Rick Warren's Blog, page 392

Life Is About Relationships, Not Accomplishments

We learned yesterday that the Bible is very clear about what really matters in life: “If you are a follower of Christ Jesus . . . all that matters is your faith that makes you love others” (Galatians 5:6 CEV).

If you don’t live a life of love, then nothing you say will matter, nothing you know will matter, nothing you believe will matter, and nothing you give will matter.

Finally, if you don’t live a life of love, nothing you accomplish will matter.

You can rack up an incredible list of personal achievements. You can get your picture on the cover of Fortune magazine. You can win the Nobel Peace Prize. You can have enormous accomplishments, be entrepreneur of the year, build a billion-dollar company, have incredibly great successes in your field of endeavor. But the Bible says it isn’t worth much if you don’t love. The Bible says—God says—relationships are more important than accomplishments.

Life is about relationships, not accomplishments.

It’s as simple as this: You can have the eloquence of an orator, the knowledge of a genius, the faith of a miracle worker, the generosity of a philanthropist, or the achievements of a superstar, but if you don’t have love in your heart, it is worth zero. It doesn’t count. The only thing that matters to God is this: Do you love him, and do you love other people?

One day you’re going to die, and you’re going to stand before God. When he evaluates your life, he’s not going to look at your bank account or your list of accomplishments or your grades. He won’t care about all your sports trophies. He’s not going to look at your endorsements or your resume.

God is going to evaluate your life on one basis: your relationships. He’s going to ask, “How much did you love me and other people?” That’s called the Great Commandment. Did you love God with all your heart, and did you love your neighbor as yourself?

That’s why Paul teaches us that what matters most is our faith being expressed through love (see Galatians 5:6).

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Nothing Matters Without Love

Have you ever wondered what matters to God? The Bible tells us in Galatians 5:6: “If you are a follower of Christ Jesus . . . all that matters is your faith that makes you love others” (CEV). God says what matters in life is not your accomplishments or your achievements or your fame or your wealth. The only thing that matters is having a faith that causes you to love other people. If you miss that, you have missed the most important thing in life.

Over the next couple of days, we’re going to look at the most famous chapter in the Bible on love, 1 Corinthians 13. When speakers want to get your attention and want you to remember something, they use repetition. They say something over and over. In the first few verses of this passage, Paul says the same thing five different ways: The most important thing in life is love.

Here are the first four reasons why.

1. If you don’t live a life of love, then nothing you say will matter.

“If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal” (1 Corinthians 13:1 NLT).

We’re really impressed by great speakers. We love eloquence and charisma. But God says, “I don’t care how good of a communicator you are. Are you living a life of love?” If you’re not, then nothing you say will matter. Words without love are just noise.

2. If you don’t live a life of love, nothing you know will matter.

“I may have the gift of prophecy. I may understand all the secret things of God and have all knowledge . . . But even with all these things, if I do not have love, then I am nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:2 NCV).

We live in a world where knowledge is exploding. We are smarter than we’ve ever been. But we still have the same problems: crime, abuse, prejudice, violence. Why? Because the world doesn’t need more knowledge. It needs more love. You may be a genius. But God says if you don’t have love in your life, all that you know is worthless.

3. If you don’t live a life of love, nothing you believe will matter.

The Bible says, “Even if I had the gift of faith so that I could speak to a mountain and make it move, I would still be worth nothing at all without love” (1 Corinthians 13:2 TLB).

There’s a myth that being a follower of Christ is just a matter of believing certain truths. Nothing can be further from the truth! Following Christ is about living a life of love. It takes more than belief to please God.

4. If you don’t live a life of love, nothing you give will matter.

The next verse says, “If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:3 NLT).

Love isn’t always the motivation for giving. Some people give just to get back or out of guilt or for control or prestige. You can give for a lot of wrong motives, but the Bible says if you’re not doing it out of love, none of your giving counts.

The Bible is very clear about what happens when you don’t live a life of love. Tomorrow we’ll look at the last reason why you need to focus on your faith that makes you love others.

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Tus Decisiones Controlan Tu Agenda

“Pues cada uno es responsable de su propia conducta”.  Gálatas 6:5 (NTV)

Tus elecciones son mucho más poderosas que tus circunstancias. Puede que no te guste lo complicado en que se ha convertido tu vida. Pero con pocas excepciones, nadie te obliga a mantener tu vida complicada.

