What’s Your One Word Not Just for 2024 But for Life…
I recently attended the funeral of a dear family friend.
During the eulogy, the preacher recounted asking the widow
what was the one word she would use in describing her late
husband.
She said, “Gentle.” Giving an example, she mentioned that
never in their 54 years of marriage did she ever have to fill
her own gas tank.
Interestingly, Jesus described himself as gentle.
In Matthew 11: 28-30, he said,
“Come to Me, all of you who work and have heavy loads.
I will give you rest. Follow My teachings and learn from Me.
I am gentle and do not have pride.
You will have rest for your souls.
For My way of carrying a load is easy and My load is not
heavy.” (TLV)
I have lived almost six decades and met thousands and
thousands of grown men.
Never had I heard of one described as “gentle.”
If you want to be like Jesus,
one of the qualities you must have is gentleness.
What a legacy and honoring his life has challenged me
to be a better man.
Having a word for the year has become a popular leadership
exercise. I get it. Have a word for the year helps with focus,
intentionality, and the setting of priorities.
It also provides guardrails and helps you know what to say
“No” to.
But I was reminded that when our leadership,
and for that matter, our life is over, people will not remember
us for our ever-changing word for each year.
They will attach a single word to the span of our entire life.
I encourage you today to give thought to your legacy and the
impact you want your life here on Earth to have.
What one word would you want people to say when
describing you?
Start living that way now.
For the record,
the word I hope people say about me is “Kind.”
I still have a long way to go.
- Brian Dodd
Edited by H.C.
***
Friend what is Your Word?
I have thought about it and my word is “Giver.”
I recently shared with my teenage Bible class and told them
You do not have to be a Warren Buffet, Bill Gates or
Elon Musk to be a giver.
The Bible affirms that…
“ Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the
People put money into the treasury.
And many who were rich put in much.
Then one poor widow came and threw in two [o] mites,
which make a [p ]quadrans.
[o] Gr. lepta, very small copper coins
[p] A Roman coin
So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them,
“Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put
in more than all those who have given to the treasury;
for they all put in out of their abundance,
but she out of her poverty put in all that she had,
her whole livelihood.” Mark 12:41-44 (NKJV)
Remember this…
In the Lord’s eyes, this poor widow gave more than all of
the others put together, though her gift was by far the smallest.
The value of a gift is not determined by its amount,
but by the spirit in which it is given.
A gift given grudgingly or for recognition loses its value.
When you give gifts of any size are pleasing to God
when they are given out of gratitude and a spirit of generosity.
The Lord watches how we give and examines the motives of
our heart (Matt.6:1-4).
He also sees how much we give and measures the proportion,
not the portion (1 Cor.16:2).
Holocaust survivor Corrie Ten Boom wrote…
“What I spent, I had;
What I saved, I lost;
What I gave, I have.”
“We are not the sum of our possessions.
We are not the sum of our accomplishments.
We are finally the sum of our gifts.”
– Roger Kunkel
“And whoever gives one of these little ones only
a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple,
assuredly, I say to you,
he shall by no means lose his reward.” Matt.10:42
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