What's going on?

That was the famous line from the classic song by legendary music artist Marvin Gaye. His words are as true today as they were in 1971 when the famed song was released. The seasons of 1971 was a dark time, I was only 7 years old and I can remember some of the struggles my family experienced while living in the Bay Area. Civil Rights, Vietnam, unemployment, U.S. dollar devaluation, and a Nixon presidency, all these events and many others lead many in the world during this time to question, "What's going on?"

Today there is great similarity, and in my eyes there is one huge difference - We as a society are turning from God.

I am not going to delve into the details here, I believe readers understand all too well exactly what I am writing about.

One other matter that is different today is the mindset of entitlement displayed by a very loud segment of our society. I fail to see the legitimacy of complaining or protesting about something that has not been earned. And then to boot we see destruction of public and private property in the wake of these temper tantrums. Utterly ridiculous. What is going on?

So I decided to explore holy scripture to see if I could find any parallels, and I did:

Disdain and disloyalty to country -

2 Timothy 4:3 (NIV)

For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.

Accept and respect authority -

1 Peter 2:13-17 (NIV)

Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves. Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor.

I am saddened by the antics I see a select few in our country today. I write few because that is how many I see - when 120 million Americans vote and less than a 100 thousand act a fool, that's a few in my sight.

Regardless, I will continue to show proper respect to everyone, and also have a little fun along the way.

Thanks for reading. Thanks for visiting.

Copyright © 2016 Palmer Pinckney II

Discipline First

Discipline is positive. Yes, it is!

I often listen to conversations that reveal a common misunderstanding between the words discipline and punishment. These talks also show that many are quick to side on the bank of punishment instead of pursuing the more rewarding effort of discipline.

In more than a quarter-century of armed forces service I can affirm that I never recommended punishment for anyone working under my charge. I always sided with discipline first. 

The word discipline comes from the Greek root word discern, literally meaning “to learn by.”

As leaders we should all strive to live a disciplined life. Quickly making a decision to punish someone or ourselves for a mistake is a poor substitute for an opportunity to teach. It's true that punishment is necessary in some cases, I am not discussing those rare cases here. Though I will say that unless you are a parent or judge or your life is in jeopardy, it's rare that a person has the authority to punish.

Teaching (disciplining) someone that has made an honest mistake reaps tremendous dividends of loyalty. Punishing first without effort towards discipline only creates misunderstanding and confusion. Teaching is a two-way dialogue that enables both people to learn. It's a wonderfully positive experience when done with patience and mutual respect. Punishment without discipline first is a cop out. 

Dr. Stephen Covey’s fifth habit for highly successful people is “Seek first to understand, then to be understood. To quickly punish someone first bypasses this important credo. If you can instill disciplined habits into your life, you can create the foundation for achieving your goals and guiding countless others to theirs. 

Our world has enough negativity in it, I choose not to partake in creating more. I will endeavor to live a disciplined life because yes, it’s positive.

Think about it.

Thanks for reading. Thanks for visiting. 
Copyright © 2016 Palmer Pinckney II