When I saw this quote posted on
Facebook, I initially gave it just a cursory glance and moved on (there were
recipes with chocolate and things
about Fall fashion in my newsfeed and those things were important) But something
made me go back and read it again, and that same something made me start to
actually consider the words.
If society has taught us
anything, it’s that doing well is of
the utmost importance. Go to school, get
a scholarship, go to college, get a degree, start a career, climb the ladder,
buy a nice car to park in the garage at your nice house that has plenty of room
to fill with lots of nice stuff. He who
dies with the most toys, right? The idea
of “toys” applies to lots of stuff;
not just actual toys. The most money,
the most popularity, the biggest stock portfolio, the most trips around the
globe, the best dinners at the finest restaurants.
At the end of the day, this stuff
is exactly that: stuff. And you can’t take that stuff with you.
Listen to George, folks.
A former pastor gave a sermon
once in things with “kingdom significance.”
The sermon was essentially about the stuff in our lives, and its
importance (or lack thereof). She asked
us to go home, and place a Post-It note on everything in our house that had kingdom significance. Think about each room, and the stuff in it,
and whether or not at the end of the day that stuff is important. If you’re
like me, you wouldn’t have many (if any) Post-It notes attached to your stuff.
That isn’t to say we shouldn’t do
well; we absolutely should, and God has given each and every one of you gifts,
talents and abilities that will help us to do well in life…but they will also
help us to do good.
I like to think that in our home,
we do keep it pretty simple. I have
learned that stuff isn’t all that important (and trust me, this was a lesson
that took a while…you can ask my husband about the $95 blue jeans – OY!) As I simplified, life became easier. There was less stuff in the way. Less stuff, more room for good.
More room for God.
Opportunities to do good present
themselves each and every day. No, it
won’t always be rescuing a baby from a burning building, or landing a plane on
the Hudson River , but the moments are there if
you’re paying attention.
My husband is constantly on the
look out for ways to help others. One of
his favorite things to do is pay the toll for the cars behind him in line at
the bridge. It’s just $2, but it’s also
an act of kindness that maybe the person behind him needed right at that very
instant. One of the very small ways I do
good is letting folks cut me in line at Publix. Sometimes I have to insist to get them to
accept the offer, but I know deep down there’s no way they wanted to wait
behind me with my 72lbs of produce, 20 cups of yogurt and crate of pet food,
when they just have a simple basket of items.
I like to imagine that one act of
goodness will encourage a “pay it forward” that just keeps going. Showing kindness, goodness and love to
someone else has a lasting effect, and could be planting the seed for future
great acts. Faith in action.
About six years ago, Evan and I went
out to lunch at a little pizza joint near my office. We enjoyed our slices, and just sat there,
talking to each other. When it came time
to get the check, our waitress informed us someone had already paid our
bill. I was in such shock that someone would
be that generous (lunch wasn’t expensive, but the act itself was generous) and
that was a reminder to me that again, there are lots of little ways to do good
if I just open my eyes.
There’s and old song called, “They
Will Know We Are Christians By Our Love.”
Just that simple phrase serves as my reminder of how important doing
good really is. I want someone to ask us
why we did ____________, and I want to be able to respond with, “Because
we love you, the same way Jesus does.”
Like I said, it’s not a bad thing
to do well in life. But for me, the ultimate measure of how well I’m doing is actually how good I’m doing.
Planting seeds,
Kristin
We are one in the Spirit,
We are one in the Lord,
We will work with each other
We will work side by side
And they will know we are Christians by our love.
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