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During our engagement, Eric and I began to think about a motto to build our lives around. We don’t recall where we first heard it or who said it, but the phrase we chose is, “When you have more than you need, build a longer table, not a higher fence.” We wanted a motto we could take into consideration and measure our decisions against that would never expire, and this was it.
We then broke it down to clarify what it would mean for our lives on a daily basis. First, we defined what it meant to have more than we need, and we soon realized that we had abundantly more than we needed. Because of this, we give to the point where we feel it because anything less isn’t actually generosity.
Next, we defined what it meant for us to build a longer table and agreed it was about making room for more people to enjoy our abundance and widening our perspective on life. We knew the building part would require some intentional work on our end. So we became foster parents, read books by authors of color, and opened our laundry room to people without a washer and dryer to use. We sought opportunities to share our food, our vehicle, our spare bedroom, our network, and our love.
Lastly, we defined what a higher fence meant to us, so that we could always check ourselves. A higher fence, we decided, was accumulating more and widening the gap between ourselves and others. We began to consider every decision we made in light of the reality that we’re always building either a longer table or a higher fence. If something we choose keeps us further from people who don’t look like us, it’s a fence. If it doesn’t challenge stereotypes of groups of people, it’s an even higher fence.
Building a longer table is what God did for us by putting Jesus in the flesh on earth. It just so happens that Jesus was a carpenter who could literally build tables. He made a place at the table for people His own society rejected. Jesus could have built a higher fence but instead tore the old fence down. The law of the Old Testament excluded so many, so the cross Jesus died on became symbolic of a table that makes room for everyone to come and feast with God.
When we make room for others, we make room for Jesus.
Write a life motto for yourself. What needs to change so you can live it out intentionally?
About this Plan
What would your life look like if you knew and loved yourself as Christ loves you? The perfection we feel pressured to project from ourselves and for others comes at the expense of our emotional, spiritual, and mental well-being. Shift your focus from performing to purposeful living from the inside out. Soulful honesty between God and you always bring healing, so let’s embrace the confidence God's forgiveness and restoration offer.
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