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Disposable

The idea of being disposable is disheartening. Reality is, you and I are disposable. That’s quite the opposite of what I “preach” but hear me out for a couple minutes here. Disposable can be defined as, being designed for or capable of being thrown away after being used or used up — capable of being replaced. On this earth our time is very limited. We have a limited time to be the best version of ourselves we can possibly be. We don’t get do overs. We cannot identify our shelf-life, but what we do know is that while we do have life, we should live. Too often though, many of us are not living. We have either remained on the “life shelf” or we have allowed who we are to be consumed by our talents that we truly have not seen the big picture. So what version of yourself do you want history to remember? Do you want history to remember someone that didn’t do anything, someone that lived ingenuously consumed by their talent or someone who lived with purpose?

The day I realized I was disposable is when I switched jobs and I was no longer being asked questions about how to do things. I was no longer “important.” I was replaced and disposed of. This wasn’t done negatively, rather naturally those who took over my position were trained and understood the job and got it done. I realized here that I had placed an emphasis on my knowledge and talent in my job that I lost sight of the big picture.

Reflect for a minute. If you were to die today, what would happen in your workplace? Now you may not work in corporate. That’s understandable. Wherever you currently hold a position, what would happen? If you don’t know let me give you a little insight. You will be missed. You will be missed for the first couple days. You will be missed for a couple months. But guess what? While you are missed, you will be replaced with someone that can do your job just as capable as you or even greater. While you are missed and loved, someone is able to fill your position and get the job done. You and I are disposable

Too often, we place our identity in our talents, career and titles we’ve been assigned that we lose sight of the big picture. We take for granted the borrowed time we have thinking tomorrow we will change, tomorrow we will make an impact, tomorrow we will be. But tomorrow never comes when we wait to become better. Tomorrow really isn’t promised to any of us. While talents, a phenomenal career and glowing titles are great on our resume, what really matters is far more simple. The legacy we leave behind is far greater than these things.

Now there’s some of us who have simply remained on the shelf of earth and have done nothing. You live, but your day to day living is simply as a means to make ends meet. You stay in your cubicle, you do what you need to do, an do so lacking purpose and goal. Oddly enough, you and I who live like this are equally disposable. Unfortunately, the memory we leave behind will be one that hangs simply on you existing physically and nothing more. Pretty morbid isn’t it. Our existence here on should not be wasted. Your time, should not be wasted. Too often we allow our lives to be consumed by our talents and dreams that we neglect to live. Too often we are consumed by fear of failure and taking the plunge that we neglect to live. And in doing so, our life here on earth lacked true meaning and we are replaced the moment we take our last breath.

Where am I going with this? It’s simple. Being disposable is uncontrollable. That is simply the reality of the life cycle of man. What you do while you have breath in your lungs is on the other hand ultimately controlled by you. You can either decide to live self-centered, without purpose, or with purpose.

Defining “living with purpose” is awfully difficult. Simply put however, living with purpose is doing what matters that is in alignment with ones values and beliefs. If you’ve followed only on my blogs, you’ve probably caught on that I am Christ-follower. I am never shy to share my faith in hopes that through sharing someone might gain a new perspective and hope to live with purpose. Doing what matters is doing what is right. Doing what is right should align with our values and beliefs and our values and beliefs should challenge and motivate us outside of ourselves. In Christianity, I find that true purpose is obtained. I am challenged to the hard things but the right things. I am challenged with purpose outside of titles, status and talents. I am challenged with purpose that places myself second and placing others first. I am challenged to leave a legacy of hope.

Our departure from earth, will break hearts, stir grief and bring sorrow. Our departure from earth will hurt our loved ones and those we work with, but our departure from earth will be replaced by someone else who can get the job done. So my charge to you is, leave a legacy that targets peoples hearts. In living we purpose we shift our perception of life from self to others. We shift our awareness from what I can do for “me” to how can I help those around me? We should use our talents, gifts and opportunity not to advance self, rather to create opportunity for those in need, encourage those who have lost hope and to expand the hearts of those around me. We should do the hard things, takes risks, live life fully leaving a legacy of hope. Our time on earth is limited. We are disposable. We get to choose what we do. Either a lot of nothingness or a life worth living leaving a legacy of hope.

