Dying 2 Live...!

Dying 2 Live...!

Monday, September 10, 2012

Your Barometer May be Too High, even for God!

If you are an aspiring "anything" the notion is often "the sky's the limit." So like many people on the planet, you take it and run. Parents push their children to go to college, looking for pursuits in either lawyer, doctor or engineer-related fields. Anything less of degrees in these areas are known as unacceptable and blatant failure. Once children struggle in these fields, maybe due to the fact, they're not very good at science and mathematical formulas, they become frustrated with school and dropout, knowing they can't live up to their parents' expectations. However, regardless of these occurrences, parents still try to shove their kids into these fields or ones similar. Even the country as a whole promote that shoving behavior with implementing standardized test-based curriculum or rigorous standards for simple graduation.

Many children say, "forget all this, I'm going directly into the workforce!" And that's exactly what numerous amounts of them are doing while in their late teens and twenties. Here they're able to grasp some major experience as well as decent cash flow. Over time, they move up to another position or better job, making even more money. Also added into the equation may be a spouse, some kids, a home, a pet, etc. Life seems good for the moment until inflation rises, gas prices sky-rocket and new bills pile up. And you and your parents are again reiterating thoughts of heading back to college for the very thing your decided to leave it for---the lofty pursuits of a high paying position in a field that had curriculum and terminology way over your head. So now what? I guess go through the cycle all over again...

Uh oh, hear comes another aspiring notion, as if the sky's the limit wasn't aspiring enough. Now society wants you to "reach for the stars." So let me get this right! After I've nearly made it to the sky, now I must strain even higher to get to the stars. I guess next, after I'm at the stars; I'll be "jumping to the moon" or "flying with the angels." Now no one is saying, "settle for mediocrity." But in our attempts to excel, sometimes we go overboard and just way too far.

Even as Christians, we allow society to push us and our families into patterns and molds God never created for many of us to fit in. Many of these things, He never even intended. He knows our destiny and plans for us much better than society does. Who said you have to be a doctor, lawyer or even go to college? Who said you have to reach some pinnacle that is so super lofty, that you won't be happy or truly satisfied until you get there? Who said you have to be the next Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan, Peyton Manning, Barack Obama, etc?

How about this: why don't you just be yourself, and be the best you that you can possibly be? Why don't you make the most out of every opportunity you're given and let the chips fall where they may? For some apparent reason, we're always looking to get to that 1%. We look at the individuals on the Forbes list, or the oil barons, top CEOs and most influential evangelicals.

"Ladies and gentlemen, these folks aren't our barometer!"

If I could, I would write that 1,000 times within this post. They're the 1% and what we usually fail to realize; we're doing better than much of the other 99%. Better yet, we could actually be exactly where God wants us to be, and not even realize it. Often times when Jesus relayed a parable, He would use the 1, 2, and 5 scenario. Which is, God (or an individual representing Him) gave 3 people something (skills and talents, money, giftings, etc.) and ONLY required each of them to DOUBLE what He gave based on their ability. However, in modern day, we would change Jesus' parables and want for the people who received the 1 and 2 to get just as much as the one who received the 5. Thus, everyone would end up having 10 of whatever they had, instead of double. But God didn't say change things to modern day times. He made it clear that the kingdom of God is based on ability, not measuring up to the so called "elite." But because of peer-pressure, pleasure and pride we want to do things society's way instead God's. My prayer is that we stop trying to measure to society, and only do what God called us to do, nothing more, nothing less.

"For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you." (Romans 12:3 NIV)