TLCDaisy's Journal

My Church is doing a series called 'Refrigerator Rights!' It's about our relationships...ya know, the kind that your friends/family feel so comfy at your house, that they head straight to your Fridge to get a soda, make a sandwich, eat your snacks, etc.

This past Sunday was our first Sermon in this Series, and it was very moving for me, that I want to journal about it. Even if you are not a Christian, I think you will gain some perspective from this!

--------------------------------------- 

To Succeed Alone is to LOSE!

A lot of us suffer from isolation...this is what Dr. Philip Zimbardo says about Isolation:

“I know of no more potent killer than isolation. There is no more destructive influence on physical and mental health than the isolation of you from me and us from them. It has been shown to be a central agent in the etiology of depression, paranoia, schizophrenia, rape, suicide, murder, and wide variety of disease states.”
- Professor Philip Zimbardo, Stanford University

Isolation...talking about isolation from God and human relationships.  We NEED the Support of our Family and Friends and God too.

In Ecclesiastes 4:8 (NIV), Solomon wrote:

There was a man all alone;
       he had neither son nor brother.
       There was no end to his toil,
       yet his eyes were not content with his wealth.
       "For whom am I toiling," he asked,
       "and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?"
       This too is meaningless—
       a miserable business!

Or how about this translation, Ecclesiastes 4:8 from The Message:

I turned my head and saw yet another wisp of smoke on its way to nothingness: a solitary person, completely alone—no children, no family, no friends—yet working obsessively late into the night, compulsively greedy for more and more, never bothering to ask, "Why am I working like a dog, never having any fun? And who cares?" More smoke. A bad business.

There were NO deep relationships there...Isolation! No JOY!

He was working like a dog, excessively = External Success.  A meaningless, miserable business, such is true.

Here are 3 Concepts...Spend time in Solitude and Prayer on these:

1. "Success" < (less than) Relationship

      Let's look at Proverbs 6:6-11 (The Message) 

A Lesson from the Ant

 6-11 You lazy fool, look at an ant.
   Watch it closely; let it teach you a thing or two.
Nobody has to tell it what to do.
   All summer it stores up food;
   at harvest it stockpiles provisions.
So how long are you going to laze around doing nothing?
   How long before you get out of bed?
A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there,
   sit back, take it easy—do you know what comes next?
Just this: You can look forward to a dirt-poor life,
   poverty your permanent houseguest!

----An ant survives because it has responsibility, and the ant works hard and knows what to do. Laziness leads to isolation...get out and make some relationships!

Ecclesiastes 4:5  (NIV)

The fool folds his hands
       and ruins himself.

 --Lazy people ruin themselves.

2. "Success" > (Greater Than) Relationship

       Insecurity is used to hide what's really inside one. People use their Career, their Titles to hide from what's inside them.  There is this strong desire to 'measure up.'

In Ecclesiastes 4:4, Solomon wrote :

And I saw that all labor and all achievement spring from man's envy of his neighbor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

      Most success-driven people received conditional love through their life. It was a performance-based lifestyle. One only measures up when they are successful. 

      Whoever has the most toys wins!  Whoever has the most expensive car in town is cool and rich... and I want a car just like his. Whoever has the biggest house I envy...I want one just like theirs...Gotta have one too!  Oh look, 'Beth' is wearing the newest Abercrombie & Fitch Jeans...man, I gotta have them too!

     What's the End Game?  Don't you know it all goes 'back in the box' someday?

     That is all external success. One who lives on external success typically has no internal success. There's NO TIME for RELATIONSHIPS! They're too busy with their careers, and keeping up with 'The Jones's.'

     At one's death...God will come and write a 4-letter word Commentary on your 'box'  to describe you.  What will yours be?

   Remember, it all goes 'back in the box' someday. Those with the most 'toys', those working like a 'dog' and have no time for relationships, get 'FOOL' written on their 'Box.'  External Success will lead to 'FOOL' on your 'box.'

   What makes a Life a Life?

             Being in a Relationship with Him - God, and with other people!

            *Authentic Success is in Relationships.*

           Internal Success, Living in Love in Relationships...God will write this one word Commentary on your 'Box:'   'LOVE'

3. 'Success' = Relationship

      Relationship's with God and other people.

   Ponder this: Your loved one is in Serious Condition in the ICU at the Hospital.  What are your feelings, emotions...what are your actions and behaviors?  Probably you are worried to death that they may die. Your love for them is overwhelming. You drop what you're doing at the first call that you hear they are in the Hospital and you go there.  You sit and wait for the Doctor's Report. You sit and wait to go into see your loved one.

   Ponder what it would be like if YOU lived each day as your loved ones, family, friends were in the ICU at the Hospital?  How would that change YOUR life?

  My Pastor read a book about Pixar...ya know, the movie company that produces animated movies, like Wall-E and Toy Story.  Well, their employees can get so engrossed in their work, they work long hours, are under lots of stress.

  One day, a wife of one of the employee's asked her husband to drop their baby off at daycare. He said he would.  Later, his wife called him and asked how the drop-off went at the daycare...it was then that he realized that he forgot to drop-off the baby at daycare. THE BABY WAS STILL IN THE BACKSEAT OF THE CAR!  Luckily, the baby survived...and Pixar changed some of their policies to try and ease the stress of their employees, like keeping work hours reasonable, making sure their employees are not so stressed.

  So, What are YOU leaving in the backseat?

  Relationships? Love? Your Pets? Your Children? Your Spouse/Significant Other? Your Family? Your Hobbies?

  To Live in Love is to SUCCEED!

  Authentic Success is in Relationships!

  So, clean out your backseat...and start living in love and relationships!