Trust or Control

Do you see yourself as a person who trusts others? Or to put it another way, and perhaps in a more telling way, are you a trustworthy person yourself? Do others see you as someone they can trust? Is your word your bond, and can it be relied on? Wow, so many questions, but they go to the heart of my thoughts today. 

After all, what is the opposite of trust? Perhaps the person who has little or no trust is a control junkie where there is a monster round every corner, waiting to take away your personal freedom. If you are not a trusting person, there is a big  probability that you fear being controlled. There are those who do have an irrational fear of ‘big brother’/government control which can be seen and applied from many angles. The food we eat. Is it deliberately processed to control? The news program we watch. Is it set to present a skewed view of the world in such a way to suggest we are being controlled from a higher place?

Somehow, I think you have come across people who fear control. There may even be a few friends who think that way, and express their views openly and in such a way as to gather support for their views. These folks may be quite unsure of themselves or even paranoiac. They can also be very vocal in the expression of their views.

The faithful Christian believer is ripe ground for feeling they (and the world) are under control from the top, whether government, MPC (Monetary Policy Control), or the biggie WEF (World Economic Forum). These may all lead in an extreme way to the One World Government, and/or a Single Currency. A good example of a united currency is where the Euro replaced a dozen or so other national currencies. Take that a step further and think of the world having one currency. Imagine the benefits, but also the dangers!

The Bible warns of the end times having a one world currency, and a one world religion. Imagine the dangers, and now maybe we can understand why some fervent believers are so vocal in their views. Are they right, or perhaps misguided in their extreme opinions?

A man brought his son to Jesus for healing from a demonic spirit, and he knew his own limitations, but he fully believed in Jesus’ power to heal when he exclaimed:”I believe, help Thou my unbelief”. Mark 9:24. He got it right when he determined that Jesus knew the difference between doubt, disbelief and unbelief, and could heal all three. May we have the simple faith of that man!

Infallible and Inerrant

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16,17 NIV

Really? I mean, are you kidding? Every word in the Bible really IS the Word of God?

When you are brought up in the church as I was, you accept and understand that the Bible is the Word of God, without question. From the quaint story of Adam and Eve with a fruit tree and a talking snake, through to the revelation and testimony of an apostle who was exiled on an island for the mentally insane! In between we have the story of a big fish that swallowed Jonah purely to teach him a lesson that he should never have disobeyed the instructions of God. 

There are those in church circles who treat some of the Bible as fables to teach us lessons, but they are NOT completely true. If that really is the case, what do we do with the verses at the top of our blog? If we discount them, what other verses do we discount? Do the ten commandments still hold? I suggest we are in dangerous territory when we mess about with the Bible as written, no matter the translation. We can’t pick and choose what we accept depending on the version or translation we prefer.

The questions raised by some believers (yes they are believers) are real, and take some answering, but they must be addressed. Otherwise we cast doubt on the infallibility and inerrancy of Holy Writ, and that cannot ever be good for believer and unbeliever alike.

I prefer to take the position that I may not understand the Bible in its entirety but I believe it enough to take it to the grave and therefore my eternity because my salvation depends on it. There are enough unbelievers and disbelievers to go round and pick at our Bible, but please do not let us join their ranks. All that does is cement their thinking. Can you hear their words as they talk to their other unbeliever friends? Hey, did you not know that David doesn’t believe the Bible either? Based on his life and words, the Bible and the way of salvation just cannot be trusted. Told you they are all hypocrites.

For my part, I must take my Bible as truth, in its fullness, otherwise there are many who will drive a bus through my belief system. I do not wish to stand before my final judge, and be condemned by my own words of apparent doubt. It comes down to this: Will you and I take the Holy Scriptures as fully true, or will we cast doubt which will be a means of tripping up another seeker and letting them slip into a lost eternity? We have a grave responsibility in the words we speak, yes, even to our believing friends!

Safe Hands

Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you. 2 Timothy 1:14 NLT

When something or someone is precious to us, we insist that anyone who will look after them must be a safe pair of hands. Do you remember the time and effort you took to ensure the babysitter you chose for your young child was safe? You would never take a risk with the precious gift of life that you were entrusted with.

