Carnegie's Charge

I consider myself a fairly mature individual. I am not easily offended. I trust in Him who I cannot see. I understand the value of work. I lovingly lead my family to the best of my ability. I also, seek to touch the lives of others, seeking nothing in return. And yet, today I find that I have so much room for growth. As I sat feet away from the remains of one of my most influential mentors, and listened to the stories of his impact on every person's life, I realized that I'm only scratching the maturity surface...

In one word, he was 'self-less.' He embodied Christ's command to 'deny oneself.' That's it! I must learn how to not only think less of myself, but in certain situations, to not think of myself at all! I've mastered thinking of myself, looking out for my best interests, protecting myself. In order for me to reach the next level of life, I must learn to 'deny myself.' Denying unlocks the power of true humility and service.

I am confident that this path is the right one, because it completely contradicts our current culture. There is more to life than me...This is Carnegie's Charge!

Baby I'm a Star!

It seems that most people crave the attention of our secular and spiritual celebrities. Yes, we have spiritual celebrities! I'd like to pose a question, "Are humans able to handle the radiance that the spotlight emits?" I've long held the belief that only God can be worshiped. In fact, we discover that we (humans) were created to worship Him (Genesis 1:27; Psalms; Romans 12:1-2; Revelation 4:11). This is no great revelation, but it begs the question, "Why do WE desire to be worshiped?" We simply weren't built to handle that kind of attention, scrutiny, pressure.

There have been too many celebrity "failures" of late to even catalog. My heart bleeds for all of them, because it's almost as if they were set up to fail! A friend once told me the danger of spotlights. Of course, they're designed to keep up with the individual on stage. However, if the spot stays on a person too long, they will begin to burn; lose their vision due to the light; and thus, lose their direction!

So, how do we cherish our stars, both spiritual and secular, without replacing the Son? I believe we must communicate our appreciation for the gifts that God has given them. This will keep us from worshiping the gifted, as opposed to worshiping the Giver of the Gifts! We also need to love-mercy! Not long ago I suffered a public humiliation. The ONLY way I made it through was by the loving, corrective, and merciful hands and hearts of God's people.

Since we made them stars, let's not ridicule them when they "fall." I believe we can all benefit from God's "Star-Power!"