The Cost of Cutting Corners: When You Lose Yourself in the Build

millicentassoc
Aug 27, 2025
3 min read

Updated: Aug 27, 2025

Spiritual Shortcuts, Losing Yourself in the Build, Rebuilding God’s Way

🔨 Blog Series - Part 3: Surrendered Obedience & Abundance: Reflecting God-Esteem

— Millicent V. Brown

Don’t rush the frame—some beams are meant to bear the weight. Be careful not to cut corners when what you’re building is meant to endure.

It happened while watching a Hallmark movie—Autumn in the City. There was something about the simplicity, the excitement of youth, and the wonder of just being that stirred something in me.

I remembered when life felt full of possibility. When creativity flowed freely. When the world hadn’t yet pressed in with its heavy expectations.

Where did that version of us go?

Maybe we didn’t notice it at first—the slow erosion of joy, the quiet deflation of dreams. We were just trying to survive. To adapt. To build a life that made sense. But somewhere along the way, we started cutting corners. We started trying to fit in instead of standing out. We let culture, criticism, and comparison start dictating the measurements of our worth.

And now… we find ourselves older, maybe wiser, but wondering: Did I lose myself in the process?

🧱 The Blueprint We Forgot

We’re often great at focusing on external priorities: the resume, the calendar, the hustle, the image. But when was the last time we paused to look internally?

What did it cost us to people-please instead of God-please? What did we sacrifice when we ignored that inner whisper from the Holy Spirit? What are we missing when we forget to start the day dressed in the full armor of God?

These are not small things. These are the load-bearing walls—the beams we were never meant to tear down. The ones that uphold our identity, our faith, our values, and our connection to the God who made us.

When we remodel our lives without His permission, we end up removing the very structure that was keeping us steady.

💔 The Hidden Cost

Cutting corners may feel efficient in the moment. But what’s the long-term price?

· Peace traded for pressure

· Joy traded for performance

· Purpose traded for people’s opinions

We become like square pegs trying to fit in round holes—never feeling quite right, constantly adjusting, never at rest.

But here’s the truth: You were never meant to fit into what the world built. You were designed for what God is building.

🔁 It’s Time to Rebuild

It’s okay to grieve what was lost—years, dreams, pieces of your voice or confidence. But more importantly, it’s time to reclaim what’s been found.

You. Your peace. Your God-given joy.

“Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it…” —Psalm 127:1

You are not too late. You are not too far. You are not too broken.

You are still becoming. And you are still worthy.

Let’s go and deconstruct, tear down, and unlearn what wasn’t built on Him. Let’s lay new beams—the kind only the Master Builder can place.

Because you were made to last, not collapse.

💬 Reflection:

You know… (and yes, I say that often), but truthfully—nobody actually knows. We’re all trying to figure it out. I often find myself deeply concerned—about the world, the church, the people around me—and I catch myself asking:

“Lord, am I focused on what You want for me?” “Am I in step with Your plan to bring people to the Kingdom?”

But I’m beginning to hear something deeper. A gentle yet firm whisper: “The focus… is Me in you. Let me build your house.”

There’s a song that keeps echoing in my spirit—“Build My House…”And I realize… how can I help build for others when my own house—my spirit, mind, and emotions—are in shambles?

It’s like the other song says, “Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.”

So Lord…Let Your love reign in me. Let Your peace rule in me. Let Your joy, kindness, patience, and truth restore me. Deconstruct what isn’t of You.Rebuild what reflects You.

Only when I surrender fully and let You build my house—can I truly help build the neighborhood, the community, the Kingdom. Only then can I love my neighbor as I love myself. Only then will I stop cutting corners and start counting the cost with eternity in mind.

Lord… build my house.