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The difficulty in not believing in Santa Claus is that we end up having to buy all the presents, wrap them and retrieve the credit card bills at the end of the month. A lack of faith in a North Pole friend can very well close the door on assistance–even from those around us who get caught up in the spirit.
Now, I had the distinct pleasure of raising six sons. One is a film-maker, another is a sound technician and entrepreneur. The third fellow is a junior executive at an insurance company and an aspiring actor. Son four is also a sound technician and plays bass guitar in a blues band. How about number five? He is another filmmaker, presently living in China. And my sixth fine young man is a drummer who would love to start a great rock and roll band.
Even though all six of these fellows have my love, they also occasionally have my intrusion into their lives as I challenge them to find a message–a core, if you will–a bit of character that forms their character and determines the character of their endeavors.
Walking around in today’s world without possessing a guiding message in your soul is similar to arriving at an Arabian market, not knowing the language, starving to death and ending up giving away everything you have for a handful of dates. The world will rob you of your soul if you’re willing to give it your heart–and where your treasure is, your heart will be also.
What is our treasure? It is the compass of a message that directs our actions and draws lines in the sand when deception is wearing the mask of compromise.
I ask all six of my sons what I ask you today. What is your message? Don’t tell me about your faith. Possessing a faith is not pursuing a message. Being conservative and liberal is not a message. Those are profiles. Even claiming to be a Christian is not a message, because somewhere along the line in every religion, the passion of the original proclaimer has been lost in a flurry of business meetings and spreadsheets.
Your message is the guiding hope of how you conduct your life–no matter what or no matter who disagrees. To exist without that is not only dangerous, but can be lethal when the world around you is “aTwitter,” determined to race to the edge of the cliff, having never tested their brakes.
I’d like to take the next few days to discuss the process of finding a message. Because here is the order:
- You find your message first.
- Then you seek out those who are in fellowship with your purposes.
- If there is a God available who touts your values, then He or She is worthy of worship.
- And finally, you go out and change the world, using your message in truth, with love.
Don’t try to find God before you find your message, because religion will immediately demand that you blindly accept principles that are unnecessary for preservation.
I have found my message. NoOne is better than anyone else.” My next step? To discover if anyone or any God anywhere … says amen.
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