Closing Thoughts From PANAC 35: "We're not Just Good on Paper"

Post date: Mar 02, 2018 3:32:42 PM

___________________________________________________________________________

We’re Not Just Good on Paper

Ephesians 4:1-12

By Brother Damon Thornhill, #7 Frozen Child, Spring 2001 The Ice Cold Saga

How would you like to have…LeBron James, Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan, Carmelo Anthony, and Dwayne Wade… all on the same team...win every game right?

· Well, they were all on that 2004 USA Olympic basketball team that lost 3 games and only won the Bronze metal.

So there's a lot of stuff that looks good on paper.

Why do you think it's so hard for HR departments to find good people?

It’s because good resumes don’t always equal good employees.

A resume is basically used to make you look good on paper.

And everybody knows a just good on paper guy...

· Attributes look great in print but not in practice.

· Qualifications look amazing in theory but not in reality.

We pretty much all have worked with a just good on paper guy.

But as black men, as Alpha men, as Pi Alpha men, as Godly men...

· We must not only avoid seeing that guy at work...

· But more importantly…we must avoid seeing that guy when we look in the mirror.

As distinguished gentleman and educated brothers…

Many of us have gone on to do some great things in our post-Clemson lives

· We’re world travelers, entrepreneurs, educators, engineers, architects, physicians, American Ninja Warriors, military officers, preachers, managers, executives…and some of us are several of those at once.

We graduate brothers are out there doing some awesome things…

And the undergraduate brothers are well on their way to even greater works than us.

But, if we looked at all of our collective resumes in the great lineage of our great chapter...

· We would be completely blown away…

· But just as we've done for the last 35 years...and for the next 35...

· We must continue to not just look good on paper…

And we do that through unity that has a purpose as seen in the text…

The Book of Ephesians is an epistle…a letter…a prison letter in fact…

That the Apostle Paul wrote in a Roman jail cell to the Gentile or non- Jewish believers living in Ephesus…

· And he begins the passage in chapter 4…with an emphasis on unity and how it is generated…

· And he shows that unity is created in 2 primary ways...

And the first is through EFFORT from brother to brother...

Paul says in verse 3 in our English text to, “Make every effort to keep the unity of Spirit

But in the original Greek he uses the word spoudazo (spoo-dad-zo) which means to be eagerly and fully diligent about it…

It means to fully apply yourself towards keeping unity and be happy about doing it.

Basically gladly give maintaining unity everything you’ve got.

· As Paul shows in verse 2…if it takes being humble…be completely humble…if it takes being gentle…be gentle…if it takes being patient…be patient…bearing with one another in love…

Whatever it takes…make every effort to keep unity in tact…it’s that important

But unity won’t just fall in our lap…it takes effort.

After graduation…you will find that it will take great effort just to stay in contact with your line brothers…

· Much less actually ever see them again…and if you don't make the effort…it just won't happen.

· Real unity takes real effort from brother to brother.

Secondly…Paul shows…true unity is created through unity with God.

Not just brother to brother but brothers with God...

Now I know the move to the world today is to just cut God out of everything

· But when you do that…true unity is not what you'll get…

· What you'll end up with is tolerance...which ain’t the same thing…

· Tolerance is a unity imposter.

Tolerance says, “I see your flaws but I’m going to grit my teeth and put up with it for as long as I can.”…which usually isn’t very long.

But unity says, “Yeah I see your flaws but I'm not going to hold them against you because I love you.”

As 1 Peter 4:8 says, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sin.”

· Unity is a product of love …

And 1 John 4:8 says, “Whoever does not love, does not know God, because God is love.”

· So without God there is no love...and without love there is no unity.

But I don't want to just leave it at just talking about unity…because that's not what Paul does either in the text.

Down in verse 12…he shows us that unity has a point... a purpose.

The goal of unity is not to just play nice in the sandbox...

And sit around holding hands all day...and singing cum by ya…

Paul says in the original Greek that the goal of unity is ergon diakonias…

· Ergon meaning work, action, deeds.

· And diakonias…which is where we get our English word deacon…literally means service.

So the goal of unity is works of service.

· The goal of unity is not just looking good on paper…

· But unity is necessary because we’ve got work to do...

But a team that doesn't get along in the locker room…will eventually not get along on the field...

Because unity is the foundation that getting stuff done is built on.

• Jesus says in Matthew 12 that, “A house divided against itself cannot stand”

· Why? Because a house divided against itself can't get anything done

Why do you think that the opposite of progress…is congress?

They can't get anything done because they are more divided now than ever before...and our country keeps paying the price for their discord…

It's like Jay Z said...Nobody wins when the family feuds.

So simply said…simply put...real unity that leads to real acts of service is how we keep from just looking good on paper.

So let us continue to be real brothers of substance that …“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

· I believe they call that the black and old golden rule…

Let us continue to be real brothers that lead by example...that believe in walking what we’re talking.

· Real brothers that do what we say we’re going do...where unlike the world today...our word...our commitment…still actually means something.

· Real brothers that let our yea be yea and our nay be nay…

Real Brothers that not only pray for our communities but do in our communities...with the full understanding that faith without works is dead

Real brothers that don't just put up with each other but love each other...

· Declaring…He ain't heavy. He's my brother.

Real brothers that may not be all we want to be just yet...but this one thing we do forgetting that which is behind and reaching for what is ahead...We press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling

Real brothers that don't arrogantly boast in our accomplishments but are humbled in success knowing where our help comes from...

· Knowing that every good and perfect gift comes down from God

· Knowing that we didn't get here on our own…but if it had not been for the Lord on our side...

Real brothers of integrity that are the same in public...as we are in private

I never wanted to be the kinda preacher where the church is saying Amen…

· But if you look over at my wife…she rolling her eyes…

· Cause I'm holy in God's house…but hell in our house...

I never wanted to just be good on paper.

But there's an old song my mama used to sing...whatever you do for the Master let it be real, let it be real

So let us be real…real men, honest husbands, faithful fathers, sincere sons…but all the while still nothing but them ice cold brothers…

Let us continue to not just look great but actually be great through…

· Manly deeds, scholarship, real deal love for all mankind.

As proud men of Alpha…as proud men of Pi Alpha…we’re not just good on paper...

· But everywhere we place the soles of our feet...

· Everything we set our hands to…

· Everything we set our minds to

· Will be something because we are somebodies...

We’re blessed in the city…we're blessed in the field…whether we're going or coming…

We are Pi Alpha and we are blessed!

We ain't never been…ain't never gonna be…just good on paper!