Stop Trying to Be the Best
We all want to be on the winning team, right? It feels good! We feel strong and powerful. Victorious! Nobody strives to win the silver medal. I believe this can carry over into our faith. We want to be the people who are right—who do things the right way, for the right purposes, to feel like we have special insight into what God wants from us.
Here comes my bold statement of the day: I believe we have a ton of people showing a incomplete understanding of God’s love…and it’s only building up walls and dividing us from our brothers and sisters. This isn’t anything new, either. 2000 years ago, the Pharisees and religious leaders were constantly trying to divide people according to good and bad, right and wrong. Jesus came along and said that we are all bad…and there’s nothing you can do about it! But (I imagine him saying) just watch what I’m going to do about it!
We get in a huff when people do things we disagree with. We express sadness or disappointment—at times, vitriol—and then hope they somehow see Jesus in us. We are never going to be able to modify the behavior of the masses in order to make them good enough for heaven. There’s no such thing! That’s a humbling truth I’m not sure many religious people understand. Thank God it’s not up to us!
I find personal freedom in letting go of trying to change people to be like I think they should be, and continually falling on love as my action of choice toward them. However imperfect I am at that now, I hope to live the rest of my life improving.
Love says, “I’m not going anywhere. I don’t want you to be alone, no matter what you’re going through, or whatever decisions you make. I will always be here with you, loving you and praying for you - and needing your own unique perspective on life, because my own vision can get so myopic!! Like God says multiple times in the Bible, I will never leave you nor forsake you.
As I know God’s love more, I can give away that love to others…but only as much as I know it! How can you give away unconditional love if you haven’t experienced it yourself?
It’s no longer my job to keep score—to see who’s good or who’s bad. There’s no winning team in this life. No medal you could ever win on this earth will last. But there is a treasure, better than gold, that will last for all of eternity. Fall onto the unconditional non-score-keeping love, and then be the place where others can clearly see that love for themselves.