Shoutout to Jamal for posting this link into the Current GroupMe. Video Highly recommend it. In short, it’s a video pressing for you to reflect on what motivates you. What are you waking up for? The things you do with your time….why do you do it? What are your motives? Money, Notoriety, Fame, Void-Fillers, Insecurity Killers…. God? Honestly. Going to school to get an education, waking up every morning for work….where does that drive (if you have any drive) come from? It really had me thinking and also posed A LOT of conviction within me. For instance…..
(1) Me graduating from college with my daughter in tote. I was very proud of that accomplishment. To this day I get a lot of praises and acknowledgments on this obstacle I overcame and how many others in my shoes would have never finished and blah blah blah…you know the rest. It hit me; one of the main reasons I chose to go back to Mizzou was to prove to people (those I liked and those I did not like) that I wasn’t a quitter. I possessed a lot of pride….at the expense of my child. I wanted to be seen with Addy on my hip and my book bag on my back. Granted, God kept me the entire time. Took me six months to find a job, blessed me with food stamps, a working car, affordable daycare, and a great support system in Columbia which greatly helped me thrive. I didn’t go back to Mizzou because I thought that’s what God wanted for me…. I wanted to PROVE to MAN what I could do. Very selfish. But just like God, he used what I had arranged for bad to work for my good. I came to Mizzou with selfish intentions but left a new creature. He be knowing.
(2) I graduated with a major in Communication with initial intentions of pursuing a career in Public Relations. I was even a contributing writer for an online magazine; following professional Public Relations specialists on Twitter; trying to network. The whole nine. The thought of working behind the scenes in the entertainment industry but receiving the perks intrigued me. That was the lifestyle I thought I wanted. It sounds fun right? That’s what “drove” me. The thought of being creative, getting money, mingling with the stars. No passion; no God-given passion; No service of other people without intentions of getting something in return. Just me. No God. Just me. Wasn’t until I took an Argument and Advocacy class last year (I wrote about this in a previous blog), where I had to write a 15-page paper on something I would advocate for. I chose single-father advocacy. The ability to provide resources to fathers fighting desperately to be in their child’s life and how to co-parent with the mother. Nothing like a father in the home. That class helped me realize my purpose. My gift of service belongs to rebuilding households. May not possess a lot of money salary wise…. But the thought satisfies me alone. God will provide in every. No doubt.
(3) This third one is the most common. When I get on Twitter and see tweets like “wake and grind” or “headed to the money” or people always stating what they don’t have time for because they are “Getting money.” Greed in the most blatant form. Money is what they live for. No genuine happiness, peace, or anything. Dollar signs reign over all. God knows we need money to survive. To place that over him is pure idolization. May seem like you are “getting money” and satisfied right now…. But as my sister Candess says, “God will leave you completely WITHOUT before he lets you place something ahead of him.”
“ For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs”- 1Timothy 6:9-10
“You cannot serve both God and money”- Matthew 6:24
Everything I am saying, I have also been thoroughly guilty of. I am a part of this too. I praise him for his consistent conviction and turning me away from that direction. Just reflect, on your actions and your motives behind them. Pray for him to probe your heart and shine light on the things that need to be let go of, prayed over, turned away from, etc. God is a jealous God and things placed before Him will always have an expiration date.
What are your motives ??
(1) Me graduating from college with my daughter in tote. I was very proud of that accomplishment. To this day I get a lot of praises and acknowledgments on this obstacle I overcame and how many others in my shoes would have never finished and blah blah blah…you know the rest. It hit me; one of the main reasons I chose to go back to Mizzou was to prove to people (those I liked and those I did not like) that I wasn’t a quitter. I possessed a lot of pride….at the expense of my child. I wanted to be seen with Addy on my hip and my book bag on my back. Granted, God kept me the entire time. Took me six months to find a job, blessed me with food stamps, a working car, affordable daycare, and a great support system in Columbia which greatly helped me thrive. I didn’t go back to Mizzou because I thought that’s what God wanted for me…. I wanted to PROVE to MAN what I could do. Very selfish. But just like God, he used what I had arranged for bad to work for my good. I came to Mizzou with selfish intentions but left a new creature. He be knowing.
(2) I graduated with a major in Communication with initial intentions of pursuing a career in Public Relations. I was even a contributing writer for an online magazine; following professional Public Relations specialists on Twitter; trying to network. The whole nine. The thought of working behind the scenes in the entertainment industry but receiving the perks intrigued me. That was the lifestyle I thought I wanted. It sounds fun right? That’s what “drove” me. The thought of being creative, getting money, mingling with the stars. No passion; no God-given passion; No service of other people without intentions of getting something in return. Just me. No God. Just me. Wasn’t until I took an Argument and Advocacy class last year (I wrote about this in a previous blog), where I had to write a 15-page paper on something I would advocate for. I chose single-father advocacy. The ability to provide resources to fathers fighting desperately to be in their child’s life and how to co-parent with the mother. Nothing like a father in the home. That class helped me realize my purpose. My gift of service belongs to rebuilding households. May not possess a lot of money salary wise…. But the thought satisfies me alone. God will provide in every. No doubt.
(3) This third one is the most common. When I get on Twitter and see tweets like “wake and grind” or “headed to the money” or people always stating what they don’t have time for because they are “Getting money.” Greed in the most blatant form. Money is what they live for. No genuine happiness, peace, or anything. Dollar signs reign over all. God knows we need money to survive. To place that over him is pure idolization. May seem like you are “getting money” and satisfied right now…. But as my sister Candess says, “God will leave you completely WITHOUT before he lets you place something ahead of him.”
“ For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs”- 1Timothy 6:9-10
“You cannot serve both God and money”- Matthew 6:24
Everything I am saying, I have also been thoroughly guilty of. I am a part of this too. I praise him for his consistent conviction and turning me away from that direction. Just reflect, on your actions and your motives behind them. Pray for him to probe your heart and shine light on the things that need to be let go of, prayed over, turned away from, etc. God is a jealous God and things placed before Him will always have an expiration date.
What are your motives ??
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