Gen 2:7 INSPIRATION

“… then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7

MEN'S BREAKFAST
March 2007

What a beautiful beginning. The Lord, the One who had just used might beyond our imagination to create this planet and everything in it, stoops low, scoops up the red earth and begins to sculpt. And when He had formed Man, He went one step further and brought His masterpiece to sentience by breathing into his nostrils. Not mouth-to-mouth as an adult rescuing an adult – but into the nose, as one would do giving life back to a tiny child.

Consider the sense of smell for a second. James has alluded to the sense of smell a couple of times – encouraging us to get a fistful of loam and SNIFF, and to go forth and reek.
Smell is the unsung gift. It is the sense most keyed to our memory. A baby instinctively bonds – and knows –its mother and father by smell. And with this strange and beautiful act, the first thing that Man ever smelled was the breath of the Living God.

INSPIRATION is an old word, and it means, simply, to inhale – to breathe in. Adam, the first Man, was, in the most literal and intimate sense, inspired by the Living God. And, as the sons of Man, so should we.

I want us to think very carefully about who we allow to be our inspiration. As men in a world of men we are encouraged to be inspired by many people. There’s an enormous industry in providing inspiration to others, ranging from framed photographs with quotations about being winners to self-help literature to lengthy (and expensive) seminars. People who are seen as winners in the world are held up before us as people who should inspire us and motivate us. The Steve Waughs, the Jack Welches, the Lance Armstrongs, the Anthony Robinses…

I wonder if there’s a very subtle danger to this. In allowing others to be our inspiration, are we allowing others to take the place of the One who gives us the oxygen for our day? Are we allowing men to usurp a place that God alone should have?

Look very carefully. By all means, read the books – take all the ideas that will work for us in business, learn from the examples given, use the models that are suggested… but be very careful who we allow to inspire us.


Look very closely at the captains of industry, politics, entertainment – and ask yourself if they are really fit to be giving us the mental air that we need. Do they fit this model?



“Lovers of themselves… boasters, proud… unloving, unforgiving… headstrong… haughty, lovers of pleasures…having a form of godliness but denying its power” (excerpts from 2 Tim 3:2-5). These were traits that Paul spoke of, before adding this injunction – “From such people turn away!”


And yet clearly these are traits that are celebrated as traits of winners. The last of Paul’s list of traits is the one that should ring the most alarm bells as we look at the inspiration revolution. Much is now spoken in spiritual terms – the power of your dreams, unleash your spirit… and the most hollow message of all; believe in yourself.



As men of God we know better. We know to “trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.”

Of course, the other thing about breathing is that once we breath in, we must breathe out. And what we breathe in – what we allow to inspire us – we will also breathe out. Again, look at Paul. Note Acts 9:1; a man who drew the oxygen of passionate, zealous Judaism was “breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord ” What do the men who surround us in the office, the golf-course, the classroom – what do they think of what we exhale? Does our speech carry the freshness of the Breath of Life? To be inspired by nothing but God will be a good guard against lying, half-truths and the art of office politics.

How do we survive office politics? We cannot ignore it, and we cannot wish it away. It will remain as atmosphere around us, whether we’re actually in an office or not – and ignoring it is not an option. It is gossip, and worse than the gossip that we all-too-frequently think of as a female issue. It is gossip with the added surge of personal gain. If we allow ourselves to be inspired by the words and actions of men, we’ll be pretty slick at this – but where does that leave us as Christ’s ambassadors? How do we help our brothers to the foot of the Cross whilst stepping on their fingers?

But if we take our inspiration from the Living God – and, knowing our own weaknesses, pray for the wisdom and strength that we haven’t got – we won’t have a choice. We’ll find ways of discouraging gossip and putting little credence in personal slander. We’ll find ways of defending those who aren’t there to defend themselves. We’ll be able to counter evil with good. We will be able to replace foul air with clean oxygen. Doubtless we will also be seen as weak, because the world of men doesn’t recognize our strength. We will be mocked, shunned by the main movers of the office power-play. And often we won’t be recognized for our moral courage, integrity and honesty until someone gives us a retirement speech.

But… we might just leave a trail of oxygen. And if the Lord moves others around us to crave the oxygen instead of the pollution…

“These are the things that you shall do: Speak the truth to one another, render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace, do not devise evil in your hearts against one another, and love no false oath, for all these things I hate, says the Lord.” Zechariah 8:16-7

Go to today inspired, and inspired by the One who gave us life, and then gave our lives back to us.