We have the greatest gift in our salvation through the gospel of Jesus Christ. A free gift to all, and just for the asking, but to be fully effective, that gift needs to be in good hands. Paul’s instructions to the young preacher and pastor are unambiguous. They were clear and applicable then, and they remain the same today. Like Timothy, we who bear the name of Christ have been entrusted with the precious truth of the gospel, and that can only be fully effective and achieved through the power of the Holy Spirit.

If we look at this from another angle, what if you notice that this precious truth is NOT in safe hands, and as a result the gospel is seen by others as something contaminated, not to be trusted but to be avoided at all costs? What a high price is paid by those we love when some don’t have those essential safe hands for the precious truth of gospel! Just thinking out loud!

My Responsibility

But someone who does not know, and then does something wrong, will be punished only lightly. When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required. Luke 12:48 NLT

We know ourselves best, and no one knows us better. No one except God that is! I like the fact that we serve a reasonable God who doesn’t expect more of us than we are capable of doing or can handle. When we start out on this journey of faith, we know little, and if we stumble our God grants mercy and grace, and doesn’t rush to judgement. However, when we are mature Christians, God expects better from us than the occasional thoughtless stumble.

Our Pastors, teachers and leaders have our respect, but with that respect comes responsibility. As a shepherd of a flock, whether a megachurch or a small group, the Pastor must earn, and continue to earn, the respect of those he or she leads. It is one thing if a young Christian does something wrong as our verse says, but it is another thing entirely if the leading shepherd who has been entrusted with the care of the flock, knowingly steps out of line and fails. That action has a ripple effect across the few or many of his or her flock.

But I am not off the hook as a mature Christian, with many years of Bible knowledge and experience behind me. It is also important that I behave as an example to others, and don’t knowingly do anything wrong, but it goes the other way too. I cannot ignore the misdeeds of someone more senior in the faith, or in my church. That would include Pastoral leadership, after all it wouldn’t be the first time that a well respected leader has fallen short of their known responsibility and led someone (or many) astray by words, example, or both.

Let me be honest here. I do not like the burden of responsibility I feel being caught in the middle. Staying silent only stays the day of reckoning when more damage may have been done, but speaking up makes enemies of the very ones you had held in high regard, and many still will, so there is a cost. However, I go back to the verse for today which reminds me of my responsibility: “when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.” That applies to us all to some degree or other. Are you up to it? Am I??

Open Wide

Trust the Lord completely, and don’t depend on your own knowledge.                 Proverbs 3:5 ERV

The stronger the prescribed medication, the greater the warning to follow the instructions carefully, not to exceed the dosage, or refrain from driving, and the list of cautions go on. However, when you buy something for the sniffles over the pharmacy counter, your relief might come with the words, “take as required”.

You feel unwell and you want to get better, so you make an appointment with your local doctor. You trust him or her to treat your symptoms correctly and prescribe the medication to make the sickness go away. The instructions clearly say, “Take after a meal”, so that’s what you do. Why? Because you trust the advice given and you want to get better.

Why then, do we get the idea that we know better than the Great Physician when it comes to the welfare of our souls? The necessary medication, tailored to our own need, might be: Read the Bible more, but we ease back. Find more time to pray, but we ignore the advice. Make sure you get to church each Sunday to worship, but we don’t always like the way they do it any more so we watch a service on TV instead. Get the picture?

The Bible as the Word of God is full of good advice about how best to be healthy believers. Our sin sick souls deserve no less, so it is important that we follow the Great Physician’s advice. After all, because God is fully qualified in this field, and we can trust Him fully! We probably heard the best advice in Sunday School when we sung the chorus, “Read your Bible, pray every day, and you’ll grow, grow, grow”. Somehow we think these children’s songs no longer apply. How wrong we are! As our earthly dad would say, “open wide and take your medicine, it’s good for you”. So too says our heavenly Father! Amen.

