Like Kanye said...

Last night, Margot got a new loft bed. (And I’m hoping that sleeping closer to heaven will bring us more angelic mornings…) Before she got to sleep in it last night, she was so hyped that she had a hard time settling down for reading time. As she was log rolling back and forth across her carpet, I said “Go, are you listening?” and her response was “Yes, I have ears.” I took a pause to determine if that was sass or just child straightforward nature and came back at her with the same. “That doesn’t mean you’re listening. You have legs but you’re not jumping.” And - mom win - she was like “Ohhhh…I get it.”

Just because we have things doesn’t mean we’re using them.

And I feel this when it comes to spiritual disciplines, practices and trying to “be a good Christian.” Margot wasn’t struggling to listen because she was missing her ears. She was struggling to listen because of a lack of self-control.

I don’t know about you, but I grew up in purity culture so whenever I hear “self-control” I automatically go to sex. What you shouldn’t look at, think about or do. It’s easy for us to focus on the big things, right? But what about the small moments where the enemy convinces us things are too minuscule to matter. That’s where the issues begin.

Like a city whose walls are broken through
    is a person who lacks self-control.
Proverbs 25:28

I’ve been thinking a lot about what it looks like to be the church - plug for new podcast, Becoming Church, available on all the platforms, where we have conversations just like this - and one of the key verses I keep coming back to is also about being broken down.

You are Peter, a rock. This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out.
Matthew 16:17

Jesus told Peter that he would build his church - not a building, but a people - and that it would be so strong that even the powers of hell would not prevail against it. So if we look at those two concepts side by side, what do we see?

ONE - that together, we are stronger.
TWO - that I can cause cracks in the foundation by not using what’s been given to me.
THREE - that small moments make big impact, for better or worse.

Now, this is not to induce shame. I’m not good enough. None of us are, alone. That’s why we have each other. So that on the days when we know we’re cracking and breaking down, we can rely on the people around us to hold steady and be strong. But it does remind me that knowing things isn’t enough.

Like Kanye said…we have everything we need.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control are all within us. But we have to choose to use them. Starting with the small moments. Self-control isn’t just for big things like not murdering someone or not sleeping with someone you shouldn’t be sleeping with. It’s not just for refraining from cussing someone out on the internet, it’s also for taking it a step further to be kind on the internet. It’s not just for WHAT we say and do but for HOW we say and do it.

Being the church isn't as scary as it may sound. Don’t be triggered by the idea of evangelism and needing to tell everyone you meet about Jesus. Remember, it isn’t your job to save people. Just do the best you can to reflect Christ by how you live.

Listen to sermons, read the scriptures, listen to worship music, internalize all the messaging. Then choose to apply them. Not for other people, not to tell other people what they should be doing differently, but for you, in your own life, in your own small moments.

You have everything you need.