Live Free with Josh Howerton - Find Rest from Success | Ep. 101 | Monday June 26, 2023

Episode Date: June 26, 2023

Performance and success are not where our identity is found. There are so many ways to get sidetracked: our children’s achievements, our career, and even comparison with other believers. Tune in to today’s episode as Pastor Mike encourages us to rest in who God says we are and enjoy our uniqueness rather than comparing ourselves to others. For more information, visit lakepointe.church/dailydrive

Thanks for tuning in to today's Daily Drive with Lake Point Church, a daily dose of God's word for your morning drive. When the word, not the world, becomes the majority of your week, your life will start to change. For that reason, our prayer is that God will speak to you through today's devotional. For more digital content to feed your faith, visit lakepoint.comit. And now let's dive in to today's devotional. Hey, hope you having a good day, and thanks for tuning in to the Daily Drive podcast where we spend a few minutes Monday through Friday just trying to get the know God a little better. We'll learn what he says about himself, what he says about life, and what he says about us. And we've been talking this summer about identity theft and how there are some major lies that we can tell ourselves that can hack into our soul and really, really mess with us.

It messes up emotionally, spiritually, mentally, even physically. And we already talked about how our identity can get robbed by relationships, how it can get mugged by the mirror and people pleasing and obsessing over this cultural image. All that really messes with us. If you missed a conversation about any of that, you can go back and catch it. It might be really helpful to you. And one of the big time lies that gets perpetuated from an early age is this one. I am what I do. My worth, my value, my identity is based on what I do and how well.

Well, I do it. My performance and my success is what defines me. Now, of course, you know, guys like me, you know, pastor types, we don't struggle with this stuff at all. Right. I mean, I've been to way too many pastors, conferences where guys and gals are working the whole image. I heard about a conversation in one of these gatherings and the questions came up. One guy asked another guy, hey, how big is your church now?

And the other pastor said, oh, we're running between 8 and 900. another guy walks up oblivious to the conversation and he says hey man I heard you guys are up around 60 people now man that is so cool he looks sheepishly at the other guy says well 60 is between 8 and 900 I mean all of us struggle with this stuff I mean you want to see image management as glaring best show up at a 10 year or a 20 year class reunion I mean some guy will rent a car rent a suit rent a date rent some hair tried to impress hey you voted me least likely to succeed. He starts singing like Toby Keith. How do you like me now? I heard about a woman who was going to attend her 50th high school class reunion. You know how all of us don't think that we look as old as we actually are? Well, she walks into the room and she thinks there must be some mistake.

This cannot be my reunion, my class reunion, because this room is just full of a bunch of really old people. So she asked this old guy by the door, says, excuse me, is this the class of 1969? He said, well, yes, it is. She goes, well, I guess this is my class. He says, oh, really, what did you teach? I mean, all this image stuff and all these games we play. And it all starts these expectations about performance and success. Starts very early in our culture.

I mean, if you ever sat at a park or a playground with toddlers running around and listen to the parents' conversations, like, when did she start walking on it two weeks? Really? Well, when he starts talking, oh, right out of the womb, He can say his ABCs. Oh, she can too in three languages. I mean, it's just crazy. I've played in coach sports most of my life,

and I've seen how so many parents are living their own unrealized athletic dreams through their kids. They get hyper-competitive. They're yelling at refs or questioning coaches' decisions so driven not to be embarrassed by the performance of their kid that they end up embarrassing their kids. I got a buddy who has a son very, very, very,

good basketball player, went on a D1 basketball scholarship. When he was 15 years old, he was playing in an AAU tournament, one of those elite showcase tournaments where college coaches show up to watch and evaluate. This kid on the other team got two technical fouls and got thrown out of the game. His mom ran out of the bleachers and started screaming at the ref. You can't do that. He's my franchise.

He's my franchise. How would you like to carry that pressure as a kid? And the pressure put on kids at school for performance and grades and scholarship. It's just, it's overwhelming sometimes. Don't get me wrong. I think you ought to do your very best. In fact, it honors God when we excel in our uniqueness. And I do.

I really do like those bumper stickers that say, proud parent of an honor student. But I'd like to see one that said, my kid did his best, got to see, and I'm just as proud. See, the message is this when at all costs. When the bell goes off, when the starter pistol is fired, It's do whatever it takes to blow by your classmates, your teammates, your coworkers, your family, your neighbors, be bigger, smarter, stronger, faster, richer, higher, and better than

the other guy, the other girl. Because listen, no one remembers who wins the silver medal. Second place is first loser. You're nobody if you are not the best. I want you to see what a guy named Solomon wrote in his journal. I think he totally nails it when he says this, and Ecclesiastes, he's 4-4. Then I observe that most people are motivated to success by their envy of their neighbors. But this too is meaningless, like chasing the wind.

And all that comparing and chasing can be exhausting. And it could also be over if you just rest in who God says you are. We're going to spend a few episodes unpacking this whole thing. So come back tomorrow, and man, I hope you have a great day. Thanks for tuning in today. For more biblical teaching and worship, join us for our church online live weekend services on Saturdays at 6 p.m.

and Sundays at 9.30 and 11 a.m. Central Standard Time. Also, if this podcast was helpful to you, would you be sure to rate, review, and share this podcast to help get the word out? For more information about all digital ministries of Lake Point, visit lakepoint.compt.combe. slash daily drive.