Do for just ONE

I listened to a message by the prolific Pastor Andy Stanley yesterday. Now, as those of us who attend a church service regularly know, there are usually nuggets of information that we take away each week that really speak to our heart. Little pieces of scripture or a one-liner that resonates with our own life, our own experience or our own need for encouragement. Yesterday, my husband and I were both moved by Andy Stanley's bold declaration because it felt so polar opposite to what we have expected..and accepted...from other pastoral influences. 
I encourage you to watch the message~ you will be inspired, I promise! 

 I'm going to paraphrase the gist of his 36 minute sermon into just this:
Just because we can't do for everyone does not give us the excuse not to do for one. 


Of course we all remember people telling us~ for as long as our memory serves~ that we can't be the exception. Why? Because it wouldn't be fair. "If I do that for you, then I would have to do that for everyone."

I don't know about you but I truly accepted that explanation until now. After all, I'm definitely not interested in anyone being treated unfairly. But it's not as simple as that; simplifying life into an if/then scenario is the entirely wrong angle. Fortunately, I haven't necessarily lived by that force fed rule~ something must have clicked inside of me long ago that the "fair" response lacked any real truth or substance.  For instance, several years ago, I assisted in a middle school classroom. One of the students was a young man who came from a highly dysfunctional home, lacking in every type of support imaginable. As a result, his social skills were delayed and I noticed he spent lunch periods alone and, often, without food.  No, he wasn't the only child in that school with needs, BUT he was the only child that I became aware of who didn't mind hanging out with a teachers aide in the classroom and sharing a lunch. Different kids would wander in and out of that room every lunch period to catch up on homework or study for a test but this one child was there every day because his needs were being met with a sandwich and some idle conversation with someone who cared. In other words, I didn't choose to do nothing just because I couldn't accommodate everyone. 


Several months ago, while promoting a benefit for an enormously worthwhile cause that had stirred a lot of interest within my church, I heard and accepted "I can't allow you to place informational flyers for this event behind the information desk because if I do it for you, I have to do it for everyone."


Well, the truth is this.
You could have. You should have.
It was the right thing to do. 


That one erroneous and misguided explanation from a decision-maker within my church changed my outlook on what my church was all about. When I went on to explain that this was an outreach being placed on the hearts of a small group OF this church, his response was startling. "Do you know how many requests we get for outreach support? We can't possibly do them all." 


Well, the truth is this.
I wasn't even asking for money. I was asking for some counter space. 
You could have done for one what you couldn't do for everyone. 


Don't lose sight of the big picture, friends. Don't let the words "if I do it for you, I have to do it for everyone" be part of your vocabulary. Start with doing something for just ONE. You can't make a difference for anyone if you're not making a difference for someone. 


Blessings,
Amy