Charnock
04-09-2011, 10:43 PM
I hear a lot of people talk about how they want to be remembered, and what type of legacy they want to leave behind. I suppose the desire to leave some sort of "I was here" message is perfectly human, and normal.
However, a few months ago I realized that I had fallen into a never-ending, and always unsatisfying, performance trap of trying to please everyone around me by living up to their unrealistic expectations.
~ I believed if I could somehow succeed in building an edifice for the Lord, it would be the capstone of decades of ministerial service. And yet after ten years of building a congregation, and purchasing a tiny, insignificant house of worship that was visually unappealing, I could no longer bear up under the strain of the mission. I lacked the tools, resources and manpower to finish the job. I walked away - handing the baton to another man. Many people told me I wasn't a failure, that I hadn't failed....but the fact that they found it necessary to encourage me in that way confirmed that in some ways I had failed.
~ I believed if I planted seeds of mercy into the lives of other individuals, and mentored young men without reservation, I would eventually be treated with respect. So, to that end I gave away hundreds of books, spent thousands of hours encouraging peers and followers, and doled out ungodly sums in the hope of garnering allegiance. Yet, when my strength failed, no hands were present to help and heal. Whispers of "what's wrong with him" filtered through my social group. No one called. No one encouraged.
Please understand that this is not a cry for sympathy, or a therapy session. I just want to say that in the months since "I failed" God has restored me. He's renewed me. He's encouraged me. He's removed some wrong ideas, and blessed me with new ones.
I now realize that I was more in love with a religious model that I was with Him.
I now realize that great accomplishments, and amazing successes, are soon yesterday's news.
I wish someone would have told me what I'm now telling you.
In the end, the only thing that will matter is you and Jesus.
Do what you do to please Him or don't do it at all.
The recognition of this world is fickle and fleeting.
The minute the crowd following you figures out you have little left to offer they will fade away.
Most people couldn't tell you who the founding pastor of their church was. Very few people remember those who've gone before.
100 years from now, very few people will remember we breathed this earth's oxygen. But what we do, and the reasons behind what we do, have eternal consequences.
Continue to work for the Lord with all of your might. Work while there is still day, and you are still able. But remember, your family will write your obituary. They will determine your legacy.
I think it would do us well to search for His recognition, instead of the crowd's.
However, a few months ago I realized that I had fallen into a never-ending, and always unsatisfying, performance trap of trying to please everyone around me by living up to their unrealistic expectations.
~ I believed if I could somehow succeed in building an edifice for the Lord, it would be the capstone of decades of ministerial service. And yet after ten years of building a congregation, and purchasing a tiny, insignificant house of worship that was visually unappealing, I could no longer bear up under the strain of the mission. I lacked the tools, resources and manpower to finish the job. I walked away - handing the baton to another man. Many people told me I wasn't a failure, that I hadn't failed....but the fact that they found it necessary to encourage me in that way confirmed that in some ways I had failed.
~ I believed if I planted seeds of mercy into the lives of other individuals, and mentored young men without reservation, I would eventually be treated with respect. So, to that end I gave away hundreds of books, spent thousands of hours encouraging peers and followers, and doled out ungodly sums in the hope of garnering allegiance. Yet, when my strength failed, no hands were present to help and heal. Whispers of "what's wrong with him" filtered through my social group. No one called. No one encouraged.
Please understand that this is not a cry for sympathy, or a therapy session. I just want to say that in the months since "I failed" God has restored me. He's renewed me. He's encouraged me. He's removed some wrong ideas, and blessed me with new ones.
I now realize that I was more in love with a religious model that I was with Him.
I now realize that great accomplishments, and amazing successes, are soon yesterday's news.
I wish someone would have told me what I'm now telling you.
In the end, the only thing that will matter is you and Jesus.
Do what you do to please Him or don't do it at all.
The recognition of this world is fickle and fleeting.
The minute the crowd following you figures out you have little left to offer they will fade away.
Most people couldn't tell you who the founding pastor of their church was. Very few people remember those who've gone before.
100 years from now, very few people will remember we breathed this earth's oxygen. But what we do, and the reasons behind what we do, have eternal consequences.
Continue to work for the Lord with all of your might. Work while there is still day, and you are still able. But remember, your family will write your obituary. They will determine your legacy.
I think it would do us well to search for His recognition, instead of the crowd's.