What is your impact?

You are bigger than your job, that bank account, or the followers you have amassed on social media. The people you impact are much more powerful than the things you accomplish in this lifetime. View others as more important than yourselves and you might just see just how big your impact can be. There is nothing wrong with having a good career, or a solid bank account. The issue comes when we make these the goal and not just one of the 'means' by which we allow God to accomplish great things in and through our lives!

Even the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom. Even the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. Brothers and sisters, God chose you to be his. Think about that! Not many of you were wise in the way the world judges wisdom. Not many of you had great influence, and not many of you came from important families. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. He chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. (I Corinthians 1:25-27)

God chooses differently than we do, doesn't he? We want a good chance of winning the game, so we choose those skilled in running the ball, executing the plays, and challenging the opponent. We want to grow our investments, so we choose to align our capital in places where it will have the greatest growth opportunity, not always knowing what is behind the companies we are backing by those investments. God chooses the weak - not the strong. Why? Maybe it is because the 'strong' are relying on the wrong thing in life to make it through tough stuff. That makes sense, but why does God choose the foolish to confound the wise?

That doesn't make sense, does it? If we take the literal meaning of foolish, then we wonder why God would take those who show a lack of good sense, judgment, and discretion and do anything good at all through their lives! What is being said here is that God takes what others view as 'insignificant' and uses it to bring glory to his name. We are each 'insignificant' in one way or another and God choose to use us exactly where we are and as we are for his glory. This is what God does - he uses the weak to defeat the strong and the insignificant to tear down the proud.

The impact we have on people begins with the impact God has in our lives. The more we take his grace in, the more we will find our impact in this world. Our impact isn't in what we accomplish, but in what God accomplishes first IN us and then THROUGH us. Just sayin!

Collision ahead?

Jackie Robinson once said, "A life is not important except in the impact it has on others."  There is a double-meaning to impact, my friends.  The first is that place, or moment in time when two collide, striking one against another.  In the case of "collision" it is quite possible the two will not leave the point of collision without some damage.  It is a forceful coming together, not a gentle embracing of each other.  The other meaning is that of being an influence, or having an effect on the other.  The latter doesn't leave a scar, but a touch not soon forgotten - an influence not soon ignored.  I think God wants us to live our lives in such a way we influence others in a positive way, not as a series of reckless moments which leave a negative impact on those around us!

We who are strong are not just to satisfy our own desires. We are called to carry the weaknesses of those who are not strong.  Each of us must strive to please our neighbors, pursuing their welfare so they will become strong.  The Anointed One Himself is our model for this kind of living, for He did not live to please Himself. And as the Scriptures declared, “When they insult You, they insult me.” You see, everything written in the days of old was recorded to give us instructions for living. We find encouragement through the Scriptures and a call to perseverance that will produce hopeful living. (Romans 15:1-4 VOICE)

We have the potential to make another stronger, or to leave them as damaged goods along the highway of life.  As is the case when we get behind the wheel of our vehicle, taking to the roadways we traverse in our passage between here and there, we have the potential to become distracted and even a little too impulsive as we make our way "around" others who appear to be in our way. There is no room for distracted navigation when it comes to our lives, though. We might just find ourselves making impact rather than being impactful!  My pastor calls it singing the song, "Me, me, me".  We focus on us because "me" becomes more important than "we" or "us".  Whenever "me" is more important than anything or anyone else, our focus is distracted and our "driving" in this life is capable of creating an impact we won't really want to make.

My son drives a pick-up truck and that suits his size and build quite well. He came over a few weeks back riding a new motorcycle he had purchased for himself.  Although the motorcycle was large enough to support his frame and he had the strength to support it as he rode it, there was something I noticed. He looked vulnerable on that bike!  He had on his helmet, wore appropriate footwear, and was totally focused on navigating that bike safely out into traffic, but there was a sense of being "exposed" I could definitely observe in the way he navigated the roadway on the bike.  Maybe it was him paying closer attention to all the aspects of riding that bike - keeping his balance, learning to lean into the turns, and being constantly watchful of the "other guy" on the road.  

It spoke to me of times in life when we are a little more vulnerable than at others.  As long as he is in the truck, he is confident, assured, and even carefree in his navigation from point A to point B.  On the bike, he was attentive in a way he just isn't behind the wheel of the truck.  He recognized his "exposure" was much greater in a way it isn't when he is in the truck. Not only was he paying attention to his maneuvers, but now he had to pay closer attention to the other person's, the unknown stuff emerging on the roadway, and even the slightest pebble just catching his tire in the right way which could impact his balance. You see, he had to pay more attention to avoiding collision when he was more exposed.  This is also true in life - we often pay closer attention to our actions and those of others when we feel a little too exposed!

