Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Choose To Inspire Others

So they come pretending to be sincere and sit before you listening. But they have no intention of doing what I tell them. They express love with their mouths, but their hearts seek only after money. -- Ezekiel 33:31

He’s a good man. At least, I keep telling myself that. He can be kind and considerate and giving. But mostly he’s a ruthless businessman focused on money and self. His uneven personality keeps his employees on edge and drives others away.

God is God and there can be no other before Him. We know that -- at least we claim to know that. But every time we put money before God, every time we place power before kindness, every time we treat someone harshly without cause, we deny God. Because how can He live within us unless we care for those around us?

None of us are perfect. We all occasionally make bad choices. Sometime we’re irritable and snap at someone who doesn’t deserve it. So we apologize and try to fix our mess. We turn to God for guidance.

But when it becomes a daily thing, it’s way past time to reevaluate our lives. Because life isn’t meant to be focused on things rather than people.

Oh, we’ve all seen or experienced the stereotype businessman who is so focused on work, and the long hours that come with climbing that corporate ladder, that he misses out on his children’s lives. So he makes more money that someone who might work only 40 hours per week. So what? His kids have an absentee father when they really need someone there to cheer them on, guide them and just listen to them.

A number of years ago I lost a dear friend suddenly. He had spent many years working, climbing the corporate ladder, and investing in the company he worked for. The company went bankrupt and he lost everything he thought he valued.

But he gained an opportunity to do things differently. Oh, he still worked hard. But he took time to go out to eat with friends. To visit his family. To take dreamed of vacations. When he died, he’d done many of the things he’d dreamed of doing. I was grateful for that.

It seems kind of cheesy to ask yourself what you’d regret if you died tomorrow but, really, it’s a question we all should ask ourselves. Would we regret the hours spent working, the sharp comments, the focus on things rather than people? Most of us would.

Because in the end it’s all about relationships: our relationship with God and with those whose lives we touch. We have an opportunity to do good, to lead and inspire those we encounter each day. We also have the opportunity to blow it. Your life. Your choice. Which will it be?