Are You A Slave To Performace?
Performance enslaves us to the opinions of others, making us unable to say no to anyone.
How do people become great? Do they launch a business and make a lot of money? Do they start a band and play before thousands? Do they make a video that goes viral on YouTube?
Jesus said that our pursuit of greatness is through service, not performance. He modeled this with His own life, laying it down for our forgiveness.
Performance is doing things for other people's approval. Service is doing them for God's approval, knowing that He is watching. Performance enslaves us to the opinions of others, making us unable to say no to anyone. Service frees us to do what God wants, enabling us to say no to others as needed. Performance leads us to become perfectionists, wanting to do everything just right to get praise from others. Service allows us to do even simple tasks and know that we are praised by God for doing so.
Knowing that God appreciates us in Christ allows us to exchange our performance for service.
Read Mark 9:33-37
Did Jesus discipline his disciples for aspiring to greatness? (No. Jesus redirected their aspirations for greatness.)
How does someone obtain greatness in the kingdom of heaven? ("If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.")
Do you have tendency to perform or to serve? Have everyone in your family identity up to three ways they can serve.
Prayer
Pray for a deeper understanding of God's appreciation for you and your family to free you from the pressures of performing and to help you become more satisfied in serving.
Mark 9:33-37 NKJV
33 Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, “What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest. 35 And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.” 36 Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, 37 “Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me.”
I have been know in the past to perform, I try not to now but every once in a while I find myself doing it again... I try and serve by helping people when they cannot do things thenmselves, lifting people up with encouragement, and I try to witness as often as I can with the testimonies of what God has done in my life. On the other hand if the stick, there is a lot of things that has happened in my life where my testimonies sound beyond belief. But a lot of my life is like that
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