Patience

My times are in your hands. Psalm 31:15a NIV

We’re not good at patience, are we? I know I’m not, and every time I think I am getting better, something else, something bigger, hits me and I get…. Well you know, impatient! If we believe that God is supreme, and everything including our future are in His hands, and nothing is left to chance, and we do, then why do we have to keep on learning the same lesson? I wonder if God gets impatient with our impatience? There must be times when He wonders if we will ever get past the infant stage and grow into adulthood as far as our faith is concerned.

Patience is a strange thing. You can see the lack of it in others so very easily, but we think we have it all together until the rubber hits the road, and we are tested. Let’s face it, we are tested often and that must be because we need it. How else will we ever learn to trust Him fully, and with everything? If it was all up to chance or luck, we could brush our impatience off with the feelings that we will never have to grow in patience. But God, who knows all, is supremely patient with His children.

It occurred to me again recently, just how much I like to be in control. In a personal matter I had it all figured out as if I didn’t need to have God in the picture anyway. Truth is, I didn’t think I needed Him. After all, this was one of those easy things I could figure out and do for myself. So why include, or even bother God? Doesn’t He have enough to be doing with more important people and bigger problems? Aren’t you glad that God thinks we are important enough for Him to care about those irritations which make us impatient? Deep down I am. What a great God we serve who leaves nothing to chance, and whose timing is always right.

Failure?

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Isaiah 26:3

My granddaughter is taking driving lessons, and doing very well. Recently, we sat and went through some driving theory questions together and I failed. Twice! As an older, more mature driver, I thought I would complete the online test with a clear 100% pass. How wrong could I be?

When I passed my test some 50 years ago, things were easier. I read and learned all the Highway Code at that time, but it seems that the rules would not allow me to pass today. Ouch. You would think that once you have committed to something, and set your mind to it, and succeeded, that would be it for ever. Not in the secular things of this life it seems, and certainly not for our driving test.

How glad I am that our God does not operate that way with us, or our salvation. Once we repent and hand over the reins of our life to our Saviour, He does just that. He saves. For ever. We don’t have to prove ourselves all over again because He will keep our minds in perfect peace. Did you catch the little word ‘keep’? To make sure we get the message, the apostle Paul gives Timothy (and therefore us) the following assurance which keeps our hearts, minds, and souls for eternity. We serve a great God, but there is a small condition. We must keep our mind stayed on Him. Now, is that such a difficult thing to do, when we consider the reward?

But I am not ashamed, because I know the one I have put my trust in. And I am sure that he is able to protect what I have put into his care until that Day. 2 Timothy 1:12

Who Cares?

If God makes what grows in the field so beautiful, what do you think he will do for you? That’s just grass—one day it’s alive, and the next day someone throws it into a fire. But God cares enough to make it beautiful. Surely he will do much more for you. Your faith is so small! Luke 12:28

Who do you trust with your deepest feelings but the one you trust the most? After all, why should you unburden your innermost thoughts and fears to someone who couldn’t care less what you are going through?

Praying is what we do, but the pray-er is the person who cares enough about you to remember to bring your hurts and problems to the Father in the act of intercession. If the pray-er doesn’t care, s/he will not remember to pray. They may have other things on their mind, and it may not be you.

I think the ultimate compliment we can be paid as a Christian, is when a friend asks you to pray for them, and their life. They will only do that if they trust you fully, and know in their heart that you will pray. Be thankful if or when you are asked to pray on behalf of another struggling soul. They have just placed their deepest trust in another struggling soul, but one whose integrity they respect. Let’s not take that trust lightly.

I have no one else like Timothy, who genuinely cares for you. Philippians 2:20

Give all your worries to Him, because He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

Confidant

I think a definition is necessary. “A confidant is a person with whom one shares a secret or private matter, trusting them not to repeat it to others.”

Let me be brutally honest, one of the loneliest times in the life of a single person, whether young, old, male or female is the lack of a listening ear when times get tough. Let’s face it, things do get unbearably rough at times, and when you have a husband, wife, or partner, you can unload your deepest feelings and fears knowing fully that they will support, understand, sympathise, and it will go no further.

