“You’ll never be…”

Have you ever had someone say, “You’ll never be good enough. You’ll never live up to… You’ll never be like…”

Worse yet, have you ever said it? After reading Seth’s thoughts below I plead with you to repent, go to the one to whom you meant evil and give God a chance to redeem your words with hope. Jesus sees our potential and restores our limitations. There is a difference between guiding and directing someone’s path and crushing someone’s spirit.

Seth’s Blog: Accepting limits

Accepting limits

It’s absurd to look at a three year old toddler and say, “this kid can’t read or do math or even string together a coherent paragraph. He’s a dolt and he’s never going to amount to anything.” No, we don’t say that because we know we can teach and motivate and cajole the typical kid to be able to do all of these things.

Why is it okay, then, to look at a teenager and say, “this kid will never be a leader, never run a significant organization, never save a life, never inspire or create…”

Just because it’s difficult to grade doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be taught.

Never mind a teenager. I think it’s wrong to say that about someone who’s fifty.

Isn’t it absurd to focus so much energy on ‘practical’ skills that prep someone for a life of following instructions but relentlessly avoid the difficult work necessary to push someone to reinvent themselves into becoming someone who makes a difference?

And isn’t it even worse to write off a person or an organization merely because of what they are instead of what they might become?