I'm All In!

The scene, tension and venerability moves to a heighted level. The stakes at the table just increased 100-fold; both guys push their chairs out and stand up, walk around to try to deal with the pressure. The look on their face is shear terror. But, oddly, they live for this adrenalin rush!

There’s no greater rush then going “All In”!

Every year the competition begins in the summer and ends in November. In 2010 over 72,000 players entered to win the elusive first prize of…. a bracelet. This is The World Series of Poker. Last years winner walked away with a whopping $8,944,310.00 in cash and of course the much sought after gold bracelet.

I love watching & playing poker because the competition is “dog-eat-dog”, “eat or be eaten”, “mono-e-mono”. You must be able to read people, play the cards, bluff, and have a sense of clairvoyance along with playing a little crazy to be successful. The object is to never let the other players anticipate your next move. The tournament ends with one person left with all the chips.

I want to focus on the phenomenon of “All In”. In the game of “No limit Texas Hold-em” everyone receives two down cards, then the first player can bet on the strength of his had against the other players at the table. The other players can either fold, call, or raise. Somewhere during the tournament it always happens, someone calls “All In”. With that call, the player lays down the ultimate challenge; he’s streaking his poker life (for that tournament) that no one at the table can beat him. The player’s poker fate is solely dependent on the next 5 cards to be flipped. They now have to trust they made the right call.

Every winner one time or the other has had to go All In. You cannot skate around it, or win without committing to your cards sometime during the tournament.

So how does poker relate to your faith?

How many of us are All In with our faith?

How many of us live every second committed to God and living his will?

How many other people who know us, know we are “A man of God”?

How many of us are embarrassed by the label of “A man of God”?

After I completed the CRHP experience, I just knew I’d reach the highest point of my faith walk. Over the next few years, I did not realize how much farther I would be challenged to go. Once you go All In, you cannot turn back. The deeper you get in, the farther you want, and need to go!

So why doesn’t everyone go All In?

It’s the fear of failing. When you claim to be 100% committed to your faith there’s some new found pressure. You think everyone expects you be perfect and never sin again. You tend to think that you’re now judged on a higher level.

You can’t act one way on Sunday, and another way during the week. All In, means All In! All, every day, every hour, every second, every moment your sights needs to be set towards God.

The simple truth is when you do go All In; you now understand that sinning is normal. Everyone sins, EVERYONE! The fact that you have now committed to your Catholic Faith means you are now going to totally commit and surrender your life to the will of God.

When it’s put in those words, it’s a little scary.

I'm "All In", are you?

“I am Second”? NO “I am Third”!

I’m sure you’ve heard of the Christian ad campaign “I am Second”. This is the practice of living your life with God first and yourself second. But, I have a problem with this. Yes, God is first in my life, but why am I second? The great Zig Ziglar says, “If you help enough other people get what they want, you can have everything you want”! What that means is, if you put other people first, you can achieve all your goals! Why would I question the great Zig Zigler? Zig and the ad campaign contradict one another, because I know Zig put’s God first! So, “I am Second”, NO “I am Third”! IF you’re looking to become more successful in business, place everyone else’s needs ahead of your own! You’ll only find success through other people, not in spite of other people!

There’s a business philosophy called “Servant Leadership” which was started by Robert K Greenleaf back in 1904. This philosophy has been updated by some of the great business writers of our day, like Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Peter Block and Peter Senge. They’ve given their input on what “Servant Leadership” is and its advantages.

Servant leadership turns the management pyramid upside down by putting the employees at the top of the triangle, and management on the bottom of the triangle. For some, this concept is hard to understand because it requires management to trust that the employees will perform to achieve great things with its clients.

One of the best examples of a company which practices Servant Leadership is Southwest Airlines. Southwest “serves” its passengers to the tune of being the most admired, envied and profitable airlines in the world. Why? Because they understand the benefits of “serving” people. Southwest doesn’t only serve its passengers; they also serve its employees. Here’s a quote from the now retired CEO of Southwest Airlines Herb Kelleher, “Just as Southwest has their customers, the passengers, the management team has their customers, the employees. If the customers are not satisfied, they will not fly again with Southwest. If the employees are not satisfied, they will not deliver the required performance”! Now that’s turning the table on every management practice around-and the proof is in the pudding!

One of the greatest leaders I know of once washed the feet of his subordinates, then, instructed them to serve others as he served them! Do you have anyone’s feet to wash today?