Tú tienes el poder de simplificar tu vida. De hecho, Dios espera que asumamos la responsabilidad de nuestras vidas y que elijamos cuidadosamente cómo pasamos nuestro tiempo.

Tienes el tiempo justo para hacer la voluntad de Dios mientras estás aquí en la Tierra. Te han dado el tiempo justo para cumplir tu propósito. Cuando tratas de hacer más de lo que Dios planeó para ti, es natural que te encuentres constantemente fuera de tiempo o estresado por tu horario.

Mi oración para ti es que encuentres alivio del estrés y una nueva sensación de satisfacción al hacer solo las cosas que Dios te creó para que hicieras.

Reflexiona sobre esto:

Haz una lista de las actividades y responsabilidades que te causan estrés. Pídele a Dios que te ayude a determinar las cosas en tu agenda que Él nunca tuvo la intención de que hagas.
¿Dónde crees que Dios quiere que concentres tu tiempo y energía?
¿Qué decisiones necesitas hacer que te ayudarán a enfocarte más en lo que Dios ha planeado para ti?

¿Has comprometido tu vida con Cristo?

No importa lo que hayas hecho o dónde has estado, tienes un lugar en la familia eterna de Dios, listo y esperando por ti. La invitación está abierta. Solo cree y recibe.

¿Estás listo? Aquí hay una oración con la que puedes comenzar:

“Dios mío, sé que cuando muera voy a darte cuentas de mi vida directamente. Confieso que te he ignorado. Sé que he pecado contra ti y he vivido según mi plan, no el tuyo. Quiero que eso cambie, a partir de hoy. Quiero ser libre de mi pecado.

Gracias por enviar a Jesús a morir por todo lo que hice malo para no tener que pagar la condena. Sé que no merezco tu perdón. Sé que solo tu gracia puede salvarme, Señor. Nunca podría ser lo suficientemente bueno para entrar en un lugar perfecto.

Jesús, gracias por amarme tanto que tomaste toda mi culpa sobre ti mismo. Me hiciste aceptable para el cielo, y humildemente te pido que me salves. Te pido que me salves de los pecados y los hábitos que están arruinando mi vida en este momento. Yo creo en ti, Jesús. Y creo que mantendrás tu promesa de salvarme al instante y de manera segura y completa y eterna. En el nombre de Jesús. Amén.

Si hiciste la oración anterior, escríbeme y déjame saber a esperanza@pastorrick.com, me encantaría enviarte algunos materiales para que comiences tu viaje con Jesús.

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Focusing on God’s Purpose Leaves Little Time for Envy

When you start to get concerned about something God is doing in another person’s life and envy starts to build, focus on the plan God has for you. Don’t get distracted — center in on God’s will for your life.

There’s a simple phrase in the story of the vineyard workers that the owner says to those who were grumbling about not getting what they deserved: “Take your money and go!” (Matthew 20:14 GW). He’s basically saying to those who can’t get past their envy, “It’s time to move on now. Quit having a pity party. Just get over it!”

Sometimes we get stuck in the past. Maybe you still envy the person who got to be prom king or queen. But why should you let what someone else got keep you from God’s plan for your life right now?

Hebrews 12:1 says, “Let us run with patience the particular race that God has set before us” (TLB). The “particular” race means your unique race — the race that is only for you. God has a plan that he wants you to pursue that is unlike anyone else’s. He planned it for you before you were even born, and it includes better things than you could ever dream for yourself.

Once you begin to discover and pursue the unique purpose that God has for your life, you won’t envy anyone anymore. You’re released from the tyranny of having to be best all the time. You just have to be the best you can be, the person God made you to be.

When you get focused like this on God’s particular race for you, you’ll be so caught up in what he wants you to do that you won’t have time for envy. You’ll be living your life for an audience of one.

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When You Envy, You’re in a Battle with God

When it looks like God’s blessing somebody in a way that he’s not blessing you, relax and trust God. Believe that he knows what’s best for you, and trust him when life seems unfair.

