Sharing Scripture — July 12, 2025

Texts: Exodus 18:3-4; Exodus 3:1-22; Genesis 22:11, 15-18; Exodus 6:3; Joel 2:32; Exodus 4:1-31; Genesis 17:10-11

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” is a question we often ask young people (and our parents probably asked us). It appears that the answers are evolving from the typical dreams of generations past—“firefighter” or “astronaut”—to the modern goals of becoming content creators of TikTok videos, cell phone apps or video games.

Generation Alpha kids, the “iPad generation,” are learning that they can make money on their laptops. “Long gone are the days of lemonade stands and car washes,” reports pop-culture writer Eve Upton-Clark. “Gen Alpha sees real earning potential in streaming video games, selling products online, reviewing brands, securing sponsorships, and even competing in esports tournaments.”

Some are already realizing that earning potential. “More than one in six Gen Alpha kids aspire to start their own business,” Upton-Clark continues, “with many already earning hundreds of dollars annually, despite being too young for traditional jobs. Nearly a quarter of Gen Alpha report that either they or someone they know has been approached for a sponsorship deal. With mid-tier YouTubers charging $5,000 to $10,000 per brand partnership.”

While not everyone will experience such success, and childhood dreams often clash with harsh economic realities, Forbes Magazine lists twenty suggestions on how to achieve realistic lifetime goals. These include:

#1. “Ignore the future, deal with the present. The question, ‘What should I be when I grow up?’ is wrong. Ask instead, ‘What is next today?’ People become fat one bite at a time, and we become adults one hour at a time, so what we do today matters.”

#6. “Do not follow someone else’s dream. Your parents want you to be A. Your boss wants you to be B. Your friends want you to be C. And society is clamoring for you to be D. You can’t please everyone, but if you do what YOU think you should, at least you’ll be able to sleep at night.”

And #10 may be the most insightful: “Ask the elderly for advice. They’ve been there, done that, got the AARP card. You’ll find that happiness and satisfaction have more to do with love and purpose than dollars and cents.”

Moses must have felt like he was riding a childhood dreams/career goals roller coaster as he lurched from one life plan to another along his path toward becoming Israel’s deliverer. He would have done well to embrace #5 on Forbes’ list: “Burn your plans. Your life will not go according to plan. Nobody’s ever has. So don’t worry if you get off track. The track was imaginary anyway.”

Moses’ first goal to become a mighty military general and lead a Hebrew revolt to freedom, crashed and burned when he killed the Egyptian taskmaster. Then he settled into his second goal: enjoying the peace and solitude of life as a simple shepherd, away from the stress of modern civilization. This is his life’s path now, right?

Wrong. As so often happens, just when we think we’ve got it all figured out, God comes along and derails that life-train. Moses must have often asked himself, “Why didn’t I just keep moving along, instead of checking out that burning bush?” After 40 years in the pasture, God determined that 80-year-old, insecure, stammering Moses was finally ready to lead Israel out of Egypt.

Those burning-bush experiences come along when we least expect them, but sometimes we need a good jolt to get on with God’s plan for our lives. In those times, Forbes’ suggestion #20 can be helpful: “Relax. There’s no right answer, but there are thousands of viable options.”

 

For Reflection

Sharing: Moses gave several excuses to avoid God’s call at the burning bush in Exodus 4:1-17, enraging God. Why didn’t God just abandon Moses at that point and find another deliverer?

1. God had gone to great lengths to preserve Moses—first as a baby, then as a murdering adult; God wasn’t going to let all that effort go to waste
2. We all get angry with our children at times, but we still love them
3. That insecurity was exactly what God wanted in a leader—Moses would now rely totally on God rather than his military skills
4. Time was running short, as the four-hundred-year prophecy that God gave to Abram in Genesis 15:13 was coming to a close, and there wasn’t time to raise up another deliverer
5. This shows us that it’s okay to wrestle with God when it comes to drastic life changes
6. Other:

Applying: What is the value of leadership training for church officers? Is it better to just let people naturally be who they are called to be, rather than try and mold them to fit a ministry job description? Is there a workable balance?

~ Chuck Burkeen

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