One killer idea for your résumé | City Bible Forum
Loading...

One killer idea for your résumé

It has been said that our culture lives by our resume, but is this the best way to live?
Wed 31 Aug 2016
Alt

Are you happy? I mean, are you really happy? And if you’re not happy yet, will the trajectory your life is on get you there? A few nights ago, we heard Tracy Trinita followed a trajectory that seemed like it would take her directly to a happy and fulfilled life. It’s a trajectory that is familiar to many of us. She worked hard, suffered some setbacks but persevered and eventually she made it! Tracy was the definition of success. If you take a ‘bucket list’ approach to life Tracy was probably able to check off a lot of things you would want to have on there: Exotic destinations, glamour, fame, wealth… you would think that someone who had achieved all this would be happy. But Tracy wasn’t happy. After several years of ‘having it all’ she realized that she was deeply unhappy and that glamour, fame and wealth weren’t going to satisfy her.

David Brooks, a writer for the New York Times has suggested that a moral bucket list may be the key to having a rich inner life. David observes that there is a difference between résumé virtues and eulogy virtues. David says this the difference is between the skills you can bring to the market place / your external ambitions versus your inner character. David suggests that for many of us, our life trajectories are being shaped by résumé virtues to the exclusion of eulogy virtues. This raises the question: What sort of person do you want to be remembered as? What sort of person do you want to be?

Funerals are always sad, but I’ve noticed that there are some things that can seem to make them even more tragic. A couple of years ago I attended a funeral, which in my opinion was more tragic than others I had been to. The thing that made this funeral so tragic was the eulogy. The best that could be said about the deceased was that they had loved their multiple sports cars and boats and had thrown some amazing parties. That’s not the way I would want people to remember me. Ask yourself: Have you considered the possibility of a Moral Bucket list? What would it look like? What steps could you take to put one together?

Tracy shared that in her quest to answer the emptiness in her life she concluded that Jesus was the one who actually satisfied her and has allowed her to experience real happiness. You might not be convinced that Jesus is what you’re looking for but maybe you’ve got a hunch: “Actually there is more to life than my current trajectory will allow me to experience.” I would like to suggest that Jesus is still a good starting point. Jesus has something to say about doing life well, whether it’s things like love, generosity, forgiveness, wisdom, compassion and humility.

City Bible Forum runs sessions called Life Groups for people who are interested in talking about how to live life well. Typically the groups are run with one or two others who are keen to do the same thing. We start by looking at something that Jesus said and start the discussion from there. If you’re interested in thinking about how to live your life well, why not sign up for a session of life group and see if it is something you would like to do?

Image courtesy of Charles Knowles via flickr.com

Leave a Comment