UCB Word For Today

Whether you lead at home, in church, or in business, you’ll be called upon to make hard and unpopular decisions for the good of all concerned. This is particularly so for parents. Those who fear rejection or loss of a child’s affection often ‘go along to get along’. That’s a selfish decision, because you’re putting your own need to be loved and accepted above your child’s long-term need for structure and self-discipline. How far do you think your child will get in life without these things? Sadly, many parents are too insecure to discipline their children because they want to maintain their friendship. Since when did a parent’s role include being a friend? If mothers and fathers are honest, they’ll admit that they frequently say yes when they should say no to make up for the lack of time they spend with their kids. Of course, we know that an investment of quality time yields a better payoff in the long term than anything else a parent can do. Paradoxically, children will usually end up disrespecting or even resenting a parent who operates in that kind of insecurity because it leaves children emotionally underdeveloped and ill-equipped to handle the pressures and responsibilities of adulthood. By repeatedly giving in to your child, you are postponing their maturity. Sometimes what’s called for is tough love. Hence the Bible says, ‘Train up a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.’ So seek God’s wisdom, guidance, and strength, and He will help you become the kind of parent your child needs.

© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.

Whether you lead at home, in church, or in business, you’ll be called upon to make hard and unpopular decisions for the good of all concerned. This is particularly so for parents. Those who fear rejection or loss of a child’s affection often ‘go along to get along’. That’s a selfish decision, because you’re putting your own need to be loved and accepted above your child’s long-term need for structure and self-discipline. How far do you think your child will get in life without these things? Sadly, many parents are too insecure to discipline their children because they want to maintain their friendship. Since when did a parent’s role include being a friend? If mothers and fathers are honest, they’ll admit that they frequently say yes when they should say no to make up for the lack of time they spend with their kids. Of course, we know that an investment of quality time yields a better payoff in the long term than anything else a parent can do. Paradoxically, children will usually end up disrespecting or even resenting a parent who operates in that kind of insecurity because it leaves children emotionally underdeveloped and ill-equipped to handle the pressures and responsibilities of adulthood. By repeatedly giving in to your child, you are postponing their maturity. Sometimes what’s called for is tough love. Hence the Bible says, ‘Train up a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.’ So seek God’s wisdom, guidance, and strength, and He will help you become the kind of parent your child needs.

© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.

In his bestselling book, The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell defines the tipping point as ‘the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point’. It’s the moment when an idea, trend, or social behaviour passes the point of no return and gains acceptance. In the realm of physics, a tipping point is when an object is displaced from a stable state of equilibrium into a new state. In economics, it’s the point at which an emerging technology becomes the industry standard. In sociology, it’s when a quorum of people adopts a behaviour so that it reaches critical mass and goes viral. Spiritually speaking, the tipping point is when you believe without any reservation that God is for you. It’s the revelation that God doesn’t just love you, He likes you. He loves you enough to die for you, and He likes you enough to spend eternity with you. Yet some of us remain sceptical. We project our self-contempt onto God, assuming that He must be as angry with us as we are with ourselves. Or we fall into the performance-based trap of thinking that our behaviour determines God’s posture towards us – whether that is for or against. Listen: the fact that God is for you was proven at Calvary’s cross. Oswald Chambers wrote: ‘No power on earth or in hell can conquer the spirit of God in a human spirit.’ He said, ‘It is an inner unconquerableness.’ Religion is all about what you can do for God; Christianity is all about what Christ has done for you. But it starts with this all-important kernel of truth: ‘This I know…God is for me.’

© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.

Loving relationships are a cornerstone of life. They are the foundation of Christ’s church and evidence that we have the love of God in our hearts. God places a big emphasis on how we relate to others, because our relationships impact every area of our lives: at home, at work, at church, at school, and during our everyday interactions. A relationship built on love, sensitivity, and respect can win an unsaved husband or wife to Christ. Peter wrote: ‘You wives must accept the authority of your husbands. Then, even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over by observing your pure and reverent lives’ (1 Peter 3:1-2 NLT). This is why Satan attacks our relationships so much. When relationships break down, it impacts the quality of our life. Medical science has proven that unresolved bitterness and unforgiveness are sources of sickness and depression. And just as God wants you to be healed physically, He wants you to experience His healing touch in your relationships as well. But you have a part to play. ‘Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behaviour. Instead, be kind to each other, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you’ (Ephesians 4:31-32 NLT). As you pray about your troubled relationship, make this confession: ‘Since God has forgiven me of all my sins, I will not hold unforgiveness against anyone. I release all bitterness and anger. Lord, I pray Your peace over the misunderstanding and hurtful area in this relationship. Amen.’

© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.

When he became campaign manager for President George Bush and chairman of the Republican National Committee, Lee Atwater had accomplished the two things he wanted to do by the time he was forty years of age. Then he was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour. Shortly before he died, he wrote these sobering words: ‘I acquired more wealth, power and prestige than most. But you can acquire all you want and still feel empty. What power wouldn’t I trade for a little more time with my family? What price wouldn’t I pay for an evening with friends? It took a deadly illness to put me eye to eye with that truth, but it’s a truth that the country…can learn on my dime. I lie here in my bedroom, my face swollen from steroids, my body useless…The doctors still won’t answer that nagging question: how long do I have? Some nights I can’t go to sleep, so fearful am I that I will never wake up again. I’ve come a long way since the day I told President Bush that his “kinder, gentler” theme was a nice thought, but it wouldn’t win us any votes. I used to tell the President that he might be kinder and gentler, but I wasn’t going to be. How wrong I was. There is nothing more important in life than relationships, and nothing sweeter than the human touch.’ If you’re wise, your priorities in life will be God first, your family second, and your career third. ‘Teach us to realise the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.’

© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.