Expendable

(c) Staci Stallings

God did not make Hell. Satan did. Just as God did not choose the crime and violence in our world, we did, so the fact that there is a Hell doesn't mean God's the one who made it.

Like us, Satan was created to be creative, and he certainly is that. God is love. God is open and loving. God never had in mind anything but love. However, Satan decided that love was not enough. It was not enough to be in heaven with God. He wanted more, and he was going to get more. He wanted to be the ruler of his own world. He wanted to be in control. He wanted to be the Prince of something even if that something was Darkness. That way everyone would know how wonderful he is.

I've always said that real cool doesn't have to try to be cool, nor does it have to convince anybody that it is cool. Cool is just cool. That's God. He just is. He doesn't have to "try" to be awesome. He just is awesome, and that drives Satan completely crazy with jealousy.

So Satan's goal is to convince us that God wants nothing more than to throw us into the pit of fire forever because we haven't lived up to God's expectations of us. This of course is ridiculous. God loves us so much He sent His only Son to suffer the pain of our sins in our place so that we could live with Him for eternity. I don't know about you, but I can't think of a better example of love. And yet, Satan would like nothing more than to convince us that God's sword of wrath and justice are hanging over our heads every moment as He waits for us to make a mistake, so He can gleefully banish us forever.

The truth is that's Satan's M.O. not God's. Just like so many other things that Satan tells us, this is a lie. You see, where God is love; Satan is leering jealousy and malevolence. He doesn't only want to see us fall, he wants to see us fall hard. The harder we fall, the more pleasure he takes in it. Our downfall is his warped idea of victory. And as it is with Satan, so it is with the world.

If you let it and you don't know this secret, the world will build you up, make you believe it loves you just so it's more fun to watch you fall. One of the most deeply held secrets of Satan is that he believes we are all expendable. At this moment we may be on top of the world. We may be at the top of the ladder, but the reality is that in some tomorrow to come, it will be gone for us, and Satan will not bat an eyelash as we dissolve into tears of disappointment, defeat, and despair because the world no longer assures us that we're great or that we're even needed any more.

Look around. You can see it in the downsizing phenomenon and the outsourcing trends. Workers are no longer people. They are numbers, and when the numbers don't add up, you're gone. There are those who will tell you that as they get older, it is more difficult to keep the job they've had. Why? Because to the world, they are expendable. When they get too old, it is time to move on to someone with more years of usefulness to exploit.

In our culture today, everyone seems to be expendable. Husbands. Wives. Families. Children. Workers. Bosses. Even friends. Notice the divorce rate, the growing number of broken homes, the anxiety over job security. If you fail, if you are ever seen to be human, you are at risk because to the world, you are expendable.

Oh, its true that the world will act like it likes you when you are "hot." Like when you land that incredible job with the big, fat pay raise. The world will court you like a smitten suitor. It will act like you are the most wonderful thing ever to occupy space under the ozone layer until the moment you are no longer useful, and then it will be as if it never so much as heard of your name.

Years ago, I taught high school for three years. During that time I did my level best to give everything to the school. I showed up early. I went home late. I taught six different classes, ran the newspaper and the yearbook, helped with student council, and the drama club. When I discussed my departure with the principal due to pregnancy, she said she hated to see me go and that she wished I could stay. She didn't know how she could ever replace me.

I had done a lot for that school One of the things I did was update the senior plaques for the two years prior to my arrival and the three years I was there. The next year I walked into that hallway again, and you know what? Life had gone on without me. There was a new plaque of the new seniors-one that had been done without me. Four years later only two of the office staff even remembered who I was. That's not bad. It's just the way it is.

To the world, you are expendable, but to God you are simply irreplaceable. He wants us with Him more than anything in the world. He loves us beyond all telling. And yet, we spend all our time striving to convince the world that we are what they need, that we are worth their love, that our place can never be taken by anybody else. We twist ourselves into pretzels trying to make them love us when the reality is-they will NEVER love us. The love of the world is hollow and empty. And the world knows that truth better than you do. The world knows you are expendable. More than that, the world believes you are expendable. To them, you are.

So the question becomes are you spending your time fighting to make the world love you, or are you using your time to get better acquainted with the One who already loves you? It's worth considering.

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Love Homeward Bound? Then you'll love Staci's book of insights and thoughts just like these. Check out "Reflections on Life" at http://www.lulu.com/spirit-light You'll feel better for the experience!