"What is the greatest commandment?” the crowds
inquired of Jesus. He responded with a definitive answer - To love God with all
your heart, with all your soul and with your entire mind. And the second of
these is to love your neighbor as yourself."
Not a day passes that one can't find dozens of
quotes, seminars and conferences on how to find one's purpose, niche, or place
of success. Christ laid out the answer for success over 2000 years ago with a
simple direction to love. The problem is this love is not easy and requires
everything. It's not a love that is self-seeking, but a love that sacrificially
pours into others. It requires our whole heart, our whole soul and our entire
mind. How do you do that in a world that is filled with self-gratification?
Media is ignited with self-promotion and you can purchase followers to create an image of success. How crazy is that! All the daily noise of having
your name at the top, having the most followers, reposts, tweets, shares, etc. has us all in a holding pattern of keeping our eyes on ourselves. It's so easy
to get sucked into the undercurrent and stay so busy being busy, but never
breaking out and changing course.
Today as I scan through my Facebook wall and see
all the paid ads luring me to promote me, I take a step aside to catch my
breath and refocus on the words of Jesus. He is not asking me to be #1 on
twitter, Facebook or instagram. He is directing me to love those around me, and
in that love I will find true meaning of success.
"And
now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is
love."