In high school, I had a track coach named Coach Brockman. Almost every day before our workouts, he would come into the field house saying, “Let’s get mo’ betta’ today!” Not only was he an extraordinary track coach, but he is also an inspiring man of God. This blog is dedicated to him.
Dishes. Homework. Studying. Cleaning. Laundry. Cooking. Working out. Praying. Our to-do lists all look different, but we all have one. Whether it’s for school, work, or home, almost all of us have that ever-present list of tasks to be completed running through our minds almost constantly.
While there’s nothing wrong with productivity, this constant task checking can become poisonous. I know personally, I have this terrible habit of defining my day based on how much I was able to accomplish. Good days for me are the ones where I sent twenty-five emails and cleaned the house and cooked dinner and went to the gym and it goes on and on and on.
Somewhere along the way, I think we started believing the lie that we are human doings, not human beings. This lie is deeper than just equating our value to how much we can achieve in a day. We’ve changed the equation completely, believing that our worth equals our work. Have you ever felt worthless because of a bad grade? Felt like a failure because your child misbehaved at school? Thought that because your ministry isn’t thriving, you must not be good enough?
We’ve changed the equation completely, believing that our worth equals our work.
These are the lies I’m talking about. These lies tell us we must be better than we are. But the truth is that our worth does not equal our grades, our ministries, our jobs, or our parenting skills. We are not a function. We are not measured by our work. We are children of the King. We are defined by His love for us.
Yes, we’re going to make mistakes. We’re going to fail a test, be underprepared for a youth night, miss a deadline, say harsh words to our children. We are human. But you know how Jesus sees us after we mess up? He sees us as His beloved. He sees his child whom He loves so much, He allowed Himself to be beaten and nailed to a cross. He doesn’t condemn us; He calls us to supper.
Jesus is what defines us. He is the One who tells us who we are. If we are so entwined with our work that we’re not sure of who we are any more, we need to go back to Him. Go back to Jesus to find yourself.
We’re not loved because of what we do. We’re loved because of who we are and whose we are. So yes, let’s get better today. Let’s get better at falling in the arms of God and letting Him tell us He loves us.