Cheap Seats

I once read a quote by Andre Gide that said, "everything has been said before, but since nobody listens, we have to keep going back and beginning all over again".

With that thought in mind I want to unpack worthiness. I know what you are thinking. Haven't you already beaten this dead horse? You are not wrong. I have talked about the idea of worthiness many times, but I think God has laid it on my heart again because I haven't said what he wants me to say. So, with all the preamble out of the way let's dive in.

Inequity is a fact of this human walk. We are not all born with the same privileges. Some of us are born and blessed to live with the view from fifth row center. Others of us are born into the cheap seats way up in the nose bleeds. The show is the same no matter what seat we are in, but the experience is vastly different.

Stephanie, what do you mean the experience is different? Well, let's think about it. When you are sitting front and center the music is louder, the dialog is clearer, the emotion on the actor's faces is evident, body language is easier to interpret, the costumes and staging details are easier to see. You are fully emersed in the show. When the show ends you can walk away having been given everything you need to fully understand the show.

The view from cheap seats leaves a lot more open to interpretation. The dialog is not always as clear, emotion and body language are not as easily defined, the background and staging can be washed out by lights, and there are so many more distractions from the audience in front of you. Walking out of the show from the cheap seats the understanding of the show can be muddled and missing key pieces.

This inequity is not fair, but it is a reality. Not everyone starts life with the same resources. But I want to remind you of something you may have forgotten. God did not design you to live your whole life in the cheap seats. No matter where your starting line was or how many obstacles you had to overcome you have been given everything you need to experience life from fifth row center.

Ok, Stephanie, I have heard this before, but if we are all given what we need to move our lives out of the cheap seats then why many people live there? Valid question. Personally, I think it's because too many people do not know their worth. When we are unaware of our worth then we lack the confidence to and willingness to dig deep, put in the work, and claim what is intended for us.

The world compares and places us into competition with one another with the purpose of defining our worth in the world. The problem is that comparison is the thief of joy. You will never feel good enough to move your seat if you are constantly comparing yourself to those around you. Your focus in those moments is always on what you feel like you are lacking rather than what you have been given.

So, how do we move ourselves out of the cheap seats? Movement to the center stage experience begins by understanding who we are in Christ. This can only happen when we dive into God's word, enter a relationship with him and live for his purposes. Throughout the entirety of the bible, we see the theme of worthiness highlighted.

The concept of worthiness throughout the bible is not about being perfect or deserving of God's love, but about acknowledging our imperfections and relying on the grace, redemption, forgiveness, and mercy of God. In the book of Ephesians Paul breaks down each of these concepts. Come back next week and walk through grace, mercy, redemption and forgiveness with me.