Quit trying to “Make A Name For Yourself”!!!

**I wrote this post almost a year ago, and it still applies today…**

It’s almost 2016 and unless you’ve been asleep for the last couple of years, you know that in our society, the desire to be famous and popular are at an all time high…I’m Just Saying…

Our current society places fame and notoriety above just about everything else. Shoot, even our presidential election this year has been invaded by a TV star, which shall remain nameless.

Pride and arrogance used to be looked at as shameful traits but today it’s the norm. Between reality TV making superstars out of everyone from cab drivers to housewives to babysitters and Social Media giving us all our own little platforms to show ourselves off, we’ll soon be a world where the non-celebrity is the abnormality.

But what if we looked at life from a different view? What if we stopped branding ourselves and promoting ourselves and doing good things and then telling the whole world about it. What if for a change we just did, and said, and shared what was right for the sake of being right instead of for the sake of notoriety.

You see…God is not now and never has been to keen on self promoting people trying to make a name for themselves. As a matter of fact, back in Genesis, the people of Babel tried to do just that and you know what He did to them…

And they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.” let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech.” So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. (‭Genesis‬ ‭11‬:‭4,7-8‬ NKJV)

God is all about humility and we should be too. It’s always better to do good and let the good you do speak for you instead of you speaking for yourself. You’re safer right there.

People will like you more and God won’t feel the need to tear the you that you have built up down…

Stay low and let God exalt you…

Are You Following The Leader?!

  
Wattup Fam?! I’m back from vacation…I really missed you guys. Sorry for not posting on Friday, that was bad planning on my part. But, nevertheless here we are on a beautiful Monday morning and it’s back to the rat race we go. 

I really enjoyed vacation. The cruise was great and the Bahamas was awesome. While we were there we took an excursion and explored Nassau via a Jeep tour. My wife and I, and some of our close friends went out in jeeps and followed a tour guide as he lead us around the inner cities and various resort areas of Nassau. 

It was adventurous to say the least. We actually drove the jeeps ourselves and followed the tour guide who was driving his own jeep. These jeeps were raggedy too…LOL. There were bald tires, bad brakes, broken seat belts and even broken seats. But we felt adventurous and our money was non-refundable so we jumped in and headed out. 

Our tour guide was hilarious. He was young and personable. He was a native of the island and knew his way around and was steeped in the culture. However, he was also extremely hyper and drove like a stunt driver. He took around twists and turns and up and down hills. He took us on highways and backroads in places we never knew existed. He drove fast and demanded we drive fast. Yet in all of that, he was sure to never loose any of the 4 jeeps we were in following him. 

I say all that to say this. With all of the issues with the jeep and all the particulars about our guide, he was still a strong and concerned leader and he was determined to get us from point a to b and not lose anyone in the process. However, the choice to follow was up to us. 

It doesn’t matter how great or poor the leader is. It doesn’t matter how great or small the vision is. If you choose to not follow your leader, you have to own the responsibility for getting lost along the way. 

I’m just saying…Are you following your leader today?

Proverbs In Everyday Life Pt.2: You Don’t Know It All

It’s Monday again…Time for this week’s “Proverbs in Everyday Life”!!! As you can see from our title, none of us are as smart as we may think…I’m just saying. 

So let’s take a look at Proverbs 19:20

Get all the advice and instruction you can,
    so you will be wise the rest of your life.

That sounds like the simplest of instructions ever. I mean, who doesn’t want to be wise the rest of their lives?

But how many times have you given someone a piece of information or instruction only to hear that famous response, “I already know that”! Or how many times in a day are you the one saying “I already know that”

The funny thing about you and I is that, with as limited as our intelligence can be at times, we still have the tendency to think we know almost everything. Before you start arguing with that statement, take a moment and be honest with yourself…self-evaluate. I mean, i’m sure we don’t all think we know about nuclear fusion (if that’s even something to know) LOL. But in the areas of knowledge in which we operate we too often think we know it all.

However, today’s Proverb found me right where I am in life. I recently decided that…

While I knew enough to be a leader, i didn’t know nearly enough to be a great leader and I definitely didn’t know enough to be a great leader for the rest of my life.

While I know enough to be a teacher of the Gospel, I don’t know enough to maximize my effectiveness and to be a sustained voice for our’s and the next generation.

While I know enough to be a Youth Pastor I don’t know enough to be the best Pastor that our young people deserve and I definitely could stand to learn more to extend the reach of our ministry.

So what did I do???

I opened up my Bible and started reading more…

I started grabbing books, and downloading podcasts, and subscribing to blogs on leadership, and teaching, and shepherding young people.

I started asking questions to people who I know are effective in these areas.

I’m strategically placing myself in places where I can come into contact with people who have achieved greatness.

I’m not saying I have it all figured out, but I’ve made up in my mind that I am going to  “get all the advice and instruction I can”  and I hope you will too!!!