Good News for the Achiever / Phil 3:4b-13

For many, résumé building is far more than a professional activity. It is a way of life. Adding bullet points to our running list of accomplishments feels like salvation, a way to assuage those haunting doubts of our self-worth. With each new achievement, we add a layer of protection, more proof that we matter, more distance between us and the terrifying prospect of being a nobody. But for all the successes our strengths can produce, they cannot erase our frailty. And when the pressure of racing to credential ourselves finally outstrips those frailties, we burn out. We crack at our weakest points and the whole building crumbles. It is the very fear of such a moment that drives us toward it at breakneck speed. Who would you be if your résumé were suddenly a blank page? To answer that question on your own is to know panic and self-deceit. But God has an answer for us: Who you are has nothing to do with what you’ve done. Breathe. Beloved children have no need for résumés.