Every one needs an identity, a way to define and distinguish himself. Wow, did I ever notice this as I sat in two airports waiting for delayed flights yesterday. I saw some real characters: pink hair, knee high black boots with 2" soles, wild fashions that screamed - "Look at me! I'm alive and I matter!" Then there were the distinguished business types who announced their success and power with expensive suits and jewelry. Others 'announced' themselves with abrasive, rude behavior that probably resulted more from insecurity and the need to impress than anything else!
Robert McGee wrote about it in a book aptly called, The Search for Significance. I like that phrase as an expression of our universal desire to matter. From an early age, we ask - "Do I matter? Why am I alive? What makes ME a person that others will love and accept?" Yes, of course, this need for purpose and meaning is twisted by our sinfulness and becomes selfish, competitive, and destructive. Because we are sinful, fallen from God's image in which we are created; this need to contribute to the world in a meaningful way gets twisted into something ugly, competitive, and prideful. The search for significance is turned into a quest for approval often based on external 'proofs' of our worthiness- beauty, brains, strength, or wealth.
Under the influence of the sinful nature, our God-given desire to become creative, a person who is contributing something of worth to the world of which we are a part, twists into jealousy - 'why can't I have what he has,'- and selfish ambition - 'I must have first place.' The Bible says, "For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and motivated by the Devil. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and every kind of evil." (James 3:15-16, NLT) Because of this, many Christians think that the answer is to squash the desire to be beautiful, to do something that stands out, to strive for excellence. What results are people who are boring, bland, sad- and frustrated, too! They become saboteurs that ruin the attempts of others to express themselves in a godly way.
Jesus says, "Don’t hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father." (Matthew 5:15-16, NLT) I am convinced that Spirit-filled Christians should be at the fore-front, people who do whatever they do, at the highest levels. They ought to be the best musicians, the best teachers, the best plumbers, the best land-scapers... THE BEST... not just to prove their worth, but to show God's glory in the world! Let your light shine! In that same passage Jesus refers to the 'saltiness' of those who love and follow Him - meaning that they will be unique, a flavor in the world, a preservative.
Later in the New Testament, the concept of being gifted by the Spirit appears. In that familiar metaphor of the Body of Christ; we learn that ALL of God's children are gifted and that those gifts find maximum expression within the context of the Church. We do have a place, one that the Scripture says that God has prepared for us and equipped us to fill uniquely in our time, according to HIS purposes and plans!
Are you striving for recognition?
Instead of trying killing that need, how about asking the Spirit to make it holy?
Let Him work on humility and bringing ambition under His reign!
Ask Him to lead you to the place where you will fit; the place prepared for you in the purpose of God. Then, serve - praying for the gifts of the Spirit to make your contribution to the world something that brings joy, that makes a Kingdom difference, and that makes others say, "I see God in her! What a great God."
______________________________
The wind is moving,
But I am standing still,
A life of pages waiting to be filled,
A heart that's hopeful,
A head that's full of dreams,
But this 'becoming' is harder
Than it seems.
If there are millions
Down on their knees,
Among the many,
Can You still hear me?
Hear me asking, "Where do I belong?"
Is there a vision
That I can call my own?
I'm looking for a reason,
Roaming through the night to find,
My place in this world,
Not a lot to lean on,
I need Your light to help me find,
My place in this world.
Title: Place In This World
Author: Smith, Michael W. / Grant, Amy / Kirkpatrick, Wayne
Copyright: 1990 Careers-BMG Music Publishing, Inc. / Milene Music, Inc.
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