Soul-Deep Change, The Guest is God, Drilling Attitude
The Disciple-Leader Newsletter #25 // July 15, 2023.
Discipleship // Leadership // Mental Performance. The best from this week.
DISCIPLESHIP
"Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool."
Isaiah 1:18
Jesus Christ's atoning power transforms a lot more than just sin in our lives.
Though your weaknesses are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.
Though your insecurities are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.
Though your cynicism is like scarlet, it shall be as white as snow.
Though your motives are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.
Though your fear is like scarlet, it shall be as white as snow.
Though your (insert what you are feeling right now) are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.
We all have personality and character traits we don't like about ourselves. We are full of weaknesses. Nobody is more acutely aware of these than Christ Himself. He experienced every single weakness of yours. He knows exactly what it's like to be you.
Despite His proximity to our proclivity to make mistakes, He was crystal clear about our potential: "Be ye therefore perfect."
Spencer W. Kimball commented, "In urging us to be perfect ... Jesus was not taunting us or teasing us. He was telling us a powerful truth about our possibilities and about our potential. It is a truth almost too stunning to contemplate."
Think about that.
Isaiah didn't describe the Lord's transforming power as a change from crimson to light pink. It was scarlet to snow-white. Crimson to wool. There were no small stains too deep to remove. This isn't a 50% change. It's not a 95% change. It's 100%. A mighty change. A dramatic change. A complete change.
It's being perfected through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.
So how can we let Jesus change us soul-deep?
The Book of Mormon gives the prescription: "Come unto Christ, and be perfected in Him, and deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and if ye shall deny yourselves of all ungodliness, and love God with all your might, mind, and strength, then is his grace sufficient for you, that by His grace ye may be perfect in Christ ... then are ye sanctified in Christ, by the grace of God, through the shedding of the blood of Christ."
Come unto Christ
Deny yourself of all ungodliness
Love God with all your might, mind, and strength.
Then, through His atoning power, He changes you.
Any personal change that isn't imbued with Jesus Christ's atoning power will never truly be soul-deep. Only by His grace can ye be made perfect.
One of the prescriptions is to love God with everything you've got. That includes loving Him enough to actually seek after His atoning power. Often, either through sheer laziness or because we don't feel worthy, we don't even ask Him to intervene.
But remember, Jesus Christ actually suffered and died for you. That actually happened. Nothing could express more love and gratitude for His atoning gift than to actually ask for His power to change you. That's not selfish. That's what He wants.
You can experience deep change in any and every aspect of your life. Literally everything. Whatever scarlet smear lingers in your life, it can be washed white through Jesus Christ.
2 quotes to finish:
"The Atonement of Jesus Christ applies in our life all day, every day, in everything that we do." - David A. Bednar
"I witness the reality and divinity of a living Savior who invites us to come unto Him and be transformed." - David A. Bednar
LEADERSHIP
“The guest is God."
Taittiriya Upanishad
The phrase the guest is God comes from ancient Hindu scripture. It's their expression for how we should view and treat others around us.
Jesus taught the same principle.
"For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in. Naked, and ye clothed me. I was sick, and ye visited me. I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."
In the eyes of God, anything we do for anyone is considered as if we actually did it to Him. That's how He sees others.
That's how we should see others.
The guest is God.
MENTAL PERFORMANCE
“(Attitude) permeates everything you do. We bring our attitude to every situation. How do we walk into a room? How do we respond to challenges? To adversity? The most important characteristic any of us have is our attitude."
Jay Wright (Hall of Fame Basketball Coach)
Pete Carroll (Seattle Seahawks head coach) loves to compete. The spirit of competition is embedded in his DNA. So much so that he has a unique way of conducting practice. He keeps score on everything. "We have our ways of keeping score in 7-on-7, on first and ten drills, red zone drills, blitz drills ... we are tracking it. There's always something at stake."
Other coaches follow suit.
One of them is Jay Wright, former coach of Villanova men's basketball. He also keeps score on everything in practice.
There's one thing he keeps score on that matters more than anything else.
"Every day in practice ... the number one thing is attitude. There are purposeful challenges and you have to practice mentally focusing and how you respond to getting beat in a drill. Being coached in a drill. Getting a bad break in a drill. We give points for everything you do. Everything is competitive. We give points to the opposing team if you don't have a positive attitude. The attitude part is something we drill in practice. The effort mentally has to be there every day."
Jay Wright has coached Hall of Fame NBA players. Isn't it interesting that at the highest levels of the sport, he chooses to drill attitude in practice.
Attitude is worth drilling in your own life.
Here's a system that could work for you: Pay attention to how you respond to your circumstances.
Maybe somebody says something you disagree with. Maybe you receive bad news about something personal. Maybe you make a mistake. Whatever it is ... drill attitude.
If you catch yourself responding with a positive attitude, give yourself +1 point. If you catch yourself responding with a negative attitude, take away -1 point.
Notice where you are at the end of the day. If you're at +2, that's great! Aim tomorrow to be at +3. Compete with yourself.
If you have a spouse, partner, or friend, see if they'd want to be your accountability partner. Do it together.
Your attitude permeates everything you do. Your attitude determines whether you are an object who is acted upon or an agent who acts. A creator of circumstance or a creature of circumstance.
The fact that a Hall of Fame coach at the highest levels of the sport centers his practices on drilling attitude should speak to the level of influence attitude has on performance. Not just in sport, but in everything you do.
Disciple-Leadership: Jesus-led. Lead like Jesus.