Marriage Pitfalls (by Jim Martin)

Oct 7, 2013 @ 10:15 By Scot McKnight Leave a Comment

My good friend, Jim Martin, VP at Harding Graduate School, wrote this up the other day:

Most of us need at least one of these; some of us more than one.

1. Beware of ignoring your wife’s spiritual development while you focus on feeding yourself and the congregation. A ministry couple can easily drift apart spiritually.

2. Beware of assuming that because you read and talk theology that your work with Jesus is more authentic than that of your spouse.

3. Beware of dabbling in discipleship while you major in public events. The first step in ministry is following Jesus.

4. Beware of demanding that your spouse make you look good even when you behave immaturely or like a jerk at home.

5. Beware of discouraging your spouse from seeing a counselor or therapist because you are concerned that you might look bad.

6. Beware of thinking that your role or hard work gives you permission to slack off when you are home.

7. Beware of expecting your spouse will deal with the kids, bills, the maintenance of the house, and your social life so that you can focus on more “important” matters.

8. Beware of supposedly innocent flirting with a certain person in your church arrogantly thinking that you are way too smart or moral to do something stupid.

9. Beware of using your mind as a playground where you can run wild with fantasies and various temptations. Our thinking really does shape who we are.

10. Beware of speaking to your spouse in ways that are demeaning, childish, and disrespectful. This does nothing for your marriage but reveals your immaturity.

Jim Martin, via Jesus Creed blog, October 7, 2013

Thursday, October 3, 2013

The 10 Happiest Jobs in the World

1. Clergy: The least worldly are reported to be the happiest of all

2. Firefighters: Eighty percent of firefighters are “very satisfied” with their jobs, which involve helping people.

3. Physical therapists: Social interaction and helping people apparently make this job one of the happiest.

4. Authors: For most authors, the pay is ridiculously low or non-existent, but the autonomy of writing down the contents of your own mind apparently leads to happiness.

5. Special education teachers: If you don’t care about money, a job as special education teacher might be a happy profession. The annual salary averages just under $50,000.

6. Teachers: Teachers in general report being happy with their jobs, despite the current issues with education funding and classroom conditions. The profession continues to attract young idealists, although fifty percent of new teachers are gone within five years.

7. Artists: Sculptors and painters report high job satisfaction, despite the great difficulty in making a living from it.

8. Psychologists: Psychologists may or may not be able to solve other people’s problems, but it seems that they have managed to solve their own.

9. Financial services sales agents: Sixty-five percent of financial services sales agents are reported to be happy with their jobs. That could be because some of them are clearing more than $90,000 dollars a year on average for a 40-hour work week in a comfortable office environment.

10. Operating engineers: Playing with giant toys like bulldozers, front-end loaders, backhoes, scrapers, motor graders, shovels, derricks, large pumps, and air compressors can be fun. With more jobs for operating engineers than qualified applicants, operating engineers report being happy.

From Forbes via Scot McKnight, The Jesus Creed blog, October 3, 2013