provoke (april 2010)

8/9/2019 Provoke (April 2010)

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2/8

I want to share my thoughtsabout Tiger Woods andforgiveness.

I am not condoning theacts, but who am I to act in

judgment towards himwhen I consider the thingsthat Ive done, said orthought?

I just find it difficult to castany type of stone towardshim without giving himsome stones to cast backtowards me. The results are

still the same, we have allhave done things that werenot proud of and wish wehadnt done.

Weve all acted selfishly andbelieved that we wouldntget caught. Its unfair,because I know of his sins,but he doesnt know of mine.

So how why should I treat him or view him anydifferently than I did before I knew of his sins?

To consider others beyond yourself means youseek a position of compassion.

Im reminded of two things when I think aboutthis situation Tiger has found himself in.

One is one of my favorite quotes by Dr. MartinLuther King, Jr. We are caught in a network ofmutuality. I cant be what I ought to be, until youare what you ought to be. If I seek to be forgivenfor the things Ive done, I must be willing toforgive.

The other is the story ofJesus and the womantaken in adultery.(John 7:53 John 8:11)

We often are quick to verbally stone someone forthe mistakes theyve made without considering ourown in our critique. Many unconsciously take thesame position the Scribes and Pharisees took ashe confronted their judgment of the womancaught in adultery.

Jesus simply asks the question of consideration. Ifany one of you is without sin, let him be the first tothrow a stone at her.

The same goes for Tiger Woods, you or anyoneelse.

Who dares to be honest enough to demonstratecompassion towards others sincerely?

How can I cast stones when I am not perfect?

Is one sin greater than another?

Do two wrongs make it right?

In the case of Tiger Woods v The World this is the

only judgment I can offer. So if no one else iswilling to say it, I will.

Youre forgiven.

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Youre Forgiven | Written By: Timothy Valentine
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3/8

We often spend much of our time desiring to bewhat others see instead of what you were meantto be. Some pursue careers, relationships andlifestyles that ultimately dont fulfill us, althoughwe may have accepted it.

What were you born to do?You may not identify with me by what youperceive of me, but when you give me the fairand sincere opportunity, I am sure we willdiscover the invisible things that define us will berevealed.

When you begin to consider others beyondyourself you also reveal your secret identity. Itsthe person you see in the mirror, the being youcant hide from. Its what often goes undetectedby many with the exception of a few.

We truly become free when we abandon thelabels, perceptions and stigmas we place onourselves and share whats most important aboutourselves.

Discovering what you were born to do is aprocess of gradually revealing your secret identity.The tragedy of life is living it in secret or in fear.

No matter how great the mountain may appear,approach it as a stepping stone and keep movingforward. Reveal your secret identity and discoverwhat you were born to do.

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Revealing Your Secret Identity | Written By: Timothy Valentine


4/8

Too often we choose to move towards the noise

of life in order to escape sitting silently beforeGod.

Sitting silent before God is not praying, nor is itreading, but opening yourself to God.

In the busyness of our lives we often fail to taketime to sit silently before God. We often God toGod with our problems and not our praise. Whenwere quiet enough to listen through our spirit wecan hear the voice of God speaking loudly to us.

Those who seek God often seek to ask Him forsomething, whether it is a better understanding,

patience, grace, forgiveness or deliveranceinstead of seeking what He has to tell us. WhenHe instructs us to act we dont listen, leaningmore to our understanding of the world instead ofthe Word.

One of the greatest and I believe the most undervalued attribute God has given to us is the gift ofChoice or some may say Free Will. We have thechoice to believe that hes real or not, the choiceto worship or not, the choice to walk by faith orby sight. The bottom line is essentially, the choiceis yours.

But when the pulpit becomes an echo of the pew

it loses its significance, its authority, its power. Weall have a message to deliver. The pulpitrepresents our lives as Christians. The pewrepresents the way the world sees how we live it.

What is your message?

When you begin to sit silently before God, thesignificance of His word has authority and powerin the pulpit of your personal and daily ministry.

We all our ministers whether we acknowledge orpractice it or not. Some choose to be an echo inthe pew of life, insecure of witnessing to what

they know is true to the world for a morecomfortable religion of conformity. Others chooseto be the pulpit, sitting silently before God andallowing a relevant word live through their voice,through their gestures and actions.

Some will tell you how great your ministry is, butits not wise to strive to be a great preacher, butstrive to be a vessel that shows what a greatgospel it is.

We should all take the time to sit silently in thepresence of God.

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Sitting Silently Before God | Written By: Timothy Valentine


5/8

The difference between Democrats andRepublicans is the measure of concern towardsan issue. When each sincerely considers theperspectives of the other is when you discovertrue bipartisanship and not just a political

bargain.

The measure of partisanship we experience todayis hinged by multiple issues that range fromeconomics to culture.

You can not become someones teacher until youfirst become their student. This means that inorder to correct something or someone you mustunderstand how it or they think. How it or theylearn. What it thinks and how it processes what itthinks.

You must be more willing to listen than you are tospeak. This is how you learn what to say and/orhow to convey the message that you want todeliver. This doesn't mean you agree with theirposition or understanding of the issue, but itallows you the opportunity to demonstrate whatthey may not realize or have incorporated intotheir argument; consideration for others.

