Going the extra mile…Not!

There was an insurance or mutual company commercial that shows people doing the extra step.

It would start with someone picking up garbage at a fair, one person would see that it would pass along until one person prevented someone else from getting hit by a car.

Pay it forward.

The commercial said something along the lines of "Wouldn't you be glad if your insurance company did thing same thing?"

What if it was the other way around?

What if the people threw stuff on the ground, rather than helping the person walking into traffic, you trip him?

Jason Sleight and I were talking about making a video of doing this. What if we just don't care? If we didn't try to help people and took it a step further and aided in making the world a worst place?

We wanted to use that video as a discussion starter for teaching about really caring for people.

Often we do an awful job of this.

The people weren't happy with what was going on in Zechariah chapter 11.

They weren't happy with who was in charge and responded to God with this.

God responded back in verse 16…

"For I am going to raise up a shepherd over the land who will not care for the lost, or seek the young, or heal the injured, or feed the healthy, but will ea the meat of the choice sheep, tearing off their hoofs."

The people rejected a good shepherd so he gave them an awful shepherd.

Just like the video Jason and I were talk about, he showed them the worst.

We get so wrapped into wanting something better in life that we are not happy with where we are at.

Two area's were you see this happening at is in NBA coaching and youth ministry.

Both jobs some people want to see immediate results at.

For NBA coaching, if you're not winning games, you're fired.

At one point former Pistons coach Larry Brown was the longest tenure head coach in the Eastern Conference. He was there 3 years.

Average stay for a first time youth minister in a Church is 18 months. Most likely that person is out of ministry in 3 years.

We often get in our heads the idea of there is always someone better out there.

Often the opposite happens.

We think once we get this promotion, things will improve.

If I owned a better house, things won't break down.

The list could go on and on.

Living this way, things that we think will make us better, makes us worse.

This is what happened in Zechariah's time and it's what happens today when we think there is something better out there rather than enjoying where we are at.

Enjoy life where we are at right now.

Have a great day.