The Role You Play in Life

Embracing Your Purpose and Impact

Personal Goals

I have always been someone that wants to be the best version of myself. A lifelong learner. Striving to push myself to excel; to do better. I’ve set goals for every area of my life: education, work, guitar, fitness, you get the idea. Life is busy and I have to properly manage my time accordingly. Finding the time certainly isn’t always easy. I constantly reevaluate where I’m spending my time. It seems as if there is never enough hours in the day, a common concern I’m sure you can relate to. Goals help me stay “locked in”, focused, as I have a lot of different hobbies. Staying organized and goal drive is important. Without some sort of goal, I personally would feel aimless at times. I try being as realistic as possible when setting my personal goals. I take into consideration the season of life that I’m in. I’m married with two young kids and regardless of the personal goals my family comes first.

Family Goals

More than my personal goals that affect myself, I want to be the most present and involved husband and father that I can possibly be. Taking care of the roles and responsibilities inside my home is very important to me. Abby and I still make it a point to spend uninterrupted time together. Whether that be a nice dinner out together or sitting down in the morning each day, to talk before the kids wake. Together we want to ensure we are on the same page for our relationship and our children. Like any good parent, we want to do our best in raising them. More on this topic in the future.

Kingdom Man

I recently finished reading a book entitled Kingdom Man, by Tony Evans. Due to its thematic relevance, relatability, and effective strategies, there are now many variations of the book. It serves as a great application for men, women, and children on both personal and relational levels. Tony Evans defined a Kingdom Man as: “A man who visibly demonstrates the comprehensive rule of God underneath the Lordship of Jesus Christ in every area of his life.” In other words, aligning every area of one’s life under what God says in His Word.

¹Blessed is every one who fears the Lord, who walks in His ways. ² When you eat the labor of your hands, You shall be happy, and it shall be well with you. ³ Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the very heart of your house, Your children like olive plants all around your table. ⁴ Behold, thus shall the man be blessed Who fears the Lord. ⁵ The Lord bless you out of Zion, and may you see the good of Jerusalem all the days of your life. ⁶ Yes, may you see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel!

Psalm 128 NKJV

Chapter after chapter, Evans kept coming back to Psalm 128 because it outlines all the different components of a kingdom man. The writer of the Psalm, David, begins with the personal life of a man who fears the Lord. Then, he moves to the family life of a kingdom man. Following is the relation of a kingdom man and his church life. Ultimately, David concludes with the kingdom man and his role in the community.

Evans gave compelling examples of men that did things right and the outcome they received. The hard work and dedication paying off. Throughout the book, Evans “foot stomped” the type of qualities a Kingdom Man should have. Qualities such as:

• Having a personal prayer life.
• Seeking to maintain optimal emotional/physical health.
• Being finically responsible.
• Addressing the needs within the household.
• Regularly initiating conversations with your spouse and kids.
• Routinely modeling and teaching your children life principles.
• Leading your family to church.
• Serving.
• Tangibly contributing to the development of the community in which you live.

Evans, on the contrary, gave examples of men not fulfilling their roles and what happens when a man fails to be a Kingdom man. The brokenness of homes. The decay of families and, even worse, the growing absence of fathers, whether spiritually, emotionally, or physically. He implored that someone needs to fill that void. This could end up being a infinite loop, “family curse”, generation after generation unless someone steps up and intervenes to break that cycle.

Changing Your Focus

The drive to be the best version of yourself/myself is certainly not a bad desire. There is a lot of great qualities in someone with that type of passion. However, I’ve come to learn that it can sometimes make it so we never take our mind or focus off of ourselves. Jam packed schedules on the pursuit to climb up some type of corporate ladder for what? Life is too short and it ends the same for all of us. We aren’t guaranteed tomorrow. Being able to shift your focus is extremely vital. Maybe there are other areas that you are more important where you are needed. There are a lot of people in this world that could use a helping hand. I’m sure there is a lot of people in your community or on your street that could use some help. In one area for example, every year in America alone, 1.2 million students drop out of high school.[1] Out of the 1.2 million drops, 71% of them are fatherless.[2] High school dropouts commit about 75% of crimes.[3] You’re probably thinking, okay… what can I do about this? I’ll explain below.

Mentoring the Next Generation

Mentoring is essential to the development of a boy into a man and a girl into a woman. Our nation, our “community”, would be changed for the better if people stepped up, gave of themselves, mentored and helped. It might seem overwhelming but just look at the hobbies and talents that you possess. Virtually anything could be used to mentor others. What is a skill/talent that you have? Do you work in a trade field, do your own vehicle maintenance, bake, cook, or sew? The list can go on and on. Mentoring programs exist that afford you the opportunity to invest time into helping a teenager through the most difficult and impressionable years of their life. Check with local governments, schools and/ churches to see if there are programs you could get involved with.

For example, Abby and I run a youth program out of our local church. More recently, I started helping out with the local high school football team. Football has always been a passion of mine, a sport that I enjoyed playing during my high school career. By joining the coaching staff, I am able to passionately enjoy the game of football while hopefully making an impact on the young men who will one day make up the future of our community. Whatever it may be that you end up doing, just remember it could help change the trajectory of a youth’s life, resulting in an entire generation changing; the infinite loop being broken. The ripple effect could be unimaginable, that is pretty cool! That is living a Maverick Life.

Leave A Legacy

It is pretty amazing the areas you yourself can grow as a person when you serve. If dealing with young people isn’t your thing, that is okay. Helping to mentor the youth is great but it’s certainly not for everyone. There is a lot of other needs that you could help address within your community. I can guarantee there is no convenient time in life to start. So, I recommend just jumping in. Find a need and address it. Abby and I often remind one another of the concept of living eternally focused. The idea of leaving a legacy or an impact that lasts longer than ourselves, a God-inspired legacy. The impact doesn’t necessarily mean for ourselves but rather Christ working through us, for the benefit of others. This includes your home, church, and community. For yourself, what would your legacy be? What would you be remembered for in relation to how you impacted others? What are your priorities? It’s not to late to change your focus and begin the work of making an impact.

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1. Miller, Tony. “Partnering for Education Reform.” U.S. Department of Education. Accessed February 18, 2015.

2. Edward Kruk, Ph.D., “The Vital Importance of Paternal Presence in Children’s Lives.” May 23, 2012.

3. Smiley, Travis. “Fact Sheet: Is the Dropout Problem Real?.” Travis Smiley Reports. Accessed February 26, 2014.