Most of you know that when God teaches, convicts, challenges or stretches me, I often feel led to share those experiences with you, in hopes that maybe someone else needs to hear and/or learn in a similar fashion. You are sooo lucky! This one is specifically for my friends in the education fields and those starting new ministry seasons. 

This past spring and summer have been a difficult season for me, spiritually dry. I’m not gonna go into a lot of detail here – check out my blog, Sin Sucks! if you are interested in some of the back story. The point I want to make today is these experiences have had me thinking a lot about why I do what I do. Questions like the ones below have been floating around in my head –

• Are you doing this (fill in the blank-ministry, project, etc..) because you feel led by God or are you simply saying yes in hopes of being noticed by others?
• Are you giving your time, money, etc out of true generosity or in hopes of getting something in return? Somehow hoping to manipulate God in blessing you.
• Are you over achieving, over scheduling, over committing because you think it’s necessary to earn favor with God or people? Even though you may know it’s not the way to salvation are you still listening to the lie that says you can work your way into God’s Kingdom, perhaps without even realizing it?
• Can you say that you share the love of God with everyone you meet? Is it a priority, or do you allow yourself to get bogged down with good stuff that is not actually furthering God’s kingdom?

These are tough questions. Questions that can be extremely convicting when we honestly take the time to evaluate our heart, allowing the Holy Spirit to be our guide. Personally, I can say that these questions have slowed me down and prompted me to pray, seeking God’s direction before I act. Yes, I know I should have already been doing that, but in honesty, it hasn’t been the norm. They’ve actually led me to say no to a few asks, which has been hard, but freeing at the same time. 

Jesus tells us in Matthew 5 that we are the “salt” of the earth and “light” of the world and in 1 Corinthians 10 Paul says that “whatever we do it should be to the glory of God”. So what if we switched our thinking and had only two goals this school year? What if in May 2024 each of us could honestly say that the people (students, parents, grand parents, nannies, spouses, kids) in our lives have been told and/or shown-

• They are a child of God who is deeply and authentically loved by Him. 
• They are loved and supported by you, your church, your ministry.

What if these two objectives were your driving force? Would it change-

• Your lesson plans
• Your calendar
• Your classroom management
• Your attitude/outlook
• Your personal goals
• The way you interact with & communicate with others (your kids, your co-workers, your boss, your spouse, etc.)

How do we go about doing this? It’s really pretty easy, Jesus gives us the answer in Matthew 22:37-39 “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind” and “Love your neighbor as yourself” my paraphrase “Love God, love people”. 

Kind of makes you wonder, huh – what if?

Personally, my goal (with God’s help) is to change my thinking and I invite those of you who know and see me to call me on my attitude, behavior and words if and probably when you see me falling back into my old sinful habits and wrong thinking.