The Uncommon Life Daily Challenge from Tony DungySample

Mission--From the Inside Out

Everybody in eighth grade had a pair of Chuck Taylor basketball shoes. Everybody. They were a canvas high-top, the Converse All Star, the company's most popular shoe. And I wanted to get them.

I had that opportunity when my father took me to Kmart. The Chuck Taylors were in stock, retailing for $7.99. Right next to them was the Kmart version of the same shoe for $3.99. My dad showed me that the shoes were made of the same material and were of the same quality, and he didn't want to pay twice as much for the marketing hype. He didn't tell me I couldn't get the Chuck Taylors, but he did say he wasn't going to spend the extra money for them. His job, as he saw it, was to provide what I needed. If I wanted more than that, I could pay the difference. It was quite a dilemma--my first lesson in style versus substance.

Ironically, Converse later had the slogan, "It's what's inside that counts," and they were right. God chooses substance over style, and He wants us to do the same. While the world looks at the outside of people, He's concerned with the inside: who we are becoming. He wants us to have substance ourselves, to be able to see the substance in others, and to value it above outward appearances. After all, styles change. Substance can last forever.