GOSPEL :: FAMILY :: MISSION
Are you a person who loves money or do you love God with your money? It might be easy to write this off but please ask yourself these questions: How do I know if I’m a person who loves money? What is my mental picture of someone who loves money? What behaviors do I think would characterize a person’s life that loves money?
I am deathly afraid of snakes. Go ahead and laugh. You’re deathly afraid of something too. My fear of snakes is probably funny for any observer though because that fear causes me to react in some really funny ways.
THE VOICE — “Live Semis” Episode 917A — Pictured: (l-r) Adam Levine, Jordan Smith — (Photo by: Tyler Golden/NBC)
How do you follow an amazing mic drop? Like, what do you do when someone drops a truth bomb in a clear and compelling way that both challenges and encourages you? Or what do you do when someone tells you the greatest news you’ve ever heard?
I want to continue growing in maturity as a leader. I want to live and lead from a place of true joy rather than chasing the fleeting illusion of momentary happiness. I want to operate from an authentic place of living in the presence of my Heavenly Father. I want to love the Lord with my entire being. I want to love the present version of the people I lead more than the future vision I have for them.
My mode of operating affects the direction I lead others in. When I’m stuck in survival mode I lead others into bunkers where we exist only to defend ourselves from everything that’s being thrown at us. When I’m stuck in a “charge the hill at all costs” mode I lead others into a dream state where we exist only in the future possibility of what could be on the other side of this mountain.
I learned at a young age to judge the emotional temperature of a person by the look on their face. If my mom’s face looked sad I braced myself for an emotional outburst. If my mom’s boyfriend looked angry I looked for an escape route. If my mom was smiling as she sang along with Stevie Ray Vaughn then I knew it was safe.
There isn’t much that’s guaranteed in this life. We’re not guaranteed health, wealth or prosperity this side of Heaven. In the blink of an eye our health can fail. In a split second, someone we dearly love can become deathly ill. There’s no guarantee that the paycheck we’re working for today will be there tomorrow. We’re not guaranteed to succeed in marriage, vocation or education.
My thoughts were provoked this morning. After a discussion with a friend over breakfast, my thoughts were captivated by this question: “What barriers exist between me and my Heavenly Father that are actually bridges of invitation to relationship with him?”
Do you ever look at yourself in the mirror and think: “I feel worthless”? I struggle with my own sense of worthlessness too. It’s easy for me to feel valuable when I’ve done something right or when someone treats me nice. But when I fail at something or when someone treats me unfairly it’s easy for me to fall into self-pity or despair thinking that I must be worthless. In other words, I struggle with letting my behavior or someone else’ behavior dictate what I believe about my sense of worth.
There are some days when I feel completely overwhelmed. Like the world is caving in on me. Like all the paths forward are filled with rough terrain. Like all of my hope is gone. Like all of my dreams have been crushed. Like there’s a heavy burden on my back that I cannot escape.
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