Sometimes I miss that special person in my life because it isn’t always fitting, easy or possible to share your heart with others, even your family who may have their own issues to face. Having that close, trusted spouse or close friend is invaluable, and not to be taken for granted. Somehow I don’t think I am alone in my thinking, and since the Bible is the Word of God for all times, situations, and people, it wisely puts it this way:

Two are better than one…..if either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Ecclesiastes 4:9,10

Trust God, but Work!

David said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished. 1 Chronicles 28:20

Evangelical Christians believe in the power of faith to move mountains, and to do the things thought humanly impossible, so we sometimes take a back seat, and leave it all to God. After all, He is the one with all the strength to get the job done. But take a look at the verse again.

When David was talking openly and honestly to his son Solomon, God through David reminded him that it was still Solomon’s job to be strong and do the physical work, but it is God’s job not to fail him or forsake him, until ALL the work….is finished!!

What a combination. Our human efforts, coupled with God’s Blessing to see the work finished. We may not be required to build a massive temple, but what about that Sunday School Class, or Youth Group, or using your musical talent, or that gift you have of encouragement within the fellowship of your church? If we do our part, according to the Word, God will see it through to completion. What a promise!

Troubled?

When Jesus talked with his closest friends, He told them “Don’t let your hearts be troubled” and that is a wonderful word. It covers concerns, worries, right up to a depression, so whatever you are facing Jesus tells us not to be ‘troubled’ about it. Wait a minute, don’t you feel like yelling as John McEnroe would shout to the tennis umpire when a decision didn’t go his way, “You can’t be serious”? My daughter used to say, “don’t you tell me not to worry”!

The next phrase tells it all, and completes the sentence. Jesus affirmed to the disciples,“you believe in God, believe also in Me”. That’s the secret. When you are crossing a busy street with your child, who takes your hand? Your child trusts you completely, so they happily put their hand into yours in the certain knowledge that while you have their hand, they are safe from harm. It just leaves me to ask you, “whose hand is worthy of your trust when trouble comes”?

Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. John 14:1

What Then?

If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, …...but even if He does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.’  - Daniel 3:17,18

Every now and again, the Scripture surprises us. We are taught to pray believing, and this is true, but then we come across these verses which suggest that our prayers may not be answered because they don’t fall into God’s will for our lives. Our prayers usually end with words like “Thy will be done” and they roll off the tongue easily. But what if God doesn’t agree with our prayers?

Daniel and his friends knew the dangers full well, and they must have prayed earnestly that they would be spared the furnace. Who wouldn’t? I think it takes real inner strength, courage, and faith to say “but even if He does not”... and put yourself completely at the literal mercy of a loving God. To Daniel, God would be no less loving if they had been tossed to the lions. Could we say that?

How difficult is your life? Are you faced with financial problems, wayward children, personal or a loved one’s serious illness? When you pray, it is important, above all else, that God in love will step in and change things for the better, but what if He doesn’t? We know that some prayers don’t get answered and we are faced with silence. That’s not too bad, but what if the answer is the polar opposite of your prayer? Your money worries get worse, your family faces breakdown, and your loved one doesn’t get well, but dies? What then? Do we still think God is loving and in control?

Daniel faced life or death when he prayed. He was sincere, and the Bible records that he and his friends were thrown into the furnace. They should have died, but these Saints were prepared for that possibility. They didn’t die, a miracle was performed and a witness like no other was seen when another man was noticed beside them, and the onlookers just knew it looked like the Son of God. They didn’t need to be told. They knew. In fact the prayer was answered in a way that no one expected. The lesson for me is, obey the command, pray believing, and let God be God. After all, He really IS in control.

Quiet Confidence

For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, “in quietness and in trust (confidence) shall be your strength.” But you were unwilling. Isaiah 30:15 ESVUK

God doesn’t get it wrong. We often do, but never God, and let’s face it, He has our best interests at heart. And yet, at those times when we need assurance most, we lack confidence. Is it because we don’t trust Him? I don’t think so, but I do believe we don’t trust Him enough.

