What
is your favorite status symbol? How do you let people know you are
successful? Do you prefer to appear unsuccessful? (Serendipity
Bible 10th
Anniversary Edition, page 1190).
Noun: status
The
relative position or standing of things or especially persons in a
society
"he
had the status of a minor"; "the novel attained the status
of a classic"
A
state at a particular time
"a
status of disrepair"; "the current status of the arms
negotiations"
[WordWeb
Pro]
I
wear two pendants about my neck—one is a cross (given to me by my
wife) and the other is a an anchor upon which is affixed a crucifix
(an identical one is worn by my son). These can be viewed as status
symbols. They show that I am not a lost loser, but a found winner in
Christ. Writing about Ezekiel Jimmy Carter says that in effect God
tells the prophet “Accept me totally. It's the only way you
will succeed in [your] difficult task.”** Whether Ezekiel
succeeded or failed in this task, the people would know that a man of
God had been among them. Thus, in a sense even if he failed he would
be a winner where it counts.
This
is no doubt why “losers” are attracted to Christianity. There
they find that in Christ they have a special role only they can
fill—to serve the Lord in their own special way, to fill their
unique calling, to flourish in sustaining purpose daily.
Why
do humans spend an inordinate amount of time on status? Because all
have some anxiety deep down that they may be in fact losers—with
nothing special about them, that they are as gray and dull as dirt.
Ineluctably we are redeemed from this state only by a sense of
purpose. Some purposes are too easily attained, and on attainment of
them we feel hollow despite our success. The eternal verities of
Christianity leave room for daily growth for a lifetime—and not
for this only, but for eternity. Christians share with other saints—even
those long gone—a tie that binds kindred minds quite unlike that
found anywhere else.
**
Through the Year with Jimmy Carter, p.103.
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