Substance And Style

Substance and Style

Don’t worry about these things, saying, “What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?” These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Matthew 6:31-32

Our search for significance shows up in a lot of misdirected ways. We’ve talked about the trappings of status, style, wealth, and the appearance of success as pursuits that will not satisfy us in the long run. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying life, but when having the right car, the right clothes, the right neighborhood, or even the right partner becomes part of our identity, we’re attaching our significance to things that won’t last very long. That’s why so many football players have trouble when they leave the game. When they lose their status, they lose their sense of significance and feel worthless. Clearly that isn’t a problem unique to pro athletes; it’s common in all walks of life.

I don’t know anyone who says his or her mission in life is to choose style over substance, but that’s how many people live. And that keeps them from valuing the things that really do have worth. It shapes their decisions about relationships, careers, where to live, how to raise their kids, and virtually everything else. A lot of people want to be good parents, loyal and committed spouses, mentors to others, and good friends to all, but many don’t actually do what is necessary to become those things. They are too busy trying to impress others, establish their lifestyles, and add to their possessions. The result is that the ideal of being people of substance takes a backseat to being people of style. They try to serve two masters, and the things important to the true Master get neglected.

If we really want to live lives of significance, we need to value what God values and choose to live according to those values above all else. That means daily making conscious choices between substance and style: using money to meet someone’s needs rather than catering to our wants, spending time encouraging and strengthening someone else’s life instead of wasting time on some less important activity, and so on. Either substance or style will come first in our lives—we can’t serve both equally. One of those masters will undermine our sense of significance; the other will lead us directly to it.

Uncommon Key > True significance comes by not only knowing what’s worthwhile but also choosing it. Where do money and material things rank on your significance list? What about helping a friend in need or surprising your family with a day focused completely on them? If you need to make changes to your list, do it now.