New Listing: Doing Vs. Being
New Listing
Doing Vs. Being
I’m a keep-it-simple and make-a-list-kinda-girl. Groceries, school supplies, chores, calls, stops, and schedules. And the frequent replacement list for the list that went missing. Bulleted lists. Give me the high points, the bottom line. Change the fonts. Click bold. Use italics. Just make me a list.
I recently asked my students to share their playlists, so I could compile a big list of favorites for our class. Talk about revealing. I discovered a few fellow 80s rockers and Michael McDonald listeners plus lots of current hits. I had to wonder who the big influencers are. Who are my students copying? Who’s defining them? I ask myself the same questions: What’s on my playlist this week? Who’s defining me? Do I need a new one?
My list of priorities and to-do’s speaks volumes about who I am. I am pleased to chauffeur my girls to and from dance lessons and soccer practice. I beam with pride to attend our son’s football and soccer games. I KNOW my neighbors probably count the number of times my SUV leaves the driveway in just one afternoon. We are a busy family. I must retreat to some quiet place to abandon the pressure of my list. I even wonder if I’m on the right list. Have I become just a human doing instead of a human being?
Today, unlike ever before, the source of our identity must be God’s truth. I discover a much better list to follow in Ephesians 1. What a relief! This list spotlights my true identity in Christ. In chapter 2, verse 4, I am reminded that my past blips and blunders are dead and that “God who is rich in mercy has made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our transgressions…” To live according to His list prepares us for what’s ahead—later, tomorrow or weeks from now. Ironically, it has little to do with accomplishments and crossing off tasks. Most often, for me at least, when I get still—and quiet—I find that the Lord is ever so ready to remind me of his goodness in my life. Things like a conflict from last week being resolved or provision for an unexpected expense. Scripture is our receipt of our NEW nature: forgiven, redeemed, restored, whole. (Colossians 2:9-10)
What if we change? Instead of following a to-do list, we embrace a “to-be” list. “We’ve been created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness,” (Ephesians 4:24). Believing this verse alone catches me by the arm. Wait! If this is so, then why the despair? Why am I already imagining the worst, or better yet acting like the worst version of me? The more we identify with Christ, the sooner we discover what it means to live in fullness— that quick response of forgiveness; the unshakable confidence to share your faith; words spoken in genuine agape (when you really want to yank out your earrings and let your flip flops do the talking). As my identity grows deeper in Jesus, I relinquish my list to His leading and authority.
For all of my list-making friends, consider making these three a constant priority:
1. Don’t do; just be. Be still and mediate on all that’s good and true.
2. Don’t try; just trust. Step where He leads.
3. Don’t think; just thank. Thank God for his unfailing attributes and your new identity.
When I make Jesus my primary concern, everything else naturally falls into place. (Matt 6:33)
Reflection
1. Do we cross things off our “to-be” lists, or are we always working on it?
2. How do our normal to-do lists align with God’s plan for us in Proverbs 4?
3. In what areas or relationships do you resemble a human doing instead of a human being?
Goals
Refer to the last paragraph, and choose one to describe how you can apply it daily.
““Be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet, then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.”
(Proverbs 4:20-27 ESV)
