Survivors of Hitler’s prison camps claimed one of the worst forms of punishment they endured was to be forced to dig a ditch, only to fill it in the next day and the cycle would repeat itself, day in and day out. “The overwhelming labor was not the worst part, it was simply because we knew it had no purpose.” said one survivor. The Nazis knew if you remove a person’s “why” you would crush their spirit. Successful people, businesses, ministries, families, friendships, and just about anything else you can think of are successful because they can tell you ‘why’ they do what they do. It’s often referred to as the vision, mission or purpose statement that clearly defines the purpose behind doing what they do. The more successful the entity is, I can almost assuredly guarantee the more specific and focused the ‘why’ is. Here are a couple of examples: (more…)

My brother will sometimes email me motorcycle accidents or some other extraordinary event caught on film from different parts of the world. They are sometimes dramatic in nature, but what is often more surprising than the event, is after the event. Droves of people walk past someone bleeding to death in the street with frustration that they are even in their path. Intentional overlook as a fight continues, one man kicks another in his lifeless face repeatedly after he has been knocked out. Multiple scenes like this have me asking the question, “How, how can onlookers ignore such travesties and not care?” Our country has its share of despicable acts, noted most recently with the “knockout game”. However, I believe most Americans would be in an uproar over some of the actions by those in other countries if they had taken place here. I believe we are still a Christian nation, or at least the values and empathy of a Christian nation still linger. So what about these other countries, why the lack of empathy? (more…)