{"id":2752,"date":"2023-06-28T07:39:44","date_gmt":"2023-06-28T11:39:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/js1cd06kre.onrocket.site\/?p=2752"},"modified":"2023-06-28T07:41:01","modified_gmt":"2023-06-28T11:41:02","slug":"whats-your-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2023\/06\/28\/whats-your-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s Your Problem?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

To listen to this reflection as a podcast, <\/em>click here<\/a>.
 
People are defined by their problems.
 
Here\u2019s a more accurate way to put it:  You are defined by whatever you consider your most important problem.
 
A heartbreakingly large number of people in the world have to address the same vexing problems day after day:
 
What are we going to eat today?<\/em>
How can I keep my children safe?<\/em>
Where can I find adequate healthcare?<\/em>
Who will take care of me when I can no longer take care of myself?<\/em>
 
People who experience greater prosperity begin to trade up for what we might call better and more interesting problems.
 
The problem with your problems, however, is that they might not be big enough.  Sometimes we obsess over problems that are far too small:
 
How can I get the recognition I deserve?<\/em>
What\u2019s the best real estate deal out there now that we\u2019re beyond the pandemic?<\/em>
How can I get rid of this sag around my middle?<\/em>
Who should my team start at quarterback next fall to put us on the road to the Super Bowl?<\/em>
What\u2019s the simplest and easiest way to get rich?<\/em>
 
You might protest that figuring out how to become rich is hardly a small problem, or everyone would have solved it.
 
But it\u2019s wiser to say that accumulating wealth is not a noble <\/em>problem.  It\u2019s not a problem worth living for and dying for.
 
People with larger visions and what we might call \u201clarge souls\u201d surrender their lives to extraordinary problems:
 
How can we end human trafficking?<\/em>
How can a free society be both secure and welcoming to outsiders?<\/em>
How can we safeguard the earth\u2019s fragile ecosystems?<\/em>
How can we eradicate extreme poverty, so that no one has to wonder what they will eat today?<\/em>
 
Sometimes the Good Life is pictured as the condition of having to face fewer and fewer problems.
 
Sometimes even spirituality is marketed as the surest route to a problem-free existence.
 
But as corporate transformation guru Ichak Adizes points out, the only condition that absolutely guarantees the cessation of all problems is death: <\/em>\u201cHaving fewer problems is not living.  It\u2019s dying.  Addressing and being able to solve bigger and bigger problems means that our strengths and capacities are improving.\u201d 
 
In other words, growing up and being successful doesn\u2019t mean avoiding<\/em> problems.  It means having the courage to trade up for far more worthy<\/em> problems.
 
As Jesus wrapped up his earthly ministry, having defeated humanity\u2019s previously undefeated Enemy (death) by rising from the dead, it appeared the disciples\u2019 problems were over.  They were on the winning team.  They can be forgiven for thinking they were now on Easy Street.
 
But that was the very moment Jesus gave them the ultimate challenge.  It\u2019s come to be called the Great Commission: \u201cGo and make disciples of all nations, teaching them everything I have commanded you, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit\u201d (Matthew 28:19).  All of a sudden they have this multi-generational global job assignment that will require everything they can possibly give.
 
That might turn out to be a problem.
 
But the next verse changes everything.  Jesus says, \u201cAnd remember this: I am with you always, all the way to life\u2019s finish line.\u201d 
 
We may have been given the world\u2019s most difficult and worthy challenge, but we\u2019re also blessed to be in partnership with the greatest Problem Solver the world will ever know.
 
So what\u2019s your<\/em> problem? 
 
We all need a problem so big and so important that it cannot be solved unless God shows up.
 
Which, interestingly enough, turns out to be the truest definition of what it means to be rich.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To listen to this reflection as a podcast, click here. People are defined by their problems. Here\u2019s a more accurate way to put it:  You are defined by whatever you consider your most important problem. A heartbreakingly large number of people in the world have to address the same vexing problems day after day: What are we going to eat today?How can I keep my… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2753,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[416],"class_list":["post-2752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-facing-problems"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2752","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2752"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2752\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2755,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2752\/revisions\/2755"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2752"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}