What Are You Known For?

I was listening to the radio yesterday as Cheri and I drove home from a wedding at St. Simons Island.  I heard a brief interview with either Alex or Brett Harris, who co-authored the book titled Do Hard Things.  He made the statement that Christian teens are generally known for either the bad things they do, or the bad things they don’t do.  Alex and Brett have a conference tour called “The Rebeloution”, in which they encourage teens to be known for the good things they do.

This concept doesn’t only apply to teens.  I think that many adults in the church have become known for either the bad things they do, or the bad things they don’t do.  The sad part of this is that we become satisfied with being known for the bad things we don’t do, and we consider the mere avoidance of sin to constitute a victorious Christian life.  For this reason, we often get bored with our Christianity.  Focusing merely on the avoidance of sin leads to self-centeredness instead of fulfillment. 

Ephesians 2:10 tells us that “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (ESV).  It is in doing good things for others that we find fulfillment.  God commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves.  Jesus demonstrated this for us by humbling himself and caring for others.  His entire life on earth was dedicated to showing love for all mankind, even to the point of laying down his life as a sacrifice for us.

What are you known for?  Is it merely the bad things you don’t do, or is it the good that you do?  If it’s the former, it’s time for a change.  You’ll find a new sense of joy and fulfillment if you change your focus to doing good things for others.