The 7-Ups

The 7-ups

We live in a computerized world. You can do almost anything on a computer now. You can book plane flights, do your banking, order almost anything you could want, listen to music, make presentations, talk to someone halfway around the world, almost anything you can think of. There is a term, though, that anyone who has worked with computers knows, the term GIGO, Garbage In, Garbage Out. A computer is an inanimate object that only does what it’s told. The computer gets the blame for any problems but the responsibility usually is the fault of the person who programmed it. Most computer glitches are human glitches.

You may not like computers or ever want to own one but all of us have a computer. This computer is called the human brain, the greatest computer ever designed. It also relies upon programming. When we were “built” at God’s factory, operations such as conscience, talents, and gut instincts were programmed in. Parents and teachers add social etiquette and cognitive skills.

The human brain is amazing and much more capable than a regular computer. Computers cannot program themselves yet. But after it has been in use for awhile, the brain can. Data is fed into the brain, which then determines how it will use that data, and whether it will accept or reject this data. It can enhance or degrade its performance by these modifications.

The brain’s capabilities are limited to the quality of the data it receives. It can suffer from GIGO. If you input hatred, unbelief, jealousy, lust, greed, etc and you will get garbage for output. If you input faith, hope, charity, selflessness, etc. and you will get a computer working as it was designed by its “builder”.

Too many times we see garbage output in our lives and we blame Satan, the world, or something else. Sometimes we may not process the inputted data correctly, but almost always it’s “garbage in, garbage out”. So “whatever”. “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, think about these things.”

With that in mind, I have some data for you to “input” into your “computer” to help God create in you a clean heart and put a new and right spirit within you. Let’s take a look at the 7 “ups”.

1. Wake UP!! Psalm 118:24 “This is the day that the Lord has made; rejoice and be glad in it.”

Every day is a gift from God. What a privilege and blessing it is to see the dawn of each new day. (and most of you know I don’t mean “see the dawn” literally) We are not promised another day, but most of us take each day for granted, figuring, “oh well, there’s always tomorrow”. No guarantees. Here’s a morning prayer for you.

Dear God,

So far today I’ve done all right. I haven’t gossiped, I haven’t lost my temper, I haven’t been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish or over-indulgent. I’m very thankful for that. But in a few minutes, God, I’m going to get out of bed, and from then on, I’m probably going to need a lot of help.

Amen

We have to decide to have a good day. We have been given another day, let’s try to live it with joy in our hearts.

2. Dress UP!! 1 Samuel 16:7

How many of us have ever stood in front of a mirror & wished that we weighed less, or we were taller, or we had a more hair? Most of us, at one time or another have wished that we looked differently than we do.

You all know who comedian Don Knotts is, don’t you? Well, in one of his movies he said, "What I need is a body transplant." Some of us here have felt the same way. We struggle to improve our physical appearance, but why? After all, “beauty is only skin deep” and “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” And the beholder we need to be concerned about is God.

God says in 1 Samuel 16:7, “Man looks at the outward appearance, but I look at the heart.” God doesn’t care if your nose that is crooked, your feet that are too big, your ears that stick out too far. He doesn’t care whether you’re 4’8” or 6’10” or weigh 370# or 95# soaking wet. He looks inside at the heart.

So sure, we can put on a smile and a nice suit and we can improve our looks that way. But that’s only superficial. We need to look good for God. We need to dress up the inside.

3. Shut UP!! Proverbs 13:3 “Those who guard their mouths preserve their lives; those who open wide their lips come to ruin.”

We live in a world where there is constant noise, someone always talking either on the TV or the radio, or the phone. Cell phones seem to have taken over the world. We hear so much but we are conditioned to listen so little. And when we talk, we often don’t say anything or, at least, anything nice. I guess if we followed the advice of “if you can’t say anything nice about someone, don’t say anything at all”, we might have more silence and listening.