Thursday, September 25, 2014

Misplaced Emphasis

What if Grades didn't matter?
What if we focused on smart decisions instead? 
What if looks didn't matter? 
What if we focused on the soul? 
What if how far you could run or how well you could throw didn't matter? 
But instead focused on what type of team player you were? 
What if pants size didn't matter? 
What if we then looked at the size of ones heart.  
What if money doesn't matter, but we looked rather on the richness of ones personality? 

What if we are judging the wrong things.  

People are only as smart as their test scores.  
Only as pretty as there selfies 
Only and athletic as they physical attributes.  
Only as appealing as the size that they were. 
only as rich as the amount of green they obtain.   

You wonder why the world is in shambles.  Why bullying goes around.  Why people die lonely.  Why they walk the hallways alone.  

We. Have.  It. All.  Wrong.  

And there is only ourselves to blame.  We put such importance on things that will fade.  I should know.  I am probably the most grade conscious person out there.  I STRESS over a B.  
WHY
Why are these letter so important.  They don't tell me how smart I am.  Wow.  To think brilliant people will walk around there whole lives believing they are stupid.  

I love beautiful people.  I have some friends that could outshine hollywood.  Is this because they have perfect hair, teeth, eyes, skin color?  Well partly.  But mostly because they have a beautiful soul.  People seem to think that face shape matters.  But you don't need barbie blond hair to change the world? 
Why, beautiful people will walk around thinking that they are ugly, because the tabloids say so.  

I am not a sports person.  I don't understand a lick of football.  But I am one of the most competitive people I know.  A Story I like to tell, is the one were I broke my thumb while playing capture the flag, and still played on the winning team! But I am not athletic.  I am short.  Not a fats runner.  Only good at hitting very few things.  We seem to judge winning on points rather than fun.  What is a game worth, if no one enjoys playing it.  What is Winning? We seem to think the only way you can be a good player is if you win games, you score touchdowns, baskets, goals.  

We tell people that their size matters.  That everyone should care!  But who cares about the size of the hearts.  


WHAT ARE WE LOOKING AT?  
Why do we care? 
We are lying to ourselves to think that these attributes make a person.  
We are judging the wrong things.  And people seem to believe it. Everyone is believing this lie.  
What makes a person has nothing to do with appearance, social standards, abilities.  Tell someone that today.  Tell them they can change the world.  Tell them they are beautiful.  Tell them they are important.  #tellthemthetruth 


Saturday, September 20, 2014

Saving the World

    I was recently in a conversation with a friend of mine.  Some how we came upon the random question of, is the world in dire peril?   Just out of randomness.
       But his answer surprised me a bit.
       I wish.
  Confused I inquired about his answer, where he went on to say, how much more exciting life would be if he had to save the world.

I was dumbfounded.  (doesn't happen very often)

Because, a few years ago, I thought within the same parameters.  Even now, I have to force myself out of that thought.

I want my life to be exciting.  
I want my life to have purpose.  
I want to be a hero.  

I mean come on, who doesn't.  Our culture today is obsessed with heroes.  Marvel is in every theater, Batman is in conversation, superman in the toy aisle, spider-man on the t'shirts.  People have this longing, an affinity, towards heroes.

What little child hasn't dressed up in a cape and pretend to save the world.  What grown adults hasn't shot aliens with their mechanical pencil (not everyone on that one eh?)

We are addicted to heroes.  That isn't even the question.
The question is

Why 

Why do we, in are lives long to be something more, to be affiliated with a hero.  To say, hey that guy who rescued those kittens, yeah I know that guy.

We all reach for the unattainable.  Not many of us are super rich and can afford bat-caves.  Not many of us have laser eyes, or truth lassos.  I am not a super genius who can make armor, or web slingers.

So, the logical explanation is, unless the world is in dire peril, I can't become a hero.

Wow Depressing right?

This brings me back to my conversation with this anonymous friend.  'Life would be more exciting, if it needed saving.'

Whoa, hold it right there!
Did you all see the same thing I did?

If not, let's take a closer look.

'If it needed saving.'

Yup, there it is.  That magic statement that can blow minds.
Some of you might be getting in and groaning in your seats, not another one of these. I know, I felt the same way.

for those of you who do not, that's fine, I will explain the reasons for all the grumbling.

You see, we (yes me too) don't see the world the way we should.  We think dire peril has to be aliens, or giant monsters, or sand people, creepers who laugh a little too much, those villains that you can't quite get away from.

Because many of these scenarios are a little unlikely (though not completely ruled out) we feel that the world doesn't need saving.

Well that line of thought is WRONG!

Yes, I know, that offensive word.  But it is truth.

Guys Wake up!  Come on, get out of those comic books, those novels, those movie theaters!

That version of heroes and villains are so romanticism.  And we sit in the living room, or secluded under a couch fort, wishing and waiting for something to happen so we can save the day.

Get out and see that the world we live in isn't with out perils.  It isn't without hardship.  People Die.  People Starve.  People are killed.  People are lied to.  People are lying.  People are losing hope.
This sounds like a world that needs saving.

Guess what!  Guess who God is counting on to save it!
Yes, I know that Jesus came and saved the world.  But we can't leave it just up to him! We have to step up, get out from under the covers and be heroes!

If you weren't groaning before, you sure are now.  I used to be one of you.  I mean come one, God's fight is not nearly as interesting as Doc Octopus.  Yay, I am spreading the word of Jesus, but there is no real action.

I hear you, but I don't believe you.

People, there is so much we could be doing.  We could change the world.  We could save it.  But we are too busy waiting for a chance.

You know why we can't pray in schools?  Because those Atheist got off their rumps and made a fuss about it.

77% of the adult population in America is Christian!  Think of what we could do if we all got together!

Think of the lives we could transform!
Think of the change.

We could save this lost and broken world.  

So, to put it simply.  We spend our whole lives waiting for that one chance to make a splash, to make a difference.  We need to make a way.  Get up, and stop waiting.  Put down the phones, movies, and books, which defines heroes, and write our own definition.  

We can save a world that doesn't know it needs to be saved.  How about that? 




`