The Measure part 4
Let's take today to kind of slow down. Make sure we're staying in our lanes. Because that's vitally important. I believe we should do all we can do--that's what love is, giving everything you have and everything you are--but we can ONLY do what we can do. Let me say it another way, "For we stretch not ourselves beyond our measure, as though we reached not unto you: for we are come as far as to you also in preaching the gospel of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:14). And if you read it in the Amplified Bible, "For we are not overstepping the limits of our province and stretching beyond our ability to reach, as though we had not (had no legitimate mission) to you, for we were [the very first] to come even as far as to you with the good news (the Gospel) of Christ," we can kind of glean that Paul was talking about having the "right" to preach at certain churches because they had been there before. Repeat business, so to speak. But I think we can also see the value in not overreaching. Not stretching ourselves beyond our measure. So the measure is the fulness. The measure of God--the measure of a man--is the love that he (He) gives. I hope we can all agree on that. But we need to get to the place where enough is enough. Doing what you can do... is all you can do. I think we wear ourselves slap out by trying to do too much. And that doesn't help anybody. We wear ourselves out, and we don't (can't) give our best to those we are trying to help. Ron Swanson on Parks and Rec said it like this (and pardon his French), "Don't half @$$ two things. Whole @$$ one thing." Don't try to do to much. Do what you're doing to the very best of your ability. Do it because its in your heart to do it. Do it as unto the Lord. Heartily. And don't get down on yourself for saying no. No is a valid response. There are some things you can, and should, do. But not everything. Its not your job to do it all. Its not your job to solve every problem. And the more you try, the more of a mess you oftentimes make. Trying to do too much almost ensures that nothing will get done. Or at least nothing will get done right. So while, one more time, love IS giving all you are and all you have... understand that you can't give MORE than that. Once you've given something all you've got its either enough... or its not. And either way, all you can do is all you can do. Sometimes you have to just, what's that old saying? "Let go and let God." Banging your head against the wall only ever results in you getting a headache. So work smarter, not harder. Pick your battles. Slow down. Stay in your lane. Don't overreach. Don't stretch yourself too thin. Its better to do one thing greatly than to do a lot of things poorly. You'll be better off for it, and, honestly, so will everybody else. People deserve our best, so we need to make sure we're not doing too much and can give them our best. The measure of faith has shown us the measure of love that we have. It is up to us to not stretch ourselves beyond that measure. To give what we've got... but only what we've got. To love in a way that is actually love. Not whatever we have left because we've been running around like chickens with our heads cut off. But maybe doing more BY doing less. Doing what we can do, and not worrying so much about what we can't!