Proper Preparation And Perseverance Prepares Us For Our Purpose

     The other day a colleague of mine at school shared a thought that later became today's title for our thought for the week. Jennifer Harbin actually shared this thought with our entire staff fueling some inspiration as our educators trek into the daily struggles and successes of teaching the masses. Little did she know that my topic for the week's thought was all about being trained and prepared to help others in life. So when I read Mrs. Harbin's alliterative quote I immediately borrowed it for my title this week. Thank you Jennifer for sharing your note of inspiration!
     In education or any field of labor it is mandatory to provide training to those that we hire so that they can more effectively do the job they have been hired to do. Sending someone out to fix a leaky pipe without any proper training in the skills of a plumber would be challenging at best for the worker and unfortunately more than likely a disaster for the owner of the leaky pipe as the house might get flooded before the pipe got repaired. So the message to gather at this point is to understand that the education each of us receives, the training we take part in, and the professional development we participate in isn't necessarily for us, it's for us to do a better job for the people we serve.
     As educators our teachers spend a great deal of time learning, perfecting, and adapting their craft. Obviously this builds up our skill set and prepares us to be better teachers. Training to be a better teacher is not worth a "hill of beans" if we don't apply the lessons learned in teaching our students. So here again it's important to understand we prepare, we learn, we grow, and we plan not for our benefit in our jobs, but we do all we do to help others whether it is students in schools, homeowners for skilled professionals, chefs for restaurants, or whatever the field is for those it serves. Follow me here I'm about to reach my point!
     The top three reasons people say they do not attend church are as follows: 1. It is irrelevant to my life, 2. People that attend church are hypocrites, and 3. The moral failure of church leaders keeps them from attending. Each of the top three reasons are all related to how the individual feels about church and how they personally feel about what church will or can do to affect them individually. Guess what people? Being involved in a church, reading your Bible, listening to inspirational messages and music, and developing a personal relationship with our maker isn't for you. Just as a professional constantly modifies and improves his or her craft for the benefit of his customer or client, we in life must have a positive influx of help and hope so we can be there for our spouses, children, friends, coworkers, or even the person we meet on our commute to work on any particular day. In other words being a part of a local body of Christ is not about me, it's all about what I can gain that will help me in my daily journey to help others.
     Now I receive daily training somewhere we all do each day. I choose to saturate myself in positive messages, inspiring music, and literature that invokes me with a sense that my purpose in life is so much more about what I can do to serve others than it is about what "I" can get out of life while I am here. The question you need to ask yourself today is where do you receive your daily training and who is providing that training? Maybe you get your training from television. I know there are some positive messages to be gained from television, but the majority of it is questionable at best. "Dating Naked", "Housewives of wherever", a host of murder detective series, or maybe even the "Survivor" series. Really? Good luck getting some positive messages to share with someone that is in need of a support from you. Possibly you get your daily training from watching professional sports figures. There are positive men and women involved in sports no doubt, but I'm not sure that we can encourage or invoke a sense of hope in the people we come in contact with on a daily basis by sharing the scores of last weekend's highlight reel. Or maybe you keep up with Hollywood's weekly marriage and divorce rate for your personal building up and education. There again what do you hope to gain from the onslaught of worldly views that plague our entertainment community

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     Today ask yourself this question, Where do I receive my help in life so that I can be a help to others? Remember the training you receive isn't for you, you train yourself so that you can help others. It isn't about you! I can't stress that point enough, I can't put enough emphasis on the concept that what we do is not for our benefit it is all done so we can help others. So again in conclusion, where do you receive your help each day is the question you have to answer.  "Where does my help come from, my help comes from the Lord maker of Heaven and earth" Psalms 121:1-2.
     Have an awesome week and do something that will help you help others as you journey through the week!