Expectations

I'm not expected to keep my room clean.

I'm not expected to dress modestly.

I'm not expected to help out around the house.

I'm not expected to learn during the summer.

Last night I started reading the book "Do Hard Things" by Alex and Brett Harris. It was sorta sad actually, because I've been waiting to go buy this book for at least two weeks, and then I went with my mom to get it and she's like "Oh, your brother has this book!" Sooo I went back home, grabbed it from his room, and FINALLY started reading it.

I'm about halfway done, and the thing that hit me the hardest out of all the interesting points I've read, is the idea of low expectations. Have you ever thought about what the world expects of you as a teenager? Your parents might expect more of you than your English teacher, or the other way around. Hopefully you expect something of yourself. I started cleaning my room last night, and while throwing away trash and listening to Anberlin on my iphone, I thought about what people DON'T expect from me. The three statements listed above are just some of the things that no one really expects me to do, but I think they should.

Well, I take that back. No PERSON expects me to do those things, but God does. All of God's commandments and guidelines for living a pure, godly life apply to youth as well. God expects us to obey our parents, listen to our teachers and follow their instructions, grow in our faith and in our earthly knowledge, and treat everyone with love and respect. We are to stay away from things that could harm us, like drinking, drugs, smoking, excess junk food, laziness, selfishness, and sexual immorality. We're supposed to give ten percent of what we get to the church! How many teenagers forget all these things or just blow them off thinking "I'll get around to following God when I'm older?" Here's the thing: If you don't start now, the chances that you'll magically start when you graduate high school or college, or get a job are much lower.

So, if you're on fire for God but don't know how to show people, this is it. Rise above expectations. You will absolutely blow people away. They will be shocked and confused as to why you're trying harder than you have to! And don't just rise above the below-the-floor expectations of our society, because most of us have already done that. Rise above all else to meet God's expectations. You'll never do it, but He still wants you to try. The expectations of the Lord are insanely high for a reason- so we will never stop growing, trusting Him, and learning to be more like Jesus. WWJD? He wouldn't sit around eating chips and watching sitcoms while people are dying outside. He wouldn't wait until the last minute to do in His homework, because He'll probably get a B even with minimum work. My sixth grade English teacher used to say "I run on an M4M system. Maximum effort for maximum results, and minimum effort for minimum results." That's just like life. You can definitely get some results from doing the bare minimum, but most of us have aspirations that are higher than that. Do you want to succeed and grow and make a difference? Then stop sinking to meet the expectations of this world, and start growing to get closer to God's. Every area of your life, no matter how little you care about it, could benefit you if you work hard in it. Don't strive to be the best. Instead, strive to grow- every day, every minute, to grow a little more. You'll meet your goal right away, and yet it's never truly finished. There's always more space to climb when God is the top of the ladder.

2 Timothy 4:12

"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity."

2 Timothy 2:22

"Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart."