One Shift to Make Before 2021
Depending on the generation you are from, you probably understand the art of having a “collection”. For one generation it was stamps and coins. For my fellow 80’s kids, it may have been baseball cards and beanie babies. And don’t even get my started on the “collections” kids have these days. Shopkins and Pokemon cards? The way this year has gone, it is no surprise that 2020 cannot come up with something better for this generation of collectors.
Regardless, my kids treat their plastic and paper collectibles as if they are gold, actually diamond encrusted pure gold. They meticulously store each item, carefully arrange and rearrange each piece, and passionately confront someone when an item is ever so slightly out of place.
You may not have a collection, but I’m certain that you do have possessions that you care for with the same intentionality and thoughtfulness.
You remember to pick up your clothes from the dry cleaners.
You are careful when you put away the dishes so they don’t break.
You plant flowers in the yard to make it look beautiful.
You spend hours on Pinterest to pick the perfect shade of grey to paint a wall.
And I know you aren’t jumping in a giant mud puddle with those new Adidas - you make sure they stay shiny white for as long as possible.
And here is the crazy thing. All of this care that you put into your possessions? It’s second nature. You don’t try very hard to care for your belongings - you just do. Are you caring for your thoughts and dreams in the same way?
The author, poet and theologian Eugene Peterson would say that the answer to my question is a simple, “No.” Read these words of his slowly and carefully. “We care more for our possessions with which we hope to make our way in the world, than with our thoughts and dreams that tell us who we are in the world.” Our default is to be intentional and careful with our possessions, but ignorant and careless with our thoughts and dreams.
The heaven-sent thought? It comes and goes.
The dream for the future? We talk ourselves out of it.
That idea that could positively impact someone in this world? It’s not stewarded.
The vision of how you are to make an impact? Comparison wins the day and we quit.
The important? It’s overwhelmed by the urgent.
What if we treated our thoughts and dreams, with the same intentionality and care as our possessions?
“What if we treated our thoughts and dreams, with the same intentionality and care as our possessions?”
Jesus says, “Don’t hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it’s safe from moth and rust and burglars.” Matthew 6:19-20 (MSG) Your possessions are temporary, but your God-given thoughts and dreams carry eternal impact.
The dress you paid extra to have dry cleaned? One day it will be discarded or donated. No matter how meticulously you put away those dishes - one day they will chip and be replaced. The perfect paint color you picked for the wall? You will paint over it one day. And as hard as you try to keep those shoes clean - its only a matter of time before they become the pair you mow the lawn with.
That heaven-sent thought?
That dream for the future?
That idea that needs to be stewarded?
The vision of Kingdom impact God gave you?
The important that keeps being overwhelmed by the urgent?
These are the seeds of eternal impact, but I wonder how many of them never make it into the soil because of our lack of care with them?
Your thoughts and dreams are gifts given to you by God. They are whispers into your heart of who you are to be in this world, that informs what you are to do in this world. That is calling.
And it is impossible to live in the center of your God-given calling without taking some people along with you. Together, you make an impact on the lives of other people that will far outlast your years. That is leadership and legacy.
When you do these things to not build your kingdom, but the kingdom of God, that creates eternal impact.
Don’t write-off the thought. Write it down.
Don’t ignore the whisper. Listen to it.
Don’t deny the dream. Move in faith towards it.
Don’t squander the vision. Steward it.
And the next time that your shiny white shoes get irreversibly dirty - I pray that you are reminded that possessions are temporary, but God-given thoughts and dreams are not.
May it compel you to pursue the last God-whisper to your heart with greater intentionality and care than any possession you have ever owned. It will not only change your life, but it will change the lives of others.
If you do nothing else before 2021, do this.
Photo by Stephen Murphy