Starbucks quote of the day: Interesting for young adults beginning our careers

"Failure's hard, but success is far more dangerous. If you're successful at the wrong thing, the mix of praise and money and opportunity can lock you in forever."

Po Bronson, author of "What Should I Do With My Life?"

Hold out

Okay, I'll admit it--I'm a word nerd. For better or for worse, words and phrases often crack me up, make me cringe, or make me think.

Case in point (and maybe I've blogged about this before?), the investment firm I work for recently created a new service for clients dubbed "exposure management." Whenever I hear the term, I think it sounds like a service Britney Spears should hire us for :)

[In actuality, it has to do with something real (and probably boring-sounding to most of you) like giving our clients exposure to the stock and bond markets without trading physical securities.]

But back to the point--as a word nerd, sometimes when I hear or read things, specific words and phrases stand out or create pictures in my mind.

Last week at Anthem young adults' network, our speaker, Jodi, read this passage. It's one I've heard and read a million times before. But this time, something new stood out:

"Do everything

without complaining

or arguing,

so that you may become blameless and pure,

children of God

without fault

in a crooked and depraved generation,

in which

you shine

like stars

in the universe

as you hold out

the word of life—

in order that I may boast

on the day of Christ

that I did not run

or labor

for nothing.

(Philippians 2:14-16, NIV)

As you can probably tell by the bold text above, the phrase "hold out" captured my attention this time. I thought it seemed a bit odd...because most often, we "hold in" or "throw out" things.

When it comes to faith, I think many of us take that approach--we hold in by keeping our relationship with God close to our hearts, personal--but not living it out in our lives or sharing Christ with others.

On the flip side, sometimes we may throw out our faith. I've seen this happen two ways--there are some who throw out their faith like they're launching a massive snowball attack on everyone they meet--you know, telling random strangers they're going to hell or constantly talking in Christianese to their co-workers.

Others throw out their faith by discarding it--perhaps by being a Christian only when it's convenient or knowing the right things to do and choosing to live their lives on a different path anyway.

But this passage tells us to hold out the word of truth. When I think of that phrase, I have a picture in my mind--of holding out my arms to shake someone's hand or hug them. For a moment, it feels kind of awkward. Because by holding out, I am open. I have to bold and take a first step...which means I am a bit vulnerable (read more about that topic in an earlier post here). I'm putting a bit of myself on the line. At the same time, my open hands or open arms aren't forceful. The other person can choose to accept my handshake or hug...or they can choose to walk away.

I think sharing our faith is similar--it's about living as an example for Christ on this planet. It's about loving people...which may mean talking with them about God, but it also could mean just being an incredible friend, employee or family member...and letting the talking come later.

Personally, I don't always have this down, but I'm thankful for God's little reminders. Even if it's just because I'm a self-admitted word nerd, I love that we can always find new things to grasp on in God's Word.

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