Another post on the dire necessity for you to be...self-employed
"If at the end of your life, you were with a room full of people that watched a movie of your life, how would you feel if...as the final credits were rolling, people looked at each other and said, 'What was that all about?'"
This was a questioned posed by Donald Miller at his Storyline Conference in Portland two days ago. I was privileged to be there in the audience.
*Pictured: Justin Lukasavige and myself recording a podcast in Portland, listen below
Let me take it a step further. Most of society unconsciously thinks that
- making it through life
- maybe getting married
- maybe raising some kids
…is what they are supposed to do. That it's sufficient and 'normal.'
Well, it is normal, but it is not sufficient and I'm posing here that it's thwarting God's purpose for creating you.
Completing the above bullet points is called mere existence. Survival really. Do you honestly believe that is what you were created for? Seriously…just pause and think about it for a moment. Could that really be your purpose…just to exist? I think you'd consciously say "No," but I bet your life story thus far would prove otherwise. And the lives of nearly everyone you know. Which is exactly why it's so hard to even consider that something is in reality…dreadfully wrong.
I'm gonna get blatantly spiritual here. If you don't believe in the whole God/Jesus/Satan bit, then don't bother reading further. Otherwise…
Folks, pick up your Bible. Who has dominium over this earth? Who get's free reign to manipulate society to it's will? News flash…it's not God. He gave that to Satan. Adam and Eve had it and messed it up.
So today, who created our society that:
- Sends kids off to school
- Has us spending all day working for pay
- Has us spending all night watching blue screens
- Makes our life focus the accumulation of 'stuff'
It isn't God. And it isn't neutral.
We accept it as normal because it's all we know. The flow of this life is to just spectate and watch actors on a screen act out stories, or athletes fight for meaningless achievements. So it's not our fault. Or at least it hasn't been till now.
God created you to serve and love Him in a very unique and important way. You can't say you believe in Him and deny it. To fulfill His purpose in creating you will require you to live a radically different lifestyle. And right there is your personal Red Sea. Insurmountable. Because you live in a world and among nearly all people who are hellbent on you maintaining the status quo so you don't disrupt their quest for comfort and ease.
But God has a plan. He is waiting for you to step out of the norm. To be radical. To showcase your faith in Him (or not) by fighting the flow.
Paulo Coelho said in the much used quote, "When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." With all due respect, that's absolutely false. The universe will NOT conspire to help you, it will fight you to the death. You however, can choose to win anyway and see the positive and opportunity in every trial. You must find real people who will conspire with you on your behalf.
You were created to live an inspiring story. YOU…WERE. Period, no argument. You either accept that or deny it, but you can't be ignorant of it any longer or say it isn't true. And the story isn't about YOU. It's about God.
To walk it out, you must break apart from the massively forceful flow and current of life as you know it. The most supporting action I know of is…free agency. Self-employment. You MUST own your time and your days and your priorities. Satan's greatest desire is not really to turn you against God, as He knows he's going to lose in the end. So he settles for making you useless. For getting you to replace your story with a job and a TV remote.
Here is a recording I did with Justin Lukasavige Tuesday afternoon in a downtown park in Portland. You'll hear the noise of the city as we share some of what we learned at this Storyline Conference. If you can, take a moment to listen to a bit of it. I think you'll hear some new things.
Free Agent Underground Show - "Did God make you to be a spectator…really?"