We all have a high respect for people we see as being quiet in their confidence of those routine matters of life which affect them. They stand out in the crowd of insecurity, and yet they may not have a strong faith, or perhaps they have no faith at all. We as Christians need to step back and admire these folks because we have more reason to be confident, but we shy away from stating it, just in case our desire or prayer doesn’t happen and we look foolish. Do your non religious friends use the same excuse? No, and neither should we.

We have every reason to be confident of our salvation, and for the most part I can see that confidence coming through in the lives of His earthly saints. But what about those things, closer to home and not about deep matters of faith? What about the ordinary and everyday stuff, and those things, and yes especially people who grace our path, but we are unsure of our own feelings and at a human level, we lack confidence? We certainly don’t want to barge in like a bull in a china shop and ruin what building blocks of relationship we may be trying to lay. A rash and presumptuous confidence is not a good thing either, and should be avoided at all costs.

Prior to the verse above, God is setting out His reasons for loving and caring about His people, and although they back off and don’t recognise God’s hand in their lives, He continues to work undeterred and undaunted. Confidence is lacking, but God clearly says, “in quietness and in trust (confidence) shall be your strength.” You can’t help but see and feel the strength and power of God as He tends to His faltering people. I love the promise that our gracious God is on our side, granting a quiet confidence and trust that He has it all under control. Now isn’t that enough to inspire confidence in the nervous and feeble hearted? Yes and Amen.

Don't Worry

"So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today”. Matthew 6:34

It might be easy for you to live life without worrying, but not me I can hear you say. You don’t know what I’ve been through, and you are right. But then how can anyone fully know what another person has to handle? After all, everyone of us wears a mask, and we seldom let it drop to show how we cope with life.

It is thought that Scottish theologian Ian Maclaren was the original source of the quotation “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle,” and how true even today. So, when you meet up with your friend next time, look carefully and listen, because you might be the friend they need to listen. Really listen, and hear their worries.

Of course, you and I will also need a friend to hear our worries, to let us unburden ourselves, but we probably don’t know who that will be. After all, we are also wearing that mask that shouts “I’m fine” so it will need to be a real friend and not just an acquaintance who will have the ability to help us drop our own mask and become vulnerable. Thanks to those we can call true friends!

Trust and Betrayal

There are two major news items in the UK this past week. The arrest of two young women accused of carrying $2 million worth of cocaine out of Peru, and a young man who was questioned under terrorism legislation because the security authorities suspected him of carrying material which was a threat to national security in the USA and UK. In his interview, the young man’s defence was that he ‘trusted’ his partner completely, and he wouldn’t do anything bad, would he? It should be said that his partner is a security correspondent with a national UK newspaper, and is embroiled in the massive data leak scandal by Edward Snowden.

Humanly speaking there is a very fine line between trust and betrayal. Trust changes to betrayal in ordinary circumstances, and most of us have seen it or even experienced it, and it is not a good feeling. The two recent articles in the media take betrayal to a very high level where the price is either personal freedom, or your integrity. The worst example of betrayal in the Bible must surely be Judas, who not only knowingly went against the teachings of his master Jesus, but who actively betrayed his fellow disciples. They had a massive amount of trust in him, even to the point of allowing him to look after the finances of their little group.

Call me an old cynic (ok not so fast!) or a realist, but I don’t really mind that someone who is suspected of carrying information which is helpful to a foreign power being questioned for 9 hours, and his laptop data being investigated. He was inconvenienced. Oh diddums what a shame. As for the two young women who were carrying 11 kilo of cocaine, their story has more holes than a kitchen sieve, but what have they got to lose by pleading not guilty, and hoping a fast talking lawyer can do something, anything, to find a point of law to get them off? The common factor is that these are extreme examples of trust being placed in the wrong people, and it turning to betrayal on a grand scale. So who should you and I trust? The only one who is 100% trustworthy, and who will never let you down: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5, and how about: One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24, and if you need more there’s: I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever. Psalm 52:8

37cm

Trust in the Lord with all your heart  and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5,6 NIV

370mm or about 15 inches. That’s the distance between an adult’s head and his or her heart, that’s all. I checked, and it’s true for me, so I guess I must be normal, or at least a standard fit between these two essential parts of the human body. The verse above is one of my favourites, and is inscribed on the front of my Bible, so I know it well. Or do I?