Are you living with purpose, living for self, or simply not living? How can you leave a legacy of hope?

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Perhaps

Perhaps there are atheists because there are Christians. Perhaps people walk away from their belief in Jesus because there are Christians. Perhaps people walk away from the church because of Christians.

Have you ever been hurt by the church or by Christians? Probably so. I have. We who claim we are Christians are poor representation of who Jesus has called us to be. Christians are essentially Christ Followers, yet we selectively choose what we follow of Christ. We say we represent Jesus, rather we represent everything of the world but Jesus. Rather than do as we were called to do, we hurt and wound those around us. The Great Commission has shifted to selective commission.

The two greatest commandments is to love God and love people. We say we love God but our actions lack that reality as we fail to love people. We shun others because they are different than us. We talk negatively about our fellow Christ-followers and those who are outside of the “faith.” We look at people and treat them as scums of the earth.


The issue is, we look at others’ shortcomings and unknowingly (or maybe knowingly), view their shortcomings as planks that are too heavy for Jesus to forgive. We look at others negating to see that we too have logs we are carrying around. Far from perfect are we. Perhaps if we took a hard look at ourselves we would see that we are imperfect human beings. We need grace, compassion and love. Same as those who we view as “different.”


Let’s see what the Bible says. Leviticus 19:34 reads,

You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.


The self-righteous says, “Let’s create cliques; you don’t belong; you’re too different; if you don’t believe what I believe you’re not apart; your sin is too big; let’s hold a grudge and malice.” Man have we lost it. Jesus didn’t do that. Jesus is inclusive and cradles those who didn’t think like he did or lived as He did. He bridged the gap and created the opportunity for connectivity and communication.

In the New Testament we see Jesus loved big and His love was and is relentless. There is always a seat at Jesus’ table. He ate with the tax collectors and sinners. They followed and they eventually turned to faith. They eventually became Christ-followers. What did it require, an openness to see people through the eyes of Christ? Welcoming without standards and requirements. That is not to say you agree with sin, but you love others despite their sin. You eat with them and talk in love, grace, and compassion. 

Throughout my 26 years, I have seen many hurt by the church. People who were ridiculed for how they dressed, because of their economic status, having too strong personalities or too shy personalities. I’ve seen people shunned because of pregnancy bearing and choosing to terminate a child. I’ve seen people judged because they didn’t know the Bible enough and for knowing too much. I’ve also seen major sins covered up in the church with no acknowledgment. I’ve seen leaders and pastors take the pulpit preaching redemption and salvation knowing the gravity of sin committed and actively living in it.

I’ve seen quite a bit. Maybe one of those resonated with you. Perhaps you’ve been hurt by the church and have found it difficult to forgive people who say they love God but only do so by word and show no fruit of that. Perhaps you’ve held on to hurt from being hurt by the church or by a Christian. Can I share something with you? Even Jesus was hurt by his own people. His own people took Him to the cross. His own people mocked and ridiculed Him. Jesus endured all that for you and me. And we should live in His example. While the hurt is understandable and maybe even justifiable, what isn’t is giving up on Jesus and giving up on the Church.

The devil will do whatever it takes to get you and me from being in communion with the body of Christ. He will stir contention and strife within the body of Christ to keep as many out as possible. For those of you who are hurt, it’s time to humble ourselves and seek Christs strength to forgive and become an example of humility and hope to others who have been hurt. For those who have done the hurting, it’s time to humble yourself and admit your wrong and seek reconciliation. Both sides require humility in order to heal. Humility allows Jesus to invade and heal hearts that are broken and calloused.

The house of God is a place of refuge. We’ve lost it though. The house of God has become a place of show and tell, cliques, flashing our economic status and knowledge. Sounds a lot like the rest of the world, doesn’t it? In Romans 12:2, the apostle Paul writes that we should not conform to this world, rather we should be transformed by renewing our minds in God’s word. Simply put, Christianity is not like looking and acting like everyone else. It is living out the gospel message of loving the difficult, forgiving the difficult and remembering we are just as difficult. We are not to look like the world. We are a place of refuge for those in need, in open arms loving without condition.


Perhaps, the church would be a place of refuge if we did what Jesus did – loved people.