One of the ways you can tell envy is creeping into your life is the language you use. If you find yourself using the phrase “It’s not fair,” you’ve already fallen into the trap of envy. You say, “It’s not fair! Why them? Why not me? I’ve worked as hard as they do.”

In Jesus’ parable of the vineyard workers, the workers felt that they were being treated unfairly, not because they weren’t paid what they were promised but because other people who worked less were paid the same amount.

Matthew 20:12 says, “These last workers put in only one easy hour, and you just made them equal to us” (The Message). You can hear the envy: “We slaved all day under a scorching sun. We’re better than them!”

Notice in the next verses the reply of the owner, who represents God: “Friend, I didn’t cheat you. I paid you exactly what we agreed on . . . What business is it of yours if I want to pay them the same that I paid you? Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money?” (Matthew 20:13-15 CEV).

The bottom line on envy is this: When you’re envious, you’re in a battle with God. You doubt God’s goodness in your life. You resent his decision to bless somebody else. You accuse him of being unfair or of playing favorites. You don’t believe he has your best interest at heart.

On the contrary, God’s extravagant, unconditional, unending love is the same for everyone. But he’s not a vending machine — you can’t put in a prayer and get whatever you want. God has a good reason why you don’t have what you want. He knows you better than you know yourself. Practice praying, “God, I’m going to trust that you have a unique plan for my life and that you know better than me what I need right now.”

Envy is the fever. Doubting God is the infection. Any time you start envying, it’s because you doubt God. The medicine you need is to start trusting again in God and his love for you.

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Being Content is a Learning Process

Instead of focusing so much on what we don’t have and what didn’t happen, we can be grateful for what we do have. This doesn’t come naturally to me, probably not for you either, and not even for the apostle Paul, who said, “I have learned to be content.” Being content is a learning process.

The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 4:7-8, “Isn’t everything you have and everything you are sheer gifts from God? So what’s the point of all this comparing and competing? You already have all you need” (The Message).

Envy is based on the myth that you need more to be happy. Envy always looks at others and asks, “Why them? Why did they deserve it? I deserve what they have.” But gratitude says, “Why me? Why did God give me this? I’m blessed because I don’t deserve what I have.” It totally flips our perspective.

Although we all struggle with envy, it’s hard to admit it because it’s such an ugly emotion. When you’re envious of others, you really want them to fail, because it makes you feel better that they don’t have more than you. That’s pretty crazy, isn’t it? If we could only learn to be grateful for what we have, we could begin to get rid of these feelings of envy.

It’s important to understand that envy is not having a desire or a dream or a goal. It’s good to have those. Envy is not looking forward to something or hoping that something can happen in your life or even wondering if you should have some thing. Envy is instead resenting somebody who already has what you desire or has reached a goal you have yet to obtain. Envy says you can’t be happy until you get that desire or goal. Envy is not being grateful for what you already have.

Yet the Bible tells us that we already have more than we need and far more than we deserve. Every good thing in our lives is a gift from God, and it is up to him to decide when and how he blesses us. It’s up to us to choose to be grateful and make the most of what we’ve been given.

As Ecclesiastes 6:9 says, “It is better to be satisfied with what you have than to be always wanting something else” (GNT).

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Get to Know Others So You Won’t Envy Them

The key to overcoming envy is to stop comparing yourself to others.

Comparing is the root of all envy. And it was the first mistake made in the parable of the vineyard workers: The ones who were hired last “came up and were each given a dollar. When those who were hired first saw that, they assumed they would get far more” (Matthew 20:9-10 The Message). In other words, they started making comparisons:  “Look what they’re getting. So we’re going to get more. We deserve more.”

The Bible says over and over again to never compare yourself to anybody else for two reasons:

First, you’re unique. God made you special. There’s nobody like you. He made the mold, and then he broke it. You are not comparable to anybody else.

Second, if you do start comparing, it’s always going to lead to one of two sins: pride or envy. When you compare yourself to others, you’re either going to think “I’m doing better than them,” and you get full of pride, or “They’re doing better than me,” and you get full of envy. Pride and envy are both sins.

In addition, envy occurs when you don’t really know someone intimately. You can see a person’s strengths and successes from a distance, but it’s only when you get up close that you see their hurts, hang-ups, and habits. Everybody has hidden pain. When you’re looking at people from a distance, it’s a whole lot easier to miss their fears and faults.

