is that the engine that blew up had just been overhauled and had less than 33 hours on it. Over time, and following a lawsuit with the company that refurbished the engine, we were able to determine that the cause for the catastrophic engine failure was due to the re-installation of a questionable reconditioned cylinder. So, had things not turned out so well that day, seven lives might have been lost due to that flawed part.
Flaws. We see them in airplanes, automobiles, computers and pretty much anything that is man-made. It’s also not unusual to see public figures, whether religious, political or entertainment personalities, destroy their lives because of a “flaw” that was ignored.
But truthfully, when you and I look in the mirror, we also see a flawed person. Some flaws can be rather minor, not resulting in life-shattering consequences. Yet other flaws can cause catastrophic results in one’s life or the lives of those we love.
Recognition
If we are honest with ourselves, we typically know our own flaws, from the “little” ones to the big, ugly ones. We don’t really need someone to enlighten us about them. In fact, oftentimes these flaws have been with us for years. It might be that we have simply accepted the flaw because we just don’t know how to overcome or conquer it.
But here’s the reality. Sooner or later, that big ugly flaw will take you and me down. Just as our airplane’s engine revealed its flaw, our lives will sooner or later reveal ours to us and then to others. So the first step in addressing the flaws in our lives is to simply recognize they are there.
Iron Sharpens Iron
There is a passage in Proverbs that states, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” There are several conclusions we can derive from this passage but one is that we must invite other people into our lives. As we engage with them many of our rough edges can be honed and even eliminated. Clearly, we were not meant to be alone so it is critical that we walk through life with other trusted individuals who can be there for us as we need them. Two are better than one, and if you or I have a flaw that is simply overwhelming us, it’s critical that we enlist a trusted person to help us in addressing that flaw before we see our life crumbling around us.
Confess your faults
In addition to the idea of iron sharpening iron, there’s also another parallel principle that suggests that we should “confess our faults one to another.” As we acknowledge the faults we have in our lives and share them with others we trust, we create a system of accountability. And through that accountability as well as the prayers of our others, we find the healing that enables us to overcome the faults with which we struggle.
While the concepts we’ve addressed here can be deeply personal, we should not forget that our personal lives also influence our businesses and work environment. So those flaws that seem to be simply “personal” in nature will ultimately surface in a way that they can do serious damage to our businesses.
So now is the time to deal with that nagging fault that you know is there. Ignoring it will ultimately allow it to surface at the most inopportune time, and can cause catastrophic damage to your business, your family and ultimately you.
by Mark West | Nov 24, 2015 | Courage, Faith, Freedom
For many worry is a recurring and regular part of their life. From the time they wake up until they close their eyes again at the end of the day, worry is an ever present companion. Even the smallest issues in life can produce anxiety for them. It seems they just cannot extricate themselves from the grip that worry holds on them and we often affectionally call them “worry-warts.”
At the same time though, there are others who, while worry is not an ever present state, it does surface from time to time, particularly when the object of their worry involves a major event or decision in their life.
If I were to categorize myself into one of the two camps above, I would definitely not be a “worry-wart.” But I will confess there have been times in my life when anxiety or worry has surfaced. At one point in the life of my business, we were confronted with some serious challenges and I would frequently struggle to sleep at night. While this was not a normal response for me, nonetheless, I do recall it vividly. The anxiety that I was feeling and the hypothetical scenarios I had created in my mind, all seemed very realistic.
But regardless of whether you worry occasionally or often, is there a way to overcome this anxiety in our lives? I believe there is and to do so I’d like to suggest five questions that we should ask ourselves when we are either tempted to worry or we find ourselves already well down Anxiety Street.
Is the thought I am worried about a real possibility?
Whether you are facing an unknown health issue or obsessing over a potential business deal going south, how real is the fear on which you are dwelling? We often construct all sorts of fears and hypothetical scenarios in our minds but how realistic is it that the result I have created in my mind will actually occur? If we are honest with ourselves, we will admit the probability is so low that we might even chuckle at it if someone else were concocting such a fear.
Is there any action right now that I can take to make a positive difference?
As you head down Anxiety Street and find yourself dwelling more and more on the object of your fear and worry, is there anything you can do to make a positive difference to mitigate your concern? If there is, then by all means take action to do so. Your proactive efforts to take positive steps to address your worry will begin to diminish what you fear. On the flip side though, if there is absolutely nothing you can do to make a positive difference, then recognize this truth and move on to the next question.
What would I tell my best friend if they were worrying over the same issue?
As I’ve watched and interacted with people who I know that really struggle with worry, I’ve noticed they exhibit a very curious behavior. My friend Bill struggles with worry all the time as does Bill’s friend, Bob (names changed to protect my friends). But I’ve noticed that frequently Bob worries over the same types of things Bill does. However, I’ve also seen Bill seek to encourage Bob when Bob is worried by suggesting to Bob that the issue he is worried about is likely to never happen. Yet I’ve seen Bill, when he’s by himself, worry over the exact same issues. What I believe this illustrates is that when the worry is in someone else’s life, it’s clear to see how inaccurate one’s thinking can be and how unrealistic the fear is. So if you are tempted to worry, ask yourself how you would counsel someone else about the fears you are entertaining.
How reliable is my worry track record and do my worries come to pass?
No doubt everyone reading this owns a car. And it likely sits in your driveway or garage overnight. You probably seldom worry about the car starting when you head to work or run some errands. If you were to worry every morning about whether the car will start but for the last 365 days it has started, wouldn’t you begin to question your worry track record? Likewise, I’d challenge you to analyze the issues you have worried about. How often have the things you’ve feared come to pass? Frequently? Seldom? Never? If your answer falls somewhere between seldom to never, then can you acknowledge to yourself that worry in your life has no place or value?
Have I prayed about the issue I am worrying over?
Whether the issue you are worried about is big or small, or whether it poses a dire risk or could simply be a minor inconvenience, the fact that you are worried about it suggests that you should take a proactive step to address the worry. If you are someone who has a relationship with God, then I would suggest that one of the most effective steps you can take is to approach God in prayer about your concerns or fears. As a reminder, here is an encouragement from the Apostle Paul about the value of doing this:
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
I’ve heard it said that 99% of our worries are completely unnecessary. If you are honest with yourself I believe you will find this fact to be true. Consider that you are in complete control of the worry button in your life. I’ll admit that if worry has become a natural default, then it’s not an easy habit to change. But it can be done. And in addition to using these five questions to help keep your worry in check, seek to replace your worry with positive and productive thoughts (like the verse above). And finally, find someone else that you respect and seek out their help as you strive to build a road block to Anxiety Street.
