“I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received”
— Ephesians 4:1
““Those who have a ‘why’ to live can bear with almost any ‘how.’”
—Viktor Frankl
THE QUESTION THAT LINGERS
A few months back, I was listening to a sermon by Matt Chandler. He brought up an idea that I’ve been spending some time thinking on ever since. It’s a framework I can’t seem to shake: the contrast between resume virtues and eulogy virtues.
Resume virtues are the things we highlight in interviews.
Degrees. Promotions. Accomplishments.
The milestones we showcase when someone asks, “What do you do?”
Eulogy virtues are what people whisper in hospital rooms. They’re the words that fill the sanctuary at your funeral.
Words like faithful. Gentle. Courageous. Present. Sacrificial. Steady.
We all know the eulogy virtues matter more. But we don’t always live like they do.
In our achievement-obsessed, performance-driven world, we are being shaped and formed toward the external. We know how to impress. But when the dust settles and the crowd goes home, what’s left?
Who have we become?
THE TWO LIVES WE BUILD
David Brooks, the author who first popularized the idea of resume vs. eulogy virtues, wrote:
“It occurred to me that there were two sets of virtues, the résumé virtues and the eulogy virtues. The résumé virtues are the skills you bring to the marketplace. The eulogy virtues are the ones that are talked about at your funeral, whether you were kind, brave, honest or faithful. Were you capable of deep love?”
He goes on to say that our culture teaches us how to build a career…but not a soul.
That we’re trained in productivity, but not integrity. Excellence, but not endurance. Strategy, but not sacrifice.
And the truth is, most of us are living in this tension. Building a life that the world applauds, while quietly wondering if it’s the life that actually matters.
SCRIPTURE'S CALL TO EULOGY LIVING
Ephesians 4:1 issues a strong and simple charge:
“I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.”
Not a life worthy of applause. Not a life worthy of envy. Not a life seeking to be impressive.
A life worthy of your call. A life aligned with the weight and the wonder of what God has entrusted to you.
The gravitational pull of culture is strong.
We are being told, daily, that our worth is in what we do. That our value is found in what we produce. That our legacy is built on awards and accolades.
But that story is hollow. It collapses under real life.
No one lies on their deathbed wishing they’d spent more time on email. No one’s kids reminisce about how well their parent optimized their calendar. No spouse buries their partner and says, “You should’ve seen their performance reviews.”
We ache for something deeper.
To be remembered as kind. Courageous. Present.
To have lived a life that mattered in the ways that truly matter.
THE PARADOX OF PURPOSE
Ironically, when we stop chasing resume virtues and start investing in eulogy virtues, we become people who live with more impact. The best resumes are built by those who weren’t trying to build a resume at all.
The best leaders are those who loved deeply.
The best mentors are those who lived with integrity.
The best teammates are those who served with humility.
You don’t get to the top of the mountain by stepping over people. You get there by caring for people.
A PERSONAL INVENTORY
So ask yourself:
- What kind of life am I building?
- What do I want to be remembered for?
- What will they say when I’m gone?
- Will they talk about what I did, or who I was?
If that answer sobers you, let it.
If that question convicts you, let it.
It means your heart is still soft.
Still moldable.
Still listening.
A FINAL CHARGE
God is not after your performance. He is after your heart.
The world may remember your achievements. But heaven remembers your faithfulness.
So build the life that heaven wants to celebrate.
Be generous. Be kind. Be slow to speak and quick to love. Be the one who says, “I’m sorry.” Be the one who serves when no one is watching. Be the one who shows up when others walk away.
Build what matters.
Because in the end, it’s not what’s written on your resume that echoes into eternity.
It’s what’s passed on to others, spoken at your funeral, and what’s recorded in the Book of Life.
Live like it.
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