I have a question: why is it that Joel Olsteen and President Trump are the only people who can help the victims in Texas? From the kvetching I see on social media, you’d think these two individuals are the only ones who can do anything about it. There’s plenty of blame, finger pointing, and “they outta be doing more!” and “their excuses are lame and their leadership is a lie!” all over the place. But what are the people making these accusations doing to help? Are they doing anything? Or are they fault finding and spreading more anger all over the Internet to get attention?
I believe this is a relevant question, because I’ve seen a lot of this in my personal life lately. I hear a lot of talk about what should happen, but they want other people to make it happen. I’ve been in prayer and had several conversations with people about this, and it came to me that it boils down to laziness: they want others to act on their fear or expectations, but they don’t want to do anything to promote their vision. In fact, the people I talked to complained of experiencing the same thing. I even overhead somebody talking on the phone, and they hit at the heart of the matter when they said “If you know how to fix it, why don’t you fix it instead of complaining about it?”
That conversation ended quickly, and it’s time for many others to end too. Especially online!
You have no idea what the Lord has put on other peoples’ hearts. You may be talking about helping the victims in Texas, when the Lord is telling the person you’re talking to that they really need to help their co-worker in the next cubicle who’s struggling. And that’s the point: we’re too quick to assume that what I feel should be done isn’t what everybody needs to be doing. Remember that popular adage that we’ve found the center of the universe, and it isn’t you (or me, or anybody). It’s a big world out there full of need, and it’s impossible for one person to be responsible to do everything. My job is to be obedient to the prompting on my heart, and to trust others to do the same – and this is the same for everybody under the sun. When we get into telling others what to do, we’re stepping outside of our domain and trying to play God in somebody elses’ life.
I think this is the reason why there’s so much anger and frustration all over the place. People don’t feel respected, and sadly, not everybody has the same capacity to brush it off and realize that it’s not really about them, and that other peoples’ missions aren’t their problem. If somebody is in your face to do something in contradiction to what you feel is your purpose, then it’s their problem to demonstrate how it’s in alignment with your purpose and you don’t need to take it personally or worry about it. If they can’t do that, perhaps they’re talking when they should be acting instead of depending on you to do what they should be doing.
Here’s a truth: when you get bossy, then you’re shirking your responsibility, and handing the power to them. That person now holds the keys to the kingdom. If they decide it isn’t their purpose, they can simply ignore it, and if other people are too lazy to more than nag, then it goes away. Simple as that. It’s not a smart thing to do. How can you take control of your life when you relinquish it to others?
We all have things on our heart, and should be obedient to act on them. Perhaps we are prompted to give a word in season to others, but it’s critical to use the gift of discernment to make sure you’re planting seeds instead of handing them to others and telling them to tend to the planting and harvest. We do this by exploring our motives, to make sure they’re pure and right. This will keep us from getting out of our business and pushing our fear and desires on others when we shouldn’t. Remember, actions speak louder than words, and people are always watching so be unique and act your conviction. Words are everywhere folks, but action is much more rare.
And before you say “Sherri, you’re a hypocrite for giving advice on not giving advice!” well – you read this blog, didn’t you? You have a choice whether to take this as the word in season I mean it to be, or to take offence and get mad. And that’s the great thing about advice that this all boils down to: you can take it, or leave it.
That’s all today. Take care. Have a Happy Friday tomorrow and a wonderful weekend.
Bye!
I believe this is a relevant question, because I’ve seen a lot of this in my personal life lately. I hear a lot of talk about what should happen, but they want other people to make it happen. I’ve been in prayer and had several conversations with people about this, and it came to me that it boils down to laziness: they want others to act on their fear or expectations, but they don’t want to do anything to promote their vision. In fact, the people I talked to complained of experiencing the same thing. I even overhead somebody talking on the phone, and they hit at the heart of the matter when they said “If you know how to fix it, why don’t you fix it instead of complaining about it?”
That conversation ended quickly, and it’s time for many others to end too. Especially online!
You have no idea what the Lord has put on other peoples’ hearts. You may be talking about helping the victims in Texas, when the Lord is telling the person you’re talking to that they really need to help their co-worker in the next cubicle who’s struggling. And that’s the point: we’re too quick to assume that what I feel should be done isn’t what everybody needs to be doing. Remember that popular adage that we’ve found the center of the universe, and it isn’t you (or me, or anybody). It’s a big world out there full of need, and it’s impossible for one person to be responsible to do everything. My job is to be obedient to the prompting on my heart, and to trust others to do the same – and this is the same for everybody under the sun. When we get into telling others what to do, we’re stepping outside of our domain and trying to play God in somebody elses’ life.
I think this is the reason why there’s so much anger and frustration all over the place. People don’t feel respected, and sadly, not everybody has the same capacity to brush it off and realize that it’s not really about them, and that other peoples’ missions aren’t their problem. If somebody is in your face to do something in contradiction to what you feel is your purpose, then it’s their problem to demonstrate how it’s in alignment with your purpose and you don’t need to take it personally or worry about it. If they can’t do that, perhaps they’re talking when they should be acting instead of depending on you to do what they should be doing.
Here’s a truth: when you get bossy, then you’re shirking your responsibility, and handing the power to them. That person now holds the keys to the kingdom. If they decide it isn’t their purpose, they can simply ignore it, and if other people are too lazy to more than nag, then it goes away. Simple as that. It’s not a smart thing to do. How can you take control of your life when you relinquish it to others?
We all have things on our heart, and should be obedient to act on them. Perhaps we are prompted to give a word in season to others, but it’s critical to use the gift of discernment to make sure you’re planting seeds instead of handing them to others and telling them to tend to the planting and harvest. We do this by exploring our motives, to make sure they’re pure and right. This will keep us from getting out of our business and pushing our fear and desires on others when we shouldn’t. Remember, actions speak louder than words, and people are always watching so be unique and act your conviction. Words are everywhere folks, but action is much more rare.
And before you say “Sherri, you’re a hypocrite for giving advice on not giving advice!” well – you read this blog, didn’t you? You have a choice whether to take this as the word in season I mean it to be, or to take offence and get mad. And that’s the great thing about advice that this all boils down to: you can take it, or leave it.
That’s all today. Take care. Have a Happy Friday tomorrow and a wonderful weekend.
Bye!
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