Chasing Carrots
There’s a carrot most are chasing. It’s the thought that we will find true purpose in self-preservation.
The lie goes like this:
If I can hoard my energy, guard my “me time”, and build my life around personal comfort and achievement then I will find happiness and fulfillment.
Yet, no matter how hard we struggle to achieve this, the carrot remains out of reach.
Why?
Because that was never the point of life.
Jesus presents a radical paradox:
Life is gained only when it is given away. He did not invite His followers into a life of self-preservation, but into a life of active, self-sacrificing love focused on others.
The natural human instinct is to treat personal time, energy, and resources as things to be guarded. People worry that if they give too much of themselves away, they will end up empty, exhausted, or forgotten.
Jesus completely overturns this survival instinct. In Matthew 16:25, He establishes the foundational keys of the Kingdom of God:
"If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it." (NLT)
Self-preservation is actually a trap.
The person who lives to protect their own life ends up diminishing it, but when we willingly pour out our life for the sake of Christ we discover a deep, unending reservoir of true meaning.
This doesn’t mean we exert so much energy that we burn out.
Scripture reminds us that Jesus withdrew often to be alone in prayer away from the crowds, away from those that were vying for his attention.
It also doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have healthy boundaries.
The question to ask is: Do I live my life like it’s mine in the first place?
Galatians 2:20 describes the necessary shift:
"My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (NLT)
Only when we stop trying to protect our life, and live for Christ and others, do we find what true meaning and purpose.