“What time is it?” Sometimes I start my talks like that. It bears repeating. What time is it? And I’ll point out to the audience that it’s the very same question they’ve been wrestling with—what time is it in the history of the world?

A different way to phrase the question, “What is going on?” Consider all the things that are happening. A pandemic, market fluctuations, economic upheaval, job losses, divisive political rhetoric, protests, rioting, untrustworthy media—what do you believe anymore? Where do you go to get truth?

What time is it? It’s a time of uncertainty.

There’s something good about actually feeling the uncertainty. Perhaps in the past we were too confident in our ability to predict and control our future. But we all experience uncertainty now. We all feel it. For some of us that uncertainty may be heightened to anxiety. None of us have the ability to predict the future.

Andy Stanley points out that while we may have uncertainty, we can still provide clarity of action. In other words, what will we choose to do in the midst of the uncertainty?

We cannot change the direction of the stock market, nor can we accurately predict where it will land. But we can act as wise stewards—living, saving and giving even in the midst of the uncertainty.

No one can ultimately determine who the next president will be. We can act as responsible citizens—voting and contributing to the common good. Each of us can work to make our neighborhoods better. We can invest the effort to be good husbands, wives, children and members of our churches.

Those are things we can do even in the midst of uncertainty. Indeed, we always have the choice to be givers or takers.

Photo by Thiago Cerqueira on Unsplash

Bill High

Bill is CEO & Founder of Vyne Legacy. He works with families to equip them with tools to build multigenerational legacies, and he teaches givers and financial advisers on transformational biblical generosity. He is the co-author with David Green of Giving It All Away and Getting It All Back Again: The Way of Living Generously.

Published October 28, 2020

Topics: Lessons with Bill

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