7 Lies The World Tells Us, 7 Biblical Truths That God Tells UsSample

Day One: You Are What You Do 

The gig economy has become our new “normal.” It is now affecting every sector of our culture—not just the labor force or economics. It’s changing the way we live everyday life. 

But it’s not just happening around you; it’s happening to you, and it’s not as harmless as you might initially think. 

The gig economy, with its blatant promise of freedom and flexibility, is making all of us vulnerable to believing, embracing, and living seven lies that can have dangerous consequences. 

The most authentic freedom and flexibility, however, can only be found when we stop believing these lies and replace them with the truth of who we are in Christ.

This seven-day devotional will cover one lie and its corresponding truth that refutes it each day. Today, we consider Lie #1: You are what you do, and the truth that refutes it. 

Lie #1 - You are what you do.

As children, we’re asked what we want to do when we grow up. As adults, we’re asked what we do for work. And at the end of our lives, we’re measured by what we’ve done. 

It’s not surprising, then, that we believe the lie that we are what we do. But there’s no end to a life of doing. Doing does not result in done. It only leads to more doing. In fact, there is no badge of honor in a life of doing—only exhaustion and despair.

This lie is so attractive because it makes us believe that we’re God. That we have no limits. That we’re in the driver’s seat of our lives and the masters of our own destiny—but we aren’t. 

Earthquakes, hurricanes, stock market crashes, mass shootings, freak accidents, cancer, airplane delays, heavy snowstorms, hackers, terrorists, sketchy Wi-Fi. Need I say more?

No matter how much of a planner you are, it’s literally impossible to prepare for every single scenario, possibility, or permutation of life. You’re not in control and you’re not God, which means you can’t actually do everything you want to do. If your self-definition comes from what you do, you’re walking on thin ice. 

So you have two options: you can either ignore the reality of your limits and try to convince yourself you really can do anything you want, and therefore you really are what you do . . . or you can just stop believing the lie.

Truth #1 - A life of doing only leads to worrying.

One day, when Jesus was teaching his followers on a mountainside, he mentioned a man by the name of Solomon. He didn’t talk about Solomon’s wisdom or riches. He didn’t bring up his lineage, nor did he mention anything the guy accomplished in his life—and there was a lot he could’ve talked about. In fact, rather than praising Solomon and urging his followers to imitate him, he did the opposite—he slammed him.

He compared all that Solomon amassed, built, and developed, with birds and flowers. That’s right—with birds and flowers.

Consider the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they? Can any of you add one moment to his life span by worrying? And why do you worry about clothes? Observe how the wildflowers of the field grow: They don’t labor or spin thread. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these. If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t he do much more for you—you of little faith? (Matthew 6:26-30)

Friends, a life of doing only leads to a life of worrying. And as we’ve seen in this chapter and in Jesus’ words, a life of worrying doesn’t result in satisfaction—it just leads to more doing because there’s no end to a life of doing. You’re ultimately not in control—only God is. And no amount of doing can change that.

Prayer: Dear God, release me from believing this lie that I am what I do. Help me to embrace the truth that you—and only you—are in control, and that doing and worrying only ever leads to dissatisfaction. In the powerful name of Jesus I pray, Amen.