Who’s Your Daddy?

MEN, Who’s your daddy? Who or what owns you? What temptations or demons are you fighting today? Is it the drive for success, money, or the love of money, the fear of failure, do you feel like you have to control everything, do you look at women lustfully, your vanity, food, your car-house, alcohol, or pornography? Where does your time go? It’s said where you put your time and energy is where your heart is. On Sunday how is your time divided between watching football spending time with your family are with God? How much time, do you spend fighting the above list of “demons”?

Once a year I sit down and write out my personal goals. Not once have I ever included to become closer to God. Why is it when I think of MY goals, they don’t include God? Why is it I feel the need to do it all on my own? Since

In the list of your life goals, or personal objectives, where does God rank? For a long time, I would put him about 3^rd, or 4^th. Spending time with God will do wonders for your life. Taking the time to spend with God is something that many, including myself seem to procrastinate away. “I try to pray”

Why do we Trust only ourselves? Why do we wait until the last resort before we go to God with our trials? We wait because we don’t trust God enough to hand it all over to him. Taking everything to God everyday is the best way to begin trusting God! And that means EVERYTHING! The good, the bad, the sins, when you fail, and when you succeed! Take it all to Him, He’s waiting for you to come to home!

Yea, Mr. Independent right? We bargain with God when we don’t go to him every day. We only let him in on what we think we can’t handle any longer. Just like Frank Sanatra sings, “I did it MY WAY”! The problem with the song is “I”! This is how “I” feel, “I” don’t like how the church is run, or “I” don’t think I need to go to confession. When ever we focus on “I”, sin usually follows. My ways are not always God’s ways.

You see, God doesn’t care how you feel! He cares what you feel, but not how you feel. He only wants you to commit to him everyday, and loves you enough to give you your free will not to love him back. He doesn’t demand your love. He wants your love, but never demands it, and when you’re ready, he’ll always be there waiting for you to come home!

What if God had bigger plans for you? What if you only accomplish what you think you’re capable of accomplishing? Without Him you are limited, with Him, your possibilities are limitless!

From the Beginning!

First let’s start at the beginning, the first sin, the one that started it all and the one you and I struggle with the most: Original Sin! Original Sin is when we play God. Adam and Eve were tempted by the devil and fell into the trap of playing God. They played God when They decided what was right and wrong. With original sin it's all about me! It’s all about what I want, what I don't want, and what I think is right or wrong!

So the serpent lied about the fruit, lied about the outcome, and lied about God. But what was in it for him? What was his motivation? He gained nothing other than showing God that he could deceive and lie to Adam and Eve just to get his way. The serpent didn’t care about Adam or Eve. He didn’t care what would happen to Adam or Eve and he didn’t care about the long term consequences of Adam and Eve’s actions. He only wanted to prove to God that man was weak, and he could tempt them and make them sin!

Find what motivates someone, and you’ll learn a lot about that person.

Why was Eve so motivated to eat the fruit? You know this has nothing to do with eating. But, it has everything to do with being defiant and doing what Eve wanted to do. Or, is it being curious about what she was told not to do? This, in the end, is about the test of our free will. Our free will to exercise what we think is best compared against God commandments. We fail when we know the difference between right and wrong, and still sin.

Failing to be a man!

Why was Adam such a wimp and not stand up for his wife and defy the serpent? Ya! Adam, the man’s man! Knowing what’s right and what God said, he still chose to stand behind Eve and let her eat the fruit. Even when God questioned him, he said in his best wimp voice: “the woman whom you put here with me-she gave me fruit from the tree, and so I ate it”. Then, Adam has the gull to try to give God some of the blame by saying, “whom You put her with me”. As though it’s God’s fault for creating someone who would trick him into eating the fruit! Stand up and be a man! A man who protects his family from the evil serpent with his lies, deception, and doubt! I also see this as the first test of a man as head of the family! And failing that test!

Let’s face it, sometimes sinning is fun! If it wasn’t fun, enjoyable, or desirable, we wouldn’t be so tempted by it! The “serpent” wouldn’t have any ammo against you and I if sin wasn’t enjoyable, fun, or desirable! That’s the devil’s trump card, our desire to satisfying every desire, whim, or self imposed need!

When you and I see the world through ourselves, that’s where the devil meets us! When we see the world through God, that’s were God meets us.

After being rescued from the coal mines in Chile, one man said, “I saw God, and I saw the devil, I choose God”