There’s no better way to get to know people up close and personal than in a small group. I heard about one woman with multiple sclerosis and lupus who told her small group, “If we all put our problems in a big pile at the center of this room and looked at them, at the end of the evening we’d probably all take our problems back and go home.” When you get to know people closely, you don’t envy them. But you can learn how to pray for them.

Envy isolates us. Fellowship binds us together and helps us get to know each other so we can stop comparing ourselves to others.

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Stand by the People You Love

If you have a spouse or a friend or a loved one who’s walked away from God, you cannot walk away from them. God wants you to know that they need you now more than ever!

The Bible says, “Anyone who withholds kindness from a friend forsakes the fear of the Almighty” (Job 6:14 NIV). When your loved one is in such a place that they say, “I am in so much pain, I don’t even know if I believe in God right now,” you can say to them, “That’s okay. I’ll believe God for you. I’ll stand by you and carry you through this until God restores what has been lost.”

Lasting love refuses to give up on someone. You can know this because Jesus modeled this kind of love for you. When you were dead in sin, he didn’t walk away. He didn’t just wait it out. He didn’t hold it against you. He didn’t even expect you to pay for what you’d done.

Instead, Jesus believed in you. He saw what you could become with his righteousness. He loved you so perfectly and so unconditionally that he was willing to receive the punishment for your sin. He took on your pain and promised to walk through life with you and give you the hope of heaven.

Who in your life needs you to show them a glimpse of God’s love by extending grace, expressing faith, and enduring the worst with them?

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Love and Trust Go Together

Love is built on trust. When you really love people, you believe in them. You trust them. You build their confidence. You relieve their fears. And then your trust causes them to blossom.

If you can’t learn to trust people, you’ll never learn to love or learn to be loved. A lot of people who think they have a love problem really have a trust problem, because love and trust go together.

When Jesus went to his hometown of Nazareth, the people who heard him teach did not believe him and were even offended by him. As a result, Jesus “could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. He was amazed at their lack of faith” (Mark 6:5-6 NIV).

It wasn’t Jesus’ lack of faith that prevented the miracles. He could not do a good work in his hometown because of the people’s lack of faith and trust in him.

If that’s true of Jesus, then it’s definitely true of you. When people don’t trust you, you are not empowered to reach your potential. And when you don’t trust other people, you limit them. If people don’t believe in you, trust you, or show confidence in you, then it holds you back. But when the people who love you show faith in you, it brings out the best in you. It gives you faith in yourself. It helps you fulfill your purpose.

Do you want a love that lasts forever? Then show someone that they have your trust. When you do, you’ll build their confidence, and you’ll be amazed at what they will set out to do with God’s help and your faith.

“We must always aim at those things that bring peace and that help strengthen one another” (Romans 14:19 GNT).

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Love Lets It Go

The longer you know someone, the easier it is to become critical. As time goes on, you’re more likely to become less gracious and to take others for granted.

Showing grace is an ongoing practice. It’s easy to show grace once. But over time, those little annoyances seem to add up, your patience starts to wane, and it’s easier to respond to hurt with hurt.

To experience a love that lasts, choose to be merciful. No relationship—marriage or otherwise—is going to last without forgiveness, acceptance, patience, and a lot of grace.

You get a hundred opportunities each day to extend grace to the people you love. I want to focus on two specific times when it may be a particular challenge, but you’ll need to do it anyway:

When their flaws and faults irritate you. The longer you love somebody, the more you know their flaws. You can choose to either be critical or gracious. You can be picky, or you can be kind. You can be a perfectionist, or you can show mercy. Proverbs 17:9 says, “Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends” (NLT).

When their words or actions hurt you. You can’t hold on to anger over a hurt. You can’t stockpile every hurt for ammunition. The Bible says in Colossians 3:13, “Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others” (NLT). You can choose to hold on to a hurt, or you can choose forgiveness. Only one option is healthy, and only one will give you freedom to move forward in love.

Showing grace goes against our nature to fight back, harbor a hurt, and have the last word. But we don’t have to rely on our own strength. Trust that as a follower of Jesus, you have the Holy Spirit working in you to help you choose the things God loves: mercy, compassion, and grace.

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