Be a Light: How to Bring Hope to the World Around Us

I have been asked many times to speak to groups about hope and how to bring more hope into the world around us. This week I met with a new coaching client, and his first words to me were, "Ted, I have lost all hope. My wife has filed for a divorce, and she has applied for full custody of the kids." I wish I could say that this is an unusual scenario in the world that we live in, but in the business world it is so easy to get our priorities in the wrong order. It is easy to focus on being large and impressive at the cost of the seemingly smaller things, only to find out that the large things were not all that important.

Have you ever been goaded? A goad is a stick with a sharp end used to move sheep or cattle. God does this, but he uses his word or the Holy Spirit. I have been goaded recently—once this morning which I will get to in a minute, and once last weekend. Last weekend, we went to Minneapolis to see my oldest grandson’s baseball tournament. Early Saturday morning I read this verse: Those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. (Proverbs 11:25) It hit me because I had a rough week the week before, with a tough coaching client—a difficult client.

But we went to the field, and as I was playing catch with Theo, I threw the ball out of reach over his head and it rolled about 15 feet behind him. I said, "Bad throw." He replied, "No it was good, Grampa." As he took about three steps toward, it he turned back to me and said, "That’s how to be polite. Right, Grampa?" It made me think about the past week and how I tried to be polite to my difficult client.

Have you ever been around people who suck the energy right out of the room? Maybe they can’t stop talking about themselves or they are not shy about their negative opinions with anyone who will listen. It is hard to hang with people like that because they seem to drain the oxygen out of the air. I call them life-takers. The thing is, we don’t know what they have gone through to make them that way, and God calls us to love them.

Then you have the other type of people—the life-givers. Their spirits and speech are full of optimism and hope. They genuinely care about others, and it shows. They make you want to be a better person. Truly it is a joy to be around them. Even when they reveal the truth to you, they do it with love.

But I realized this: Again, every opportunity we have with someone is an opportunity to influence that person for good—to give life and not just take it. Because whether we realize it or not, people are watching us. What we say and what we do matters. When we live with purpose, we can make a difference that will leave a lasting impact.

I believe God is the author and giver of life, but we can also do our part. So, let’s all consider making a choice today to be an example and a blessing to someone else whether it be at a meeting, at work, at Starbucks… Let’s breathe life into whatever space we set foot in today.

After we played catch, we went back to the field to watch Theo’s older brother play baseball and Theo sat on my lap. He pointed out all the good things that he saw his older brother doing while he played the game.

All of a sudden—out of the blue—he said to me, “You know Grampa, I think you just need to release the ball a little later sometimes.” He genuinely cared about helping me—even though I played the game for a long time, I accepted his suggestion. His delivery was great AND it was done with love.

I was goaded again this morning—in the book of Ecclesiastes—chapters 11 and 12. Yes, I did skip to the last two chapters of the book, but I have been reading books like this since grade school.

I noticed 4 principles of life to live a fully engaged life:

1. A fully engaged life is uncertain so embrace it and be diligent in your involvement.

2. A fully engaged life is short so enjoy it. Experience every day with everything that you have. Enjoy every day. I didn’t figure out how to do this until I experienced being told by my oncologist that my remaining days were few. Then, I decided to enjoy every day. I have been doing just that every day, and thanks to the grace and healing power of God, that was 13 years ago.

3. A fully engaged life is mysterious. We should be engaged every day. In fact, Solomon said enjoy your youth and remember your Creator. Your youth doesn’t come back. Once it's gone, it's gone, so you should enjoy it while you have it. To elders he said embrace your age thankfully and gratefully. Each day is a blessing; be grateful for it.

4. A fully engaged life is living obedient to God. We should live in God’s word and obey his commandments.

And the greatest commandment is this: Love the Lord your God with all your heart mind and soul and LOVE others as we should love ourselves. This is what I told my clients to try. And it is also what we should all strive for each day.

TODAY, BE A LIFE-GIVER. Not a life-taker.

How? LIVE A FULLY ENGAGED LIFE (see above). YOU WILL FILL EVERYONE that you come into contact with, WITH HOPE. It may take time, but it will restore relationships.