"I'm not Bono!"

When I was a child, I wanted to help people. I was that 6^th grade kid who wanted to start a disaster relief fundraiser when the tsunami hit Indonesia. One time, when the power was out at our house because of a snow storm (read: an inch or two of snow on the ground), somebody mentioned the homeless in our city and I'm pretty sure I burst out crying right then and there thinking of these people huddled somewhere in the cold. This isn't to pat myself on the back...it's just how I was as a child. And I think it's how lots of children are. Children have big dreams. Big dreams of making a difference and they don’t think of being held back.

Somewhere along the way though, we grow up and our thought process changes. We let things stand in the way of stepping out to help others and attempting to positively impact someone's life. 

I've noticed that there appears to be two groups of people. (1) Those who believe they can help, and, therefore, do. And (2) those who let fears stand in the way of helping, then don’t.

Most people are the latter--thinking that they’re inadequate and therefore can’t do anything to make a difference.  As we age, these fears of certain deficiencies inundate us, and, the train of thought that follows is “I can't make a difference unless I've got enough *blank* (influence, money, or resources, etc.).I'm not Bono*! Nobody will pay attention to anything I attempt to make a difference.” Or, even more seriously, people think that they’re so messed up, that God cannot actually use them to make a difference. They let these fears hold them back, possibly from something that God has called them to.

Basically, the fear of lacking holds us back. There's no way that God can use us to make a difference in somebody's life, so besides the occasional service project, why even attempt?

We let so much stand in the way of following the Lord's leading. We don't step up and into situations to serve because we let our fears of inadequacies get in the way. But listen, we are never too messed up, screwed up, sinful, under resourced, poor, un-influential, or ill equipped for the Lord to use us.

If the Lord is calling me to something, you'd better believe He'll equip me, teach me, lead me. So how dare I look at the Lord and tell Him that there's no way I can or will do what He wants and is calling me to do--there's no way He can use me? Because, "God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called."

God is calling masses of believers to step outside of their comfort zones. People of differing backgrounds who have experienced different joys and heartaches and who have their own area of influence. God is calling us here, and now. Are we going to get past any inadequacy we feel we have in order to step into a role of mercy to the hurting in the world? Because once we do that, God is going to use us for His glory. Use us to impact the hurting world.

*Note: I use Bono as an example because he's someone who has not only the money to get things done, but the influence not only to draw attention to certain issues but also to encourage others to act.

(Via Christine Caine's Facebook page)

"Why ya gotta be so mean?"

There's so much mean in the world.

Every day we see snide remarks online--Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. We read mean comments in magazines and newspapers. We hear ugly comments on TV. Mean is everywhere...it doesn't take long at all to find it.

What do snide, flippant comments add to human kind? To this world? It's a serious question.

What do my mean comments add to the world? 

Why do I feel that it's alright to tear somebody down? Sure, my witty, but biting tweet about, lets say, a singer I dislike will probably go unseen by its subject, but does that make it any less wrong?

What if they did see it?

My spur-of-the-moment comment could be the one thing that ruins their day. Or it could be what causes them to feel self-conscious. 

There's a fine line between stating an opinion about likes/dislikes and using my dislike in a witty way at another person's expense. 

The victim of my senseless words is someone's child, sibling, friend. Most importantly, they're somebody that God loves. 

What does my comment say about me? Because most often, what I say about others reflects more of me than them.

So, again...what does my comment add to the world? Because I'd rather physically bite my tongue or cover my mouth to keep a little bit of mean out of the world. The world doesn't need any more of that...there's already far too much of it. 

So why don't we all keep a little bit of ugly out of the world by holding back mean comments. And let's build up others by speaking beautiful words of them. Because, couldn't the world use a bit more beauty?

(Picture found on Pinterest)