The Men We Need by Brant HansenSample

Be Ambitious About the Right Things

Jesus said if we put his words into practice, we’re like a man who builds his house on a rock. When storms hit, his place is fine.

But if we don’t put Jesus’ words into practice, we’re like a man who builds his house on sand. When storms hit, it’s game over.

Was the one who built his house on sand convinced it would last? Of course he was. Otherwise, why make the investment of time and energy? But the house collapsed anyway.

If you are ambitious about the wrong things, you will be hit good and hard by reality.

The key is to ask for wisdom. Wisdom means knowing what matters and what doesn’t, or what matters more and what matters less. You don’t want to go through life without it. It’s the difference between a life of meaning and one of meaninglessness.

Mark this down: You will struggle with feeling meaningless when you choose to invest your time and energy in meaningless things.

I’m not talking about your work. Even if your job seems trivial, it’s not. It matters to others, it matters to God, and it should matter very much to you.

What I’m talking about are things that don’t add value to anyone’s life. We are created to add value to things. When we are at our best, that’s exactly what we’re doing. We’re making things, we’re changing things, and we’re improving conditions and situations for the people around us—those for whom we take responsibility.

If I’m engaged only in activities and projects that ultimately yield nothing for others, I will feel it. It’s not a coincidence that the book expressing meaninglessness so profoundly in the Bible, Ecclesiastes, is written by the richest man in the Bible, Solomon.

In order to avoid falling into the pervasive sense of meaninglessness of our culture, I have to keep my mission in front of me, reminding myself again and again that I’m to be a keeper of the garden. I’m here to protect the vulnerable, heal the sick, and be a voice of peace in this anxious world. I’m here to re-create and add beauty and cultivate and defend and, hopefully, add value to the lives of those around me.

In what way are you a voice of peace in the world right now—whether at work, with family, through prayer, in friendships….?