scandalous success

One of the books I am reading right now is Love Does by Bob Goff. It's currently making its way around my college kids' lives and I wanted to stay relevant. I'm on chapter 11. It isn't blowing my socks off, but I do appreciate the points he's trying to make. Basically, God used to be big and scary and motivated him through guilt and fear and now He sees God as welcoming, loving, and full of grace and motivates through relationships, seized opportunities, and love. Which, to be honest, would've blown my socks off in college, because my brain actually went through this transformation during that time. My favorite quote thus far is, "I used to be afraid of failing at something that really mattered to me, but now I'm more afraid of succeeding at things that don't matter". Isn't that a great perspective?
I also recently read a quote by a man named Richard Twiss, who passed away this week: “In Lakota tradition it is anathema to becoming a bigshot - arrogant, boastful, proud, highminded, etc…. To be humble, simple, “one of the guys” is to be a common man, Ikce Wicasa -- it is a thing to be sought after… in my life, I strive to be ikce wicasa -- "common man." I think this parallels nicely with what Bob Goff said. It's so easy to become distracted by what the world tells us is important or worth pursuing.
Which brings me to the thought of, "What is value?" What does God see as valuable in my life and what is total garbage? AND further, how do I start to see life more through the eyes of the one that matters? Just a few things I believe to be on my value/garbage list:
Value healthy relationships/community, moderation, love, passion, meaningful work, worship, communication, service, appreciation, encouragement, purpose, truth, hope, surrendering control, respect for creation, tender care...
Garbage expecting people or things to fulfill what I should look to Christ to fulfill, greed, comparison, self deprecating thoughts, pride, selfishness, thinking that I deserve better because of anything I've done, empty busyness, American consumerism...
I don't believe that I can live a life that feels successful all of the time, but I do believe that the more we ask God to show our hearts and minds what is important...the further he will reveal that truth to us.
When I think about brother Robert's quote he's left with this earth; I can't help but get back to my cheerleading roots and feel compelled to yell, "I'm common! You're common! We're all common!" It is true. No matter how important we feel or how much money we make or how "successful" the world tells us we are...we're just human. Just common human beings...or at least, I believe that's the stuff the best of us want to be made of. This doesn't mean be stagnant or slothful. It means...if we all see each other as equally valuable in the eyes of the one who created us-we'll give Him back the power. We'll give him credit for the good things in our lives'. Ask Him, with me, to help us decipher what is valuable for us to focus our energy on so that we can be successful at life, because success is relative to the eyes of the beholder. We might even care a little more about the success of the people around us and a little less about our own business. Wouldn't that change how the world sees Christians? It would be revolutionary. It would be scandalous. I love scandal, in the name of Jesus, of course.