When you become more focused on what is truethan just being right or winning an argument youcan find the solution. Experience the other

perspectives before making objections if winningis what's important to you. We fail to putourselves into another persons shoes. This is whatis missing in politics today.

When one tells you to pull yourself up by yourbootstraps, while the other is selling you somenew shoes. If both would just listen and realizethat we are walking the same path, maybe wecan figure out how to fix the roads that tears upour shoes. We can do this by working together. Iknow it's a foreign concept, but it's been donebefore many years ago.

Inconsideration for others may excite a particularpolitical base of support, but its foundation as apolitical strategy is weak and will eventually give

way to what we are experiencing today.

What are the differences between Democrats andRepublicans? Seek consideration of our politicaldifferences for the answer.

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Our Political Differences | Written By: Timothy Valentine


6/8

When you hear or seesomeone protesting againstsomeone with zeal youmust not assume, but askthem how many people dothey personally know likethe people or person theyreopposing and what type ofrelationship is it?

Just wait for their response.

Conclusions, notassumptions can be madewhen you have data to baseit upon.

As an example we can userace, because its easilyunderstandable to almosteveryone. This is only anexample, but there aremany others to choose from.We do not need to get caught up on this examplealone.

Typical situationTwo people, one Black and the other Whitediscuss an issue. The White gentleman says

something that can be seen as racist. Understandthat he may not of intended it to come out theway it did, but never-the-less it is done. So theBlack gentleman is offended and withoutconsideration reacts and calls the Whitegentleman a racist. This now offends the Whitegentleman because he sees that as an associationwith what he has been taught is a negative aspectof the history of White people towards othergroups. So without consideration he reacts andsays something that makes it worse.

So the cycle continues, all because of the lack ofconsideration and the failure of each to relate toeach other as one beyond their circumstancesand history. This takes consideration beyondthemselves. Which means to not be so prone toreact without consideration of the other personsexperiences and history of the relationship?

I speak about the relationship not just in terms ofyou and that person, but in a broader context.You dont have to be a scholar, but to understandthe social, cultural and racial connotations ofcertain characterizations towards a group of

people can be avoided and emphasized by yourwords, illustrations and gestures and use of them.

The other side of it is when you generally have arelationship with a person, through a genuinefriendship, not just an association oracquaintance; you are less prone to make these

mistakes.

Of course, youre best friend may be Black oryou use to work with a Latino or you use to sit

beside an Asian guy in class or your neighbor isgay or whatever it may be. If you didnt have areal relationship with them, then you did notrelate to them because there wasnt arelationship.

Think about what youre doing, before you do itor say it or act upon it. What does it say aboutyou?

If all of the people youre around looks like you,meaning they are all or overwhelmingly of thesame race, gender, religious belief, economicstatus, educational background or sexualorientation, then diversify yourself and yourenvironment. Because when you do you begin tosee the beauty in them and them in you.

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What Could Be | Written By: Timothy Valentine


7/8

What are the things you would like in your life?

That is not as general as it may seem, becauseyour life is multifaceted. So what are the thingsyou would like in your financial life, work life,personal life, spiritual life, social life, etc?

We spend far too much time defending ourposition, than understanding where we are, whatpath to take and how best to get there.

If you are involved in a conversation ordiscussion with someone who seems to only beconcerned with their position and being seen or

perceived as right or are uncomfortable with yourreply of No. Then ask yourself and/or them if youlike these questions and observe their response.

Why are they/you so invested with being right?

Do you want to cling to a conservative stance of aposition or would you rather experience thefreedom of a more liberal position?

When you resist what is doesnt mean you havenot accepted or recognize it existence, butquestion why it exist. To be in denial means you

have not accepted or recognize its existence orlegitimacy based off of your own inconsideration.

We may not always solve our problems we face,but can always learn from them. To learn from aproblem, issue or situation takes observance andconsideration. Because in the end it isnt whatwe did that will torment us, but what we didnteven try to do that will condemn us.

Ask yourself the question, what was I born to do?Then evaluate whether youre doing that or not.Im not speaking only about your professionallife, but your relationship with life itself.

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Dealing With Life | Written By: Timothy Valentine

Conservative is not necessarily intended to be political

definition, but can refer to how one can approach politi

Ironically, Im taking a more liberal definition of the wo

conservative, because Im not confining the term to a

single point of understanding. Another way to consider

is to understand that liberal means you can be

conservative, but conservative can only be conservative


8/8

I thank and appreciate all who has taken the time to read

what I have to say. You continue to be the ones who provoke

thought, conversation and action by your comments,

commentary and on occasion, criticisms.

Either way it goes, its always good and the reason why I

am inspired to write. Thank you.

Please share your thoughts about what is written with

whomever you feel may appreciate or gain something from

it. Also, I would welcome your feedback as well. Simply

email me [email protected] you can send me a

tweet@timvalentine.

Consider Others Beyond Yourself,

Timothy A. Valentine
http://www.twitter.com/timvalentinehttp://www.twitter.com/timvalentinemailto:[email protected]:[email protected]

provoke (april 2010)

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