Cafeteria Christianity: Prosperity — Thursday
Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (NIV)
I was going to be a band director. No questions asked, that was the plan. The only thing I ever felt successful at was band, so that was what I was going to do. I had dreams of being grand champions of our marching contests. Of having a large staff and fancy new equipment and uniforms. I wanted to instill a love for music in all my students and give them something they could enjoy for a lifetime. What actually happened was quite different.
My first job was elementary music and beginning band. A different group every thirty minutes, all week long, with clarinets squeaking out their first notes (which sounded like a duck being brutally murdered) for a whole semester. For my next job, I actually was a high school band director. It was a small school, but I was excited. It took us three years to actually go to a competition. We marched 7 winds, 3 percussion, 2 flags, and a drum major, and although we did okay, we were far from the grand champions. Three years and three jobs later, I blew my life up. Lost my career and almost my marriage. Success had eluded me all these years, and now, hope was lost for my dreams. All I wanted was to feel important, to prove to my friends, family, and peers that I was more than they thought I was. Only, in my mind, I had just proven them right.
After a couple years of part-time jobs, I applied to work on the Facilities Team at Southland. I told my wife that this was only for two years. We would get our lives back together and then move on to the next thing. That was 19 years ago, and I’m still on staff at Southland. You see, success isn’t a bad thing, but the success I was looking for was for self-validation, to feel like I’m enough. But God wanted me at Southland. He needed me to slow down and realize that He has my back. That He is the one taking care of me, and no matter what I do for a career, I am truly enough. He has a plan for my life. That plan is to love Him and to love others and to serve faithfully. God didn’t create me to be up front, to be noticed. He created me to work quietly behind the scenes so that He gets all the glory. I’ve learned that if I follow His plan for my life, I will always be successful.
Thursday’s Reflection
Does striving for success get in the way of your relationship with God? Ask Him about His plans for your life. Maybe even give serving behind the scenes a try. Visit southland.church/volunteer to learn more about ways you can do that here at Southland.