by Randal Matheny

Every single publisher rejected Robert Kiyosaki's book proposal. So he published it himself. He sold the first copies from a friend's gas station. Within two years, "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" made the New York Times Bestseller List and remains there today.

Your obstacles will stop you, or you will make them the stepping stones to success. The difference is your belief. Your inner strength will determine how far you go. Diligence powered by the certainty of your cause will move heaven and earth.

Losers let others define how far they may reach. Winners set and reach the highest levels.

This is no pep talk or positive thinking rally. It is life. God has set principles at work in the world. Recognizing and using them is the essence of wisdom. Even pagans may perceive and benefit from the way God's world works while they deny him.

The greatest wisdom is to make God's cause our cause and believe his Word that he will guarantee our success. That may not mean the New York Times Bestseller List, but it will certainly mean a life crowned with fruit that remains.

"If you will not believe, you surely shall not last" (Isaiah 7:9 NASU).

by Randal Matheny

"Avoid the crowd. Do your own thinking independently. Be the chess player, not the chess piece." --Ralph Charell

The above quote tells us not to let ourselves be passive pawns, but shakers and movers. Be the one to call the shots. But even there, the game still continues.

Good advice warns away from the herd mentality. The Bible also speaks to the same effect.

• "You shall not follow the masses in doing evil" (Ex. 23:2 NASU).

• "My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent" (Prov. 1:10).

• "And do not be conformed to this world" (Rom. 12:2).

Yes, avoid the crowd, but instead of independent thinking (read Jer. 10:23) and aspiring to control, submit yourself to the Lord and place your trust in his sovereign power to guide all events and people to the final goal.

". . . He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, 'God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.' Submit therefore to God" (Jas. 4:6-7a).

"There is only one way to defeat the enemy, and that is to write as well as one can. The best argument is an undeniably good book." --Saul Bellow

Seems to be a good motto for a Christian writer. But who is up to such a task?

by Randal Matheny

Good ole Ben Franklin was sometimes wiser than he knew. In the 1737 edition of Poor Richard's Almanack, he wrote, "To lengthen thy life, lessen thy meals." Recent research suggests that a main factor in longevity is a pared-down diet. (Spells doom for a lot of us.)

Which reminds me that the very opposite is true of spiritual life.

A rich, constant diet of God's words brings a full-bodied, long-lasting life with the Lord. As long as eternity.

The Psalmist meditated day and night on the Word. In order to have success and prosperity all the days of his life, Joshua was told, "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night" (Josh. 1:8).

Christians of all ages and maturity levels also should be so thirsty for the word that they act like newborns longing for the pure milk of the word (1 Pet. 1:1-3). (Note: The point of comparison is the great desire, not the newness of being born.)

God's people, then, are spiritual gluttons. They can't get enough of his Word. Not for it's own sake, but to know the Lord and, as Joshua heard, "so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it" (Josh. 1:8).

But there's more.

Mr. Spock, of Star Trek fame, parts with, "Live long and prosper." He offers no tips how to do it, just a nice wish. The Bible, however, is specific.

And it's all wrapped up in relationships.

First, fear God and keep his commandments "that your days may be prolonged" (Deut. 6:2).

Second, keep human relationships right, especially with your parents. "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you" (Ex. 20:12). In case you think that was Old Testament, Paul repeats it with the note that this is "the first commandment with a promise," apparently still in force for Christians (Eph. 6:23).

May we then paraphrase good ole Ben's wisdom?

"To lengthen thy life, feed upon the Word in great helpings, fear and obey the Lord, and honor all thy fellow men, beginning with thy parents."

Maybe not as pithy as the original, but just as true.

In his book The Bible Jesus Read, Philip Yancey lauds the varied expressions in Psalms as people of faith grappled with life's realities. Joy mixed with pain, protest alongside praise, agony and extasy together. Indeed, the Bible has its feet on the ground.

Joy and peace do not come at the expense of ignoring the tough issues and the afflictions of our passage through this world. On the contrary, Jesus' suffering brings us face to face with sin's deepest horrors while it breaks darkness with divine light.

Christians, therefore, are the true realists. Atheists must ignore a universe of evidence for the existence of God. Optimists must close their eyes to human inequalities and social injustices. Pleasure-seekers must pretend there is no accounting for deeds done in the body. Secularists must squelch the cry of eternity emanating from the heart.

This holy realism girds up wisdom and spurns folly. Long ago a man of God made this connection, "The impious fool says in his heart, 'There is no God'" (Psalm 14:1, NEB).

God's people may cry, doubt, plead, and protest. In so doing, they show their full humanity working toward holiness and demonstrate that they, above all others, are taking life as it is in full account and placing it squarely at the feet of him who can perform immeasureably more than any can ask or conceive.