I am not the prettiest, smartest, or even wittiest person in the room. And I often find myself screaming on the inside because I have this need to be perfect. As much as I hate that about myself, I want to be the smartest. I want people to like me and enjoy my company. I need my house to be clean and decorated to the best of my ability. But WHY. I have a disease.
From the minute we take our first breath, we are consumers. Born into a sinful world that preaches to be happy is to have, we must make our way. We become slaves to our reputation and our titles and somewhere along the road we lose who we really are and who we're meant to be in a forest of selfishness, "wants" and "goals" and ideals that we planted ourselves because we have been conditioned to think that is what life if about. The american dream. Reminds me a little of Jack and the Beanstalk but I'm Jack and I sold my one useful item for the promise of riches. But as I sat tonight thinking about how I am only slightly good at the things that I love, where others surpass me by leaps and bounds with their talent and success (pity party), God spoke to me.
True value is not measured by the standards of the world. The world doesn't care that you prayed with that women at work today, but it matters to God and it's far more import to Him than that extra zero you want added to your paycheck. Success isn't bad. Do not misunderstand my words. Success is a gift from God because everything is a gift. I'm just saying we shouldn't be wasting our time chasing perfection or trying to fill a mold set for us by the world. God doesn't care if you're a CEO or working in the mail room. He doesn't care if you have a next level pinterest-worthy house or live in a house held together by sticks and mud in the middle of the jungle. True value is only found in Jesus. He doesn't look at your degrees and your net worth, He looks at what you did with it to further His kingdom. My disease and thief of my joy is my need to compare myself to others. It is a constant battle that with the grace of God I am learning to overcome. Though sadly my thief isn't actually a thief at all. That would mean it slipped in without my knowing. The truth is half the time I warmly invite the evil in, maybe not as I would to a welcomed friend but as I would to a distant relative whom I kind of dislike but will willingly entertain while I have to. The point is, I opened the door.
So back to the word basic. It can mean "base model, no extras, nothing fancy, just your typical everyday." But it can also mean, "forming or relating to the most important part of something." We are each in our own way absolutely crucial and fundamental to God's plan. The big picture. That being said, I will unashamedly accept being "basic" all day every day. I will stop letting the thief in and I will learn to live a life rooted in God's will for my life no matter how the small the return may seem by the world's standards.