This verse deals with the head and the heart, and puts them into the right perspective. Yes, we need to use our head to reason our way through problems, but we also need to use our heart to feel if we are doing the right thing. I have always been a head person, and didn’t have much reason to use my heart, because I depended on someone else to keep me right on that score. Now I find I am solely responsible for using head and heart wisely.

A few years ago, one of my heartfelt prayers became that God would take my heart of stone, and replace it with a heart of flesh. He did, and it happened very quickly, but I had put my head on reserve, and God doesn’t ask for that. The verse asks that we ‘trust’, and I see this as an act of the heart. Trust is something we usually put in an institution or person, and for good reason, because we have no reason NOT to trust them. But the verse then says ‘do not lean...but submit’, and I see this as an act of will or a head judgement. We choose by reason if we should lean or submit, and if you have doubts about this ask any married couple who as an act of will, decide to lean and submit to each other’s wishes. That makes for a good partnership!

This 37cm is a long way when we try to work out our own problems, and sometimes we use only one of them. Then at other times, we will try to take a shortcut and merge the head and the heart. This is not a good idea either, because we need to use our head when our heart gets involved. The writer of Proverbs knew this well, and so it is no accident that this favourite verse of mine had to be revisited. I am learning, yes even now, to exercise my heart, while at the same time, use my head.

Trust

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen... so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. Heb 11:1-3 NKJV

So, who do YOU trust? How do you know that you can trust someone, or indeed be trusted yourself? Trust is something you can’t measure or weigh, and it is mostly in the head and heart. Exercising trust is something we do all the time, for example, every time you get into your car, you expect it to get you there. In the mornings when the alarm goes off, we trust for the gift of another new day. We make friends and we trust them, and sometimes we have a special friend that we trust implicitly. Words are not needed. We just know.

Trust is fragile too. It can be broken into many fragments, just ask any spouse who was told without warning, that the marriage was over. Ask the child who loses trust in a parent who turns out to be the worst example possible. Ask the special friend why your trust was betrayed. So, my message is clear and simple. Take care of those you trust, but more important that, you must take good care of the trust others, or that special person, place in you. It is important, and cannot be replaced. A broken trust will never be quite the same again.

Faith can be the substance of hope, and all the evidence you need may not be seen with your eyes. I said at the beginning that trust is in your head and heart. let me be more clear. I would say 10% head and 90% heart, so take care when you allow someone to trust you, because you are allowing that person to see and feel 90% of your heart. And don’t be put off by the failures we all know happen. Allow yourself to trust and believe in others, and in so doing others will see the heart of God in us, 100% guaranteed!

Nick Clegg, Used Car Salesman?

  The deal has been done, thanks mostly to this Lib Dem leader, Nick Clegg, however  the question on most people's lips is, "Would YOU buy a used car from this man?" He has done a fair (or very unfair) bit of wheeling and dealing to get to this place. I have never seen so much double talk and double dealing from one politician, to make sure he became 'top dog' and it has been 'dog eat dog' as he aimed for the top!


Having played each bigger political party against the another, using the old tools of half truths, and keeping the other party in the dark, he has emerged as a politician to watch, but for all the wrong reasons. Who can trust him now? Not his enemies, but certainly those he will share the cabinet table with. The old proverb is suitable, "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer still". People who will work with Nick Clegg, can be excused if they are seen to be continually looking over their shoulder.... or to put it another way, minding their backs! 


Our nation is at a crossroads, and we need strong leadership, not a coalition which includes a 'wide boy' who has been shown to have no morals or scruples. I think we should be afraid, very afraid! The good book says, "A double minded man is unstable in ALL his ways". If this is accurate, there will be other flaws in his character, and we should be on the lookout for them in the coming days! Trust is hard to achieve, but easy to lose!