Wouldn't it make more sense to be as attentive when we are "less exposed" as when we are totally "exposed"?  Vulnerability isn't a matter of what we hide behind, but in what is headed right toward us in our pathway!  The truck is no match for a semi - the motorcycle is no match for the pothole - the distractions of life are there all around us.  We have to learn not to just pay attention to "us", but to those who might be a little distracted in their own journey, as well. In truth, we are all a little bit "exposed" to the "impact" of another's life, as are they to the impact of ours.  May our impacts always be those which influence, not collide!  Just sayin!

Making an IMPACT?

We all probably want to live impactful lives - lives with meaning and purpose.  In the most literal sense, impact could be thought of as the result of an action - that of making contact with another object.  I think this may be what we hope for in our daily walk - that our lives would make some type of impact - there would be some positive result of the actions we take.  What makes a life one which has an impact on others?  I think it may be that the life is lived with integrity, manifested mercy, perseverance under pressures, a high level of accountability for one's own actions, compassion for those in need, and temperance in one's dealing with others.

...let your light shine before people, so they can see the good things you do and praise your Father who is in heaven.  (Matthew 5:16 CEB)

Integrity:  Living with integrity involves all of the character traits I listed above, but people with integrity become highly trusted companions in this life because they can be counted on to be consistent.  There is congruence between the principles they propose as important in their lives and the actions they manifest as a result of those believed principles.  In other words, they aren't focused on others always seeing their "best side", but knowing they are human, struggling with the same things the other guy or gal is struggling with, and yet leaning heavily upon the mercy and grace of God to live in a way which points others toward this same grace and mercy.  A life of integrity isn't one which is perfect, but is one which is honest, straightforward, and not lived in the "shadows". 

Merciful:  Honest lives learn what it means to be merciful because they have learned how much they themselves need to rely upon the mercy of God in their own lives.  What we receive so graciously from God is to become a hallmark in our own lives for those who observe out own actions toward others.  God never tells his children to hoard mercy and grace - instead he points us toward manifesting it in a consistently generous manner in circumstances where it is least deserved and often not sought.

Perseverance:  Most of us think of the perseverance a person manifests as part of their "stubbornness" - they are continuing to move in the direction they are moving because they are just stubborn enough to not give up.  In contrast, a believer is asked to lay down their stubbornness and in place of stubbornness pick up perseverance.  This differs from moxie because it isn't reliant upon what WE can do, but upon what God is doing IN us.  There is a steadfastness in spite of obstacles.  Yes, there are still obstacles, but from somewhere deep within, there is a trust in the one who helps us maneuver around, or actually remove those obstacles from our path so we have safe passage.  WE don't DO everything on our own anymore, but lean into the wisdom and truth God reveals in our lives and then use it to overcome those hurdles.

Accountability:  Accountability is really a result of the actions of God's Spirit within our lives. We become "answerable" for our actions - not because we are trying to be "super-spiritual" or because we want to portray some "goody-two-shoes" kind of lifestyle.  It is because we know the only way out of wrong actions is by owning up to those actions and then allowing God's Spirit to guide us into the right ones.  We don't like being accountable until we see the advantage of accountability - true freedom from those things which plague us daily and trip us up every time temptation comes our way.  As soon as we begin to become "answerable" for our decisions, we realize something dynamic taking place - we begin to recognize where we went wrong.  This is something we truthfully see without a high degree of accountability - for accountable people want to understand the source of their missteps in order to avoid them in the future.  God is excited when he encounters this type of willingness to yield to the leading of the Spirit in our lives and he honors that willingness.

Compassion:  Believers should be some of the most compassionate people in the world. Why? I think it is closely related to the mercy we have been shown.  Mercy is getting what we don't deserve.  Compassion is extending grace (mercy) where it is not always sought, nor is it always deserved.  Compassion is revealed in the tenderness we exhibit toward those who get on our last nerve, give us a ration of trouble, or intend harm for our lives when all we are doing is trying to live uprightly.  It is more than just turning the other cheek - it is living in such a way the other guy doesn't stand a chance!  Mercy might not be understood 100% of the time, but when the other guy runs headlong into mercy, it leaves an impact - they just don't stand a chance!

Temperance:  Temperate lives are simply lives lived with control.  Not under control, but with control.  There is a difference.  To be under control means we are kind of like a pressure cooker - we keep all the steam built up, but it is still there and given the right circumstances, we could actually blow!  Living with control means we release before the pressure builds - this is why mercy and compassion are such a big part of our lives.  I have to work on this one kind of frequently in my own life because I am a little bit of an "under control" kind of gal and need to be more attentive to letting go of things which don't really matter in the scheme of things.  Mercy and grace go hand-in-hand with temperance.  When we can learn to extend grace, we let go.  When we are compassionate toward others, we seek to understand their position, not just our own.  These are characteristics of the temperate life - living with control - not so as to control another, but to be an example of the mercy and grace of God to those around us.  

Want to make an IMPACT today?  It isn't too late!  Just sayin!