When People Matter More

I love how God often speaks through patterns…. when the same message comes at you from different directions, you start to pay attention. That happened to me this past week, and I haven’t been able to shake it since.

My family and I had the chance to attend a camp designed for kids from the inner city. One of the most beautiful parts of this camp is that each group of kids comes with mentors—people from their own neighborhood who have been investing in them all year long. These aren’t just chaperones; they’re trusted adults who’ve earned a spot in these kids’ lives.

At camp, the kids go off and do “kid things,” while the volunteers head to their own camp experience. They only overlap for about an hour each day. And what do the volunteers do while the kids are swimming, singing, and playing games? They get refreshed. How? By having fun. By building relationships.

Talent shows. Boat rides. Group games. Dancing and singing at the top of your lungs. Yes, there’s some teaching, but mostly it’s just people connecting. And man, is it effective.

The next day, back home, some kids from our neighborhood stopped by to invite my kids to the local card shop. Their grandpa was taking them, but they needed me to come along for the extra seat.

To be honest, I didn’t want to go. I was in the middle of a slow Saturday morning, sipping coffee and enjoying the quiet. But my kids begged, and I gave in.

While my kids peppered the card shop employee with a million questions, I struck up a conversation with Grandpa. I asked what brought him into town, and he launched into a six-minute story about how he’d created an intricate baseball game to play with his grandkids—and came into town just to play it with them.

“You came into town just to play a game with your grandkids?” I asked.

He smiled. And in his eyes, I could tell there wasn’t much on earth more important to him than that.

In both of these moments, the Lord was whispering the same thing to me.

People matter. And life is worth living.

Yeah, we need to work hard and be faithful and build things and steward our gifts well. I’m all for effectiveness and efficiency.

But people matter. And life is worth living.

When we’re old and our trophy case is full and our resume is jam-packed with titles, will we really care about the next win? Or will we ache for the kid we wish we’d spent more time with? For more times of intimacy with the wife we slowly moved down our list of priorities?

I wrestle with this. I really do. I perform out of fear. I grind to prove something. And deep down, I’m scared I’m missing the real thing: experiencing God through life shared with people I love.

I don’t want to be the guy who can’t let go. The 75-year-old who should’ve passed the baton years ago. The leader who won’t train his replacement because he doesn’t know who he is without work. The man who can’t sit still unless he’s holding a title.

Card Shop Grandpa? I think he’s got it figured out.

Playing with people is where it’s at.

Lately, I’ve found myself wondering: When did I lose my sense of humor? When did life get so serious? I should be having more fun. Why don’t I smile and laugh like I used to?

So I’m praying for faith. For courage. To put people over projects. To choose joy. To live life with the people I love rather than always chasing the next mountain top.

Because in the end, it’s not the grind that fills your soul. It’s the people you played with along the way.