We Can Slogan, Pander & Pretend All We Want
But This Won’t Make Falsehoods and Foolishness True
Whether a person really matters, and the degree of their significance, is strictly a personal issue, best self-evaluated, based on a formula and consistent life Principle:
From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. Lk 12:48
We Matter to the degree we are responsible to and for what we have: our gifts and talents, opportunities afforded us, health . . .. Which is why, for example, a bank’s Janitor may really Matter more than its president.
The common current error in thinking: that from everyone who has been given much, much less will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much less will be asked – that “much” provides greater freedom “to do your own thing,” again we refer to the Bible as the source of Wisdom:
When God gives someone wealth and possessions, and the ability to enjoy them, to accept their lot [their work duty] and be happy in their toil – this is a gift of God. Ecc 5:19
Having wealth and possessions is a demanding responsibility, a “lot” in life that few people are able to successfully fulfill. And when we think superficial items like the amount of money we have, our possessions, what others think . . . determine whether and how much we Matter, we are playing a fool’s game.
Or to think sloganing, pretending, virtue-signaling or even painting platitudes on roadways, without any supporting substance, is going to satisfy those whose feel entitled to more is very short-sighted. Pandering is treating people as stupid and naturally simply further inflames them.
Which Lives Matter?
A billionaire hedge fund manager focused on his millions or billions matters no more than a ghetto kid proud of his collection of expensive sneakers while neglecting his schooling. And neither comes close to mattering like the ghetto kid’s brother who is working hard to better himself. For true wealth is properly calculated based on a number of factors, money typically being of comparative minor importance.
The warning and good news (depending on the path we select TODAY) is that it is never too late to:
· Lose mattering if we move from a life that has Mattered to one that becomes simply self-focused, self-indulgent, without purpose or direction, taking without giving . . .
· Improve our Mattering by engaging (or reengaging) with seeking our personal and unique purpose in the utilization of our time, emotions, hopes . . . in a direction that Matters.
Or, in a few profound words, we will Matter in the future to the degree we work (and it is work, not talk!) the foundational Principle:
A man harvests what he plants. Gal 6:7
Whether any person really Matters, and to what extent, can be self-evaluated, based on a “formula” viewed from several perspectives, all essentially providing a personal reasonable Matter “score:”
· How closely the individual is accomplishing their unique purpose and destiny.
· The extent to which they are seeking and completing “the good works God prepared in advance for them to do” Eph 2:10 – whether they are living based on their own abilities or instead living by His Grace, resources, power . . . knowing apart from Christ that we cannot do anything that Matters. Jn 15:5
· Whether, at the end of life, following the path they are currently walking, how they Matter to God and, as a result, find themselves eternally in heaven or hell.
So, it is fair to say “All Lives Matter” (or “Black Lives Matter” if, for some reason we would want to speak of any one skin pigment color group) on a scale from very positive or a little positive . . . little negative . . . moderately negative on to bleak. We decide and then live the resulting consequences. And the outcomes will mirror almost exactly the degree of our satisfaction (or dissatisfaction), contentment (discontent) and happiness (unhappiness) in our Lives that Matter (or not) and, most important, our efforts to Matter more today and in the future (or sadly not).