Who are we? Basically, we are the sum total of all the choices we’ve made in our lives up until this point. Granted, when we were children, there were choices made on our behalf, but since we’ve become adults we have to own our choices. Who do we want to be tomorrow? The answer to that question is dependent upon the choices we make today. Our choices matter.
I’m grateful to Pastor Craig Groeschel from Life Church in Oklahoma. The framework for this message series originated with his staff. When I was listening to their work, I thought that would be good for us to share, as well.
Over the next five weeks, we’ll take a look at what I believe are the most significant choices we’ll make in life. They’re not about who we’ll marry, or where we’ll live, or what type of work we’ll do, but about those basic choices we all have to make that are core to the values we espouse in life. We’ll look at control versus surrender, discipline over regret, important or urgent and life over death. We start this morning, though, with the choice of purpose or popularity.
Wouldn’t it be nice to live in a world where everyone liked you? It wouldn’t matter what you did, everyone would think you were absolutely awesome. It is what pastors strive for, but what we’ve discovered is, if we stay long enough, we’ll eventually make everyone happy. We make half the people happy when we come, and we make the other half happy when we leave. Let me burst everyone’s bubble. We live in the real world, and no matter what we do, we’ll never be liked by everyone. Unfortunately, we all make choices that seem to make us think otherwise.
What if, on the other hand, we were to wake up every morning with only one purpose in mind, and that is to please Jesus Christ? What if we could wake up every day with a purpose and a passion to do what we were created to do? Wouldn’t that be awesome? I want us to know today that it is possible. Not only is it possible, I believe it is what Jesus wants for all of us. It means, however, that the choice we make today (and everyday) is to choose purpose over popularity.
Here’s our problem, though. Because of sin, our default setting is to choose popularity. We want to know if people like us and what they think of us. Because of sin, we lose sight of our purpose. We lose sight of what we were made for.
I took a break from Facebook for Lent. Know what I discovered? I discovered that I could live without it. I also discovered that I became addicted to the “likes.” I was always checking to see who (or if anyone) liked my posts. I was literally addicted to being liked! I hope that doesn’t describe too many people. Oh, for you it may not be reflected in the “likes” you get on Facebook, but in your desire to know if you’re liked because of the job you have or the house you keep. We want to know if we fit in, if we’re good enough, or if we measure up. We spend our time trying to find meaning in the approval of others, when we’re missing the very thing God created us for. Living for the approval of others keeps us from the purpose of God. Because our choices matter, the challenge we have is to choose purpose over popularity.
The writer to the Hebrews tells us the brief version of Moses’ story. He tells us Moses chose to live on purpose rather than having the approval of others. Moses, you may remember, was born to a Hebrew family at a time when Pharaoh ordered all the Hebrew male children be slain. Moses’ mother fashioned a basket from reeds and hid Moses in the Nile River. Pharaoh’s daughter discovered the child and adopted him into Pharaoh’s family. For forty years, Moses lived in the lap of luxury with the best education, the best clothes, the best opportunities that life had to offer. I do love the way the writer says it:
24 It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin (Hebrews 11: 24-25 NLT).
Moses chose purpose. He chose to answer God’s call on his life rather than living in the palace with all the pleasures and popularity that goes with it. Granted, God had a BIG purpose in mind for Moses. Unfortunately, that’s where we get hung up. We get stumped in grasping God’s BIG purpose in our lives…am I supposed to be a missionary or cure cancer or something…rather than focusing on the day in and day out faithfulness in being a disciple of Jesus Christ. If we’re faithful living day-by-day, living on purpose today, we’ll eventually discover God’s BIG purpose. Actually, we’ll wake up one day and discover we’re probably already living it.
Here’s the way it happens. You engage in a conversation and you realize in the course of your conversation that you’re meant simply to be an encouragement to that person. Well, be an encouragement. You’ve chosen purpose. Or, you see someone who has a material or physical need, and you decide in that moment that you can meet that need, so you do. That’s choosing purpose. Here’s one more: Your purpose on any given day may simply to be to pray for your boss or your co-workers. Your purpose may be as the prayer warrior for your workplace. Choose that purpose. That’s what it means to live on purpose, and living on purpose may not always be popular, but it will always be life-changing.
Briefly, I want to note three things that happen when we live on purpose. First, purpose diminishes distractions. One of the greatest distractions of life is comparing. We compare our place in life with the place of others. We compare our salary with another. We compare our children to others. Compare, compare, compare! The Enemy calls it distract, distract, distract.
For United Methodist pastors, we are in what’s called appointive season. Every year, pastors are subject to re-appointment by the Bishop of our Annual Conference. No fear, I’m not moving! But, what happens every appointment season, when appointments start being announced, even we pastors go over to our bookshelf and pull out our Conference Journal (that’s where all the attendance and salary information is kept on all the churches), and we compare salaries and church sizes. See, pastors are just as susceptible as anyone else.
Moses knew the power of distractions. For forty years, he dealt with the distractions of Pharaoh and the Hebrew people. For forty years, they kept asking, “Can’t we just go back to Egypt?”
All the distractions keep us from being the best partner, the best parent, the best boss or employee we can be. The distractions cause us to miss the person right in front of us who needs our attention the most, and when we miss that person, we miss the very opportunity God offers us to live as faithful disciples. Choosing purpose diminishes the distractions.
Second, purpose pushes through the pain. Moses also knew the pain of choosing purpose over popularity. It almost wore him out. Jesus, too, knew the pain of choosing purpose over popularity. It would have been so easy for him to give in to the Pharisees and Sadducees when he was on his way to the cross, but he knew the Father had a larger purpose, and that’s the thing, we have to keep our eyes on a larger prize. Faithfulness in the little things today leads us to the larger things God has planned for us, but sometimes it can be very painful in getting there.
Ladies know this perhaps better than we guys do. I’m talking about childbirth here. You ladies who have had children know how painful that can be, and we guys who’ve stood alongside our wives have watched, but women keep having babies, right? That’s because of the payoff at the end. You know going in what it’s going to be like, yet you do it anyway. That’s kind of the way it is serving God by choosing to live on purpose. I’m reminded of the words of Jesus in John 16:33—“Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
Finally, purpose empowers us to please God. Purpose empowers us to please God because this is what we were created to do. Just like Moses leading the people out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. He knew it would please God, so he just kept going in spite of all the opposition and all the pain. He was passionate about serving God. We…you and me…are created to please God. Whenever we live by faith, we please God. Whenever we're obedient to the little moments of purpose…when we're faithful in the small things, we please God. Whenever we die to ourselves and let Christ live through us, we please God. That’s what we’re created for!
Look again at verse 26 of Hebrews 11:
26 He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward.
I’ll not argue with you. There is value in being liked by people, but there is a greater value in being loved and used by God. We don’t doubt there is some value in being popular, but there is greater value in living for God’s purpose. Our popularity is not going to change the world. There will be someone else to come along and take our place, but living in the fullness of God’s purpose will change the world and it will change lives…ours and those around us.
Day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, we make choices. We are, today, the sum total of the choices we've made in the past. The decisions we make today determine who we become and what we can do tomorrow. We have the make the choice every day. Am I living for others? Am I trying to please people? Am I trying to do something that I will win the approval of others, or am I living from the approval of God? We can't please everybody but we can please God. We choose God's purpose over popularity of people. We lay down our lives to serve him, being faithful in the little purpose moments. Because when we're faithful in the little things, what does God do? He trusts us with the big things. God help us to choose purpose over popularity.
