We are a culture that regularly is trying to escape the daily responsibilities of a good work ethic and being a good citizen. We have become more consumed with what the government, church and others can do for us than what we can do for others. We are taking “gap year” after “gap year” to find ourselves, but we are not planting ourselves and building anything that lasts.

Sixty five percent of the jobs that current High School students will be offered are not even created yet. Some dangerous trends have been taking place within the marketplace. More and more jobs do not build anything that last and bring more jobs and blessings to our culture. One example of this is the number of financial jobs that take advantage of markets and actually destabilize the economy. An extreme example of this is the current trend of individuals getting paid to post videos on YouTube and Instagram. This trend is all about creating an individualistic income stream without any concern for building something that will last and contribute to a better culture. I am conversing more and more with wanderers who are traveling about in their decked-out adventure vans writing blogs and video blogs, trying to find themselves. They are disconnected from healthy community and are not able to build healthy relationships, community or a lasting heritage. All of these trends are working together to bring about more isolation and erode healthy structures of community and belonging.

Without growing healthy structures of community the futility of an absurd world will continue to consume the emotional and spiritual health of our culture.

So, what is the solution? Where is the hope for our fractured, disoriented and emotionally isolated culture?

Jesus gave His Church the megaphone of hope to shout out the good news in a dark world. The Church family is to be the light and example of a growing healthy community in the midst of the darkness of a relationally fractured culture. Universally we “find ourselves” as we commit to building community with each other, not in taking “walk-abouts” or “gap years.” We grow and experience fulfilling relationships when we build something together that will last and bear fruit.

Many of the healthy foundations that America was built upon are currently being deconstructed. They were built by a healthy integration of pioneering gifts and settling gifts. Jesus built these gifts into His Church to be a catalyst for igniting healthy structures of community. He has called His followers to come “find themselves” in Him and His new community. He has called His followers to be Builders not isolated individuals.

The need of the hour is for His Church again to be the model of healthy community and belonging where people can “find themselves” and be a part of building something that bears eternal fruit. For this to happen, the pioneering and settling gifts must be awakened within the Church. The pioneering gifts are needed to sense the areas of greatest need and step out and launch new ministries and initiatives to address them. The settling gifts are needed to come alongside the pioneering gifts and create healthy relational structures for the building of healthy community. We find ourselves when we are committed to a community that is committed to building healthy relational structures.

Here are a few important questions we should all be asking ourselves and discussing:

1.) What is my motivation for work?

2.) What am I building?

3.) How is what I do enhancing my community?

4.) How am I building healthy relationships?

5.) Do we live with a “just passing thru” mentality or a “planting” mentality?

6.) Are we committed to a community where we are truly known?

7.) Are we leaving behind a heritage of healthy relationships?

The post Stop Trying To Find Yourself – Build Something appeared first on Stephen Woodrow.

I believe there are three primary areas, which we can be in bondage for approval:

appearance, performance and status. How we view each of these is integral to developing a healthy identity. This bondage to approval can start young if those closest to us do not affirm us in healthy ways in each of these ways. If we are overly affirmed for our appearance we can develop an unhealthy focus on our outward appearance over our inward health. This can lead to a highly superficial life and with highly superficial relationships. All we have to do is look to the entertainment community and online community to see its affects. If our appearance is under affirmed or negatively affirmed we can easily develop an unhealthy lifestyle of seeking affirmation in all the wrong places. If our performance (i.e.: grades, athletics, etc.) is overly affirmed we can become driven to perform but suffer from never “being good enough.” Performance based relationships are toxic. Now what about “status”? Interesting, that the “status symbol” is really a symbol of trying to gain approval. It is evidence of bondage for approval to a certain level of status. A person who is in bondage to status sizes people up and puts them into “classes” according to perceived status. Status based relationships are toxic.

I could go on, but I think you get the point. The bondage that comes from having to gain approval in these areas has had a destructive impact on the quality of relationships and all of life. The majority of people’s lives are lived believing their approval ratings are down and are striving whether they know it or not to gain approval. Now, if this bondage has such radical affect upon our relationship with others what kind of impact does it have on our relationship with God? Every religion in the world is based on this bondage to approval except Christianity.

Can you imagine a life free from having to gain approval from others?

What if there was a way to boost our approval ratings forever? It would be a treasure of incalculable value.

The good news of Jesus Christ reveals to us that our approval rating with our heavenly Father is 100%! This reality once in our hearts explodes a desire to seek Him and serve Him with expectation of incalculable reward! It also births a whole new level of healthy relationship with others. Here is how:

Stop striving to gain approval from others and from God (Matt 6:1-18)

Start believing you are approved by God in Christ Jesus and that He rewards those who continue to seek Him (2Cor 5:21, Hebrews 11:6)

Seek God’s plan, power and purpose for your life (Matt 6:33, 7:7-11)

So, we know that when our practicing of righteousness is done with an audience of One we are free from having to gain the approval of others and free to want and expect reward from our heavenly Father. At the core of this reward is greater knowledge and intimacy with God and with others. The greatest things is life are “relationships.”

As we grow in our understanding and experience of God’s love-approval over us we are now in a position to develop healthy relationship with others. And our heavenly Father desires to bless us with abundant healthy relationships. So, Stop, Start and Seek and reap the blessings from your heavenly Father!

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