Author Archives: Tom Wise

Message In A Minute: Compassion With Hands and Feet

When my daughter was in elementary school, she was in a musical program.

Her best friend had a solo part in a popular song. When it came time for the solo, my daughter’s friend sang the wrong part. She sang it well, it was just the wrong lyrics.

Only people who knew the song lyrics or were following extremely closely noticed.

The young girl was embarrassed and began to cry. My daughter immediately put her hand on the girl’s shoulder, consoled and encouraged her.

My daughter is like that, she empathizes with others, she sees they are hurting, and she is motivated to do something. She doesn’t just talk it, she walks it.

My wife and I watched her that night take care of her friend and it brought us to tears. I want to have a heart like that, a heart that doesn’t just feel but also fuels action.

Many of us can sense a need. Some of us even talk about doing something. But what speaks louder and longer is actually doing something. People often need more than words or warnings, they need to see the light demonstrated.

Love in action, empathy in motion, compassion with hands and feet.

Sound travels at 761 miles per hour.
Light travels at 670,616,629 miles per hour.
Being the light is far more efficient than lecturing others about the darkness.

Be the light for others, demonstrate compassion, take action.

And pray that I will be more like my daughter.

-Tom Wise

Message In A Minute: Identity

My wife and I were given a great opportunity years ago to attend the Presidential Inauguration.

The speech, the parade, and an Inaugural Ball.

We were excited and had to find appropriate clothing for the big day.

I went to a local tuxedo rental shop. As I was being fitted, the lady helping me made small talk and asked where I would be wearing the tuxedo. I told her I was attending an Inaugural Ball.

Suddenly everything changed in the tuxedo rental shop. My last name happened to be the last name of the incoming Governor in my state. So the shop employees all assumed I was a family member of the new Governor.

I didn’t realize they assumed this, I later figured it out after I left the shop.

To say I got great service would be a huge understatement. The manager, the assistant manager and every employee in the shop did absolutely everything they could to help me.

I was blown away by all the attention.

In society, when you are associated with a powerful person, it changes how people view you. It changes the way people interact with you. It changes almost everything.

I am not related to the now former Governor of my state.

But I am associated with Jesus, I do my best to follow His teachings, I trust in His grace, and I am forever thankful for the peace I have in Him.

I may not get special treatment in society for being associated with Jesus. But I get assurance of God’s goodness all day long, every day of my life. And I am inspired to treat the world differently because I follow Him.

My name carries very little weight with it.

But the name of Jesus is more than world famous, more than well respected, it is the very power of the created universe in five simple letters.

Find your identity in Jesus, there is no need for a tuxedo or a beautiful dress to impress Him.

He accepts you exactly as you are.

-Tom Wise

Message In A Minute: Listen, Learn, and Live It Out

When I was growing up, there were commercials for a stock brokerage firm that said “When E. F. Hutton talks, people listen.”

The commercials were memorable because though they started differently, they always ended the same way. The company set itself up as the authority in their field.

Who holds that type of authority in your mind?

Who is it in your life that when this person speaks, you always listen because of the wisdom shared?

A grandfather, a grandmother, parents, a mentor, friends?

Make sure you take to heart the good advice your given by whoever it is in your life with authority. Cherish the good advice, it could keep you from learning things the hard way.

Here are some things I’ve learned over time. And often I learned the hard way because I didn’t listen to solid advice earlier in my life.

*Speak in a way to convey love, not prove you’re right.

*Write in a way to touch the heart, not impress the scholar.

*Pray in a way that asks to be a blessing, not to seek a blessing.

*Love in a way that shows humility, not to meet your own needs.

*Live in a way to please a merciful God, not a fickle group of people.

You and I need people who will share wisdom with us. We need people who care enough to speak the truth, even if it’s hard to hear. And we need to be able to hear it without being defensive about it.

You don’t need E. F. Hutton, you need God’s wisdom, and many times it comes through thoughtful people all around you.

Listen, learn, and live it out.

-Tom Wise