Today is the day the Lord has made…
I will rejoice today because what I do matters. We all have a deep need to feel significant. Today’s world is adept at making us feel insignificant and worthless. So much so that many wonder if what they do in their everyday lives matters.
In Jennifer Breheny Wallace’s book Mattering, she explores the concept that everyone matters and we can help others feel like they matter too! “We are in a loneliness epidemic,” Wallace explains. “At the root of this is a mattering gap. When people don’t feel like they matter, they withdraw and isolate.”
We’ve all had the feeling of being taken for granted, overlooked, or ignored either in small or even big ways. However, in our hearts we know we matter to God. And because we matter to God we should want to make others feel that they matter as well. We can do this by paying attention to those we meet. Taking the time to smile and treating people with respect (Philippians 2:3) not only validates their self-worth but ours too.
I read a story years ago about a business school student who was taking a pop quiz. She seemed to breeze through the questions, until she got to the last one: “What is the name of the woman who cleans this school?”
Surely this was a joke, she thought. She had seen the woman several times. She could even describe her but she had never engaged her in conversation or even knew her name.
Another student asked if the last question would count toward the quiz grade. The professor said, “Absolutely! In your careers you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you can do is smile and say hello.”
There’s a life lesson in that little story. Everyone matters. While it is true most of us won’t be changing the course of governments, global warming, social reform, or much of anything else on a grand scale, we can affect the lives of each and every person we meet. What we do matters!
“…let each esteem others better than himself.” ~Philippians 2:3
