You Were Made to Make a Difference

Reading has always been a favorite hobby for me.  I melt in every single Nicolas Sparks novel.  I finished the Twilight saga in a matter of days.  I sometimes even take notes while reading books (no not textbooks) I never want to forget.

I have recently been reading one of these notables, Out Live Your Life, by Max Lucado.  I received this book as a Christmas gift, & while it is not the romantic love escapade I usually pick up, I decided to give it a chance.  Boy am I glad I did.

Lucado is a Christian author, and this book is separated into chapters which offer advice on how to better your life, and the lives of others by keeping the faith.  Today I want to share with you the themes of my 3 favorite chapters so far in the book.

1. Do Good, Quietly

In this chapter, Lucado opens with the story of a family who has inherited a large sum of money.  When deciding what to do with the cash, the idea crosses their mind to donate it to the church, HOWEVER they wanted to keep some of it for themselves.  So, the Sunday following the sudden inheritance the couple announces to the congregation that they are donating the entire sum of $10,000, even though they had actually acquired $15,000. 

Here's the problem: not only were they boasting their lavish contribution, but they deliberately lied to the church and to God about their true intentions for the money.  Lucado provides this description,

"They used the church for self-promotion.  They leveraged God's family for personal gain.  They attempted to turn a congregation into a personal stage across which they could strut."

It is very important in the Christian faith to do good things, and to help others.  However it is also very important to be humble about such acts, and not take personal gain from the deeds you do for others.

2. Remember Who Holds You

Here, Max Lucado emphasizes the importance of not taking full credit for things that have been given to you.  For instance, life.  He stresses that it is wrong to take credit for the gifts God has given us.  & it is also wrong to boast about accomplishing feats that would be impossible without Him.

"What do you have that God hasn't given you?  And f everything you have is from God, why boast as through it were not a gift?"

(1 Cor. 4:7 NLT)

So, while it is exciting to share our outrageous accomplishments with others, it is crucial to always keep in mind the big guy who made it all possible.  Make sure he gets a little credit too.

3. Stable the High Horse

I just finished this chapter last night, and I think it holds great resonance in our world today.  The attention getter at the start of this chapter tells the story of a man who stood up for and cared for exiled lepers in a time when leprosy ran rampant in Hawaii.  While helping the lepers by praying with them, dressing their wounds, and living among them, the man developed the disease himself and passed away. 

The point of this story was that people today often see or think of others as inferior.  Obviously in this case the clean, healthy folks looked down upon the dirty, diseased lepers & cast them off to an unchartered island.

One quote that stood out for me from this chapter is as follows, 

"Categorizing others creates distance and gives us a convenient exit strategy for avoiding involvement."

We see ourselves doing these things every single day.  Thinking we're better than others, casting out folks we see as unworthy.  But does God?  NO.

"God has shown me that he doesn't think anyone is unclean or unfit."

(Acts 10:28 CEV)

While I know this post is long and lengthy, I really feel that these are important lessons (along with the other 13 chapters) from Max Lucado's book, Out Live Your Life.  

So, take these forms of advice, and you just might see your outlook on life improving.  I know I have. If you are interested in learning more about Max's work check out his website.