Some of the most popular advice in culture today sounds empowering on the surface. But what if it’s actually pulling you away from the life you were made for? Romans 14 offers a perspective that flips the script entirely.
Live for today. Follow your passion. Love yourself before you can love anyone else. These phrases are everywhere. Social media, self-help books, podcasts, and even well-meaning friends repeat them constantly.
But the apostle Paul says something completely different.
“For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.” – Romans 14:7-8 English Standard Version (ESV)
In just two verses, Paul challenges one of the biggest assumptions of modern life. We were not made to live for ourselves. We were made to live for the Lord.
One of the greatest lies told today is that you should put yourself first and build a life centered on your own desires and goals. We are fed a constant diet of it. Pursue your passion. Find your truth. Put yourself first.
Paul contradicts all of that directly. We don’t live for ourselves. We live for the Lord, and that means we live for His purposes.
Here is what most people never realize. When you put your focus and energy into God’s purposes, the very things the world tells you to chase, things like passion, joy, and peace, they follow. You don’t find them by chasing them. You find them by chasing Jesus.
Western culture celebrates individualism. Being a self-made man or woman is held up as the greatest achievement. But there is a serious problem with that idea.
There is no such thing as a self-made person.
Think about it. Hundreds, maybe thousands of people have played a part in shaping who you are. It starts with your parents. You carry their DNA, and that cannot be debated. If you had brothers or sisters growing up, they shaped you in ways you probably still notice today. Then add the teachers, coaches, youth leaders, and caring adults who poured into your life along the way.
You may have an incredible work ethic. You may have overcome real obstacles. None of that is being taken away from you. But none of it happened in a bubble.
Paul’s point is clear. We are not islands. We belong to one another, and ultimately, we belong to the Lord.
A lot of people assume that surrendering their life to God means giving something up. That following Jesus means settling for less.
The opposite is true.
Living for the Lord is not a life of loss. It is the greatest adventure there is. Jesus will take you places and open doors that no one else can. If you are willing to trust Him and follow His lead, you will be amazed at what He brings into your life.
Thirty-plus years of walking with the Lord can produce experiences, opportunities, and relationships that no personal ambition or self-focused plan could have manufactured. Living for the Lord is something you will never regret.
This is where it gets practical. Living for God is not just a feeling or a general attitude. It shows up in real, everyday choices.
Discipleship is simply following in the footsteps of Jesus. That means learning about Him and then trying to live like Him. It is not complicated, but it is daily.
Living for the Lord means taking those small, everyday choices to follow Him. And when you fall short, it means coming back and asking for forgiveness. That is part of the walk too.
Following Jesus is not a single moment. It is a pattern of choices made over time. Some days will feel significant. Most days will feel ordinary. But those ordinary days, filled with small decisions to honor God, are what a life lived for the Lord actually looks like.
Whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. That is not a burden. That is the most freeing truth you can hold onto.
You are His. So as you live, live for the Lord.
This week, identify one area of your life where you have been living primarily for yourself, whether that is your time, your goals, your relationships, or your daily habits. Take one concrete step to surrender that area to God. It might mean opening your Bible and spending time in His Word each morning. It might mean asking someone in your life how you can serve them instead of focusing on your own needs. Start small, stay consistent, and trust that chasing Jesus leads to the life you were actually made for.
Ask yourself these questions as you reflect:
