Do You Matter?

   Do you matter?  Many people feel that, in the greater scheme of things, they do not matter.  In some cases, such a mindset is the result of depression.  For some people, low self-esteem convinces them that they do not matter.  There are those who want to make a difference but feel helpless and, in frustration, declare that they just don’t matter.  Others want to escape responsibility for having to do anything, so they absolve themselves from that responsibility by declaring that they don’t matter.  Whatever the reasoning used, it is a sad state to believe that you do not matter.

   Most of us have heard scenarios designed to illustrate that every individual is important in some way- “For lack of a nail a shoe was lost.  For lack of a shoe a horse was lost.  For lack of a horse a general was lost.  For lack of a general a battle was lost.”  Or, how about the one about a nail that came to feel insignificant and unappreciated.  So, it worked its way out of the shingle it was holding down, fell to the ground and wasted away.  In time, wind blew the shingle loose where the nail no longer held it down.  Rain blew under the loosened shingle, leaked into the ceiling and down the interior wall, ruining not only the ceiling and wall but also a priceless mural that was painted on the wall.  All because one little nail decided it did not matter…
   History shouts long and loud the reality that individuals do matter.  Alexander The Great conquered the world.  Napoleon Bonaparte threw Europe into upheaval.  Adolph Hitler led the world into war and caused the deaths of millions upon millions upon millions of human beings.  Karl Marx was instrumental in developing the philosophy of communism that was instituted in the nation of Russia and led to a decades long cold war.  Mao Tse-tung, son of a peasant farmer, became a Marxist, gained power and led China into a communist state.  Individuals matter!
   Where would this country be without individual leaders such as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln?  What about inventors the likes of Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, the Wright brothers and Steve Jobs?  Individuals matter!
   On the spiritual side, the Bible is replete with examples of individuals who mattered.  What if Noah had declined to build the ark- one man, head of a family of eight in the midst of world in which all of the rest of humanity was portrayed by the fatal description, “every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5).  What about Abraham, from whose bloodline God would bring Christ into the world (Gen. 12:1-3)?  What about Moses, whom God chose to lead the Israelites out of Egyptian bondage to the promised land (Ex. 3:4-10)?  From that nation, the descendants of Abraham, the Savior would come into the world!  What about Saul of Tarsus, who became a Christian and a divinely appointed apostle of Jesus Christ?  God used him mightily in spreading the gospel throughout much of the known world at that time, and inspired him to write more books of the New Testament than anyone else.  And what about Jesus Himself?  He alone could serve as the redeemer of mankind (Rom. 5:8).
   Individuals matter.  YOU matter!  Take your place in the Lord’s church, do your part and serve in such a way as to matter for the cause of Christ…