AC Power

AC Power (1,161)

May 29th, 2011

In electricity they call it alternating current, but in human life we also have an AC power. It is an intelligently crafted balance between appreciation and challenge.

The perfect example of this is found over there in the Gospel of Luke, the 17th Chapter, Verse 10, when Jesus explains to his disciples that when they have done all that is commanded of them, they should declare themselves “unprofitable servants.”

You don’t hear that scripture very often. It doesn’t suit the American equation of thinking, but let’s look at it practically. While we are being bombarded by din-formation—the clamoring of how “bad things are”—what is really being damaged are our senses of wonder, gratitude and appreciation. What is the casualty of din-formation? We stop believing that things can improve. We resign ourselves to accept the status quo as the status “no.” We remove the word “improvement” from our lives.

And then, when we’re further inundated by sin-formation, we make the emotional error of comparing our lives to the lives of other people—those we deem worse than us. The end result of that is that we feel no need for self-improvement. We take ourselves as we are and ask others to put up with our mediocre profile.

The way to gain AC power—the energy created by joining appreciation and challenge—is to make improvement the sole purpose of our human journey. Not perfection and certainly not settling for less than what we envisioned.

This happens in two parts. The appreciation factor is “I see improvement.” And I do see improvement. I think much of the bitterness and debate from the last few years is losing its glamour and is becoming annoying instead of appealing. I think the movie industry is finally trying to making motion pictures with heart and soul, using words instead of just flashing images of the carnal carnival. I see improvement in my family as they move away from the childishness of their youth and gradually become stronger men and women. I see improvement in the church because people are growing weary of vain repetition and are beginning to ask questions about personal responsibility. I see improvement in myself, making it possible for me to appreciate the soul that was given to me by God. I am looking for improvement.

And in the process of doing that, I discover that I require improvement. I may notice in passing where others could certainly use a spiritual paint job or emotional buffing, but since I can’t do anything about their lives, I choose to use their weakness to shine a light on my own foible, hoping that as I brush off the dust and rust from my exterior, that my light will shine better for them.

It’s all about improvement. First—seeing improvement. And then, intelligently noticing where I, myself, require improvement.

There are only two things I can control in life—how I see things and what I decide to change in myself. Everything else is din-formation and sin-formation. And when you become an appreciative person who is self-aware enough to notice the changes that need to be made internally before other people end up screaming at you about them, you not only will become a great friend of mankind, but the possibilities of your successful ventures will be enhanced by the prayers and support of others. We become losers by denying the improvement we see in life and by trying to change the world before we’ve taken a really good shot at ourselves.

You want to turn down the noise on din-formation? Start noticing the improvement in the world and speak your appreciation out loud.

You want to cease the craziness of sin-formation? Don’t judge others, but instead, look at the errors you see and apply them over to your own goals for self-improvement.

So when I see Charlie Sheen go off on one of his tirades, I ask myself, “How can I learn to control my own temper and insecurities?”

When I hear about sexual misconduct by our national leaders, I don’t discuss the gory details, but instead, wonder where I have allowed sexual frustration to encumber my own thinking.

When I see young people taking drugs and getting arrested, I stop and say, “Jonathan, you need to do more about your own weakness of being overweight.”

Appreciating your world while internalizing the difficulties that exist around you to create greater improvement is the way we become a friend of earth and become like Jesus, who was the son of man and not an enemy of man.

AC Power. Appreciation blended with challenge to create an ongoing pursuit of improvement. As Jesus said, “when you’ve done your duty, call yourself an unprofitable servant.” Appreciate that the duty was done, but find ways next time to do it better—and even easier.

I don’t want you to be a victim of a society gone mad with din-formation and sin-formation. I dream for all of us to have the AC power of desiring improvement by appreciating what is moving towards excellence and challenging ourselves to even greater heights.