S.T.O.R.Y
The Lord looks down from heaven and sees the
whole human race. From his throne he observes all who live on the earth. He
made their hearts, so he understands everything they do. (Psalm
33:13-15)
Consider this
idea for a reality television show. The goal here is simple. Each contestant
must journey to a certain city, find a prescribed neighborhood, and assume a
particular role. Call it Find Your Place.
The challenge? No one tells you where to go or what to do when you get there.
The host identifies no city. She designates no countries. He distributes no job
descriptions. All contestants must discern their destinations by virtue of one
tool – their supplies. Upon leaving the starting point, each one is handed a
bag of supplies that provide the clues to that person's destination.
The host, for
example, hands one person a cowhide bag crammed with sweaters, a parka and a
soccer ball. In the side pocket, the contestant finds coins – Bolivian currency
– and a teacher's attendance sheet from a language school. Looks like the
destination and position are shaping up. Another is given diving equipment.
Oxygen tanks. Fins and goggles. Someone is going near an ocean. And what's
this? A wrench? Deep-sea divers don't carry tools. But here’s another clue. A
book. Diagrams of offshore drilling rigs. This person seems to be headed to a
drilling platform. Think the networks will syndicate the show? Too boring? Well,
address your complaints to the originator of the plot. God. He developed the
story line and enlisted you as a participant.
You didn't exit
the womb with your intended career tattooed on your chest. No printout of
innate skills accompanied your birth. But as life progressed, you began
noticing your gifts. Skills, revealed. Knacks, uncovered. God gave you those.
"It is God himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from
Christ Jesus; and long ages ago he planned that we should spend these lives in
helping others." (Eph. 2:10) No one else has your skill makeup. And disregard
it at your peril. An oil-rig repairman won't feel at home in a Bolivian schoolroom.
And if God made you to teach Bolivian kids, you won't enjoy offshore derrick
repair. And the kids in the class and the workers on the platform? Don't they
want the right person in the right place? Yes, and you do too. But most of all,
God does. You are the only you God made.
God made you and
broke the mold. "The LORD looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men.
From the place of His dwelling He looks on all the inhabitants of the earth; He
fashions their hearts individually; He considers all their works." (Ps.
33:13-15) Every single baby is a brand-new idea from the mind of God. Scan all
of history for your replica; you won't find it. God tailor-made you. He
"personally formed and made each one." (Isa. 43:7) No box of
"backup you’s" sits in God's workshop. You aren't one of many bricks
in the mason's pile, or one of a dozen bolts in the mechanic's drawer. You’re
it. And if you aren't you, we don't get you. The world misses out. You offer a
gift to society that no one else can bring. And if you don't bring it, it won't
be brought. "God, who makes everything work together, will work you into
his most excellent harmonies." (Phil. 4:9) The Unseen Conductor prompts
this orchestra we call living.
When gifted
teachers aid struggling students and skilled managers disentangle bureaucratic
knots, when dog lovers love dogs and number-crunchers zero-balance the account,
when you and I do most what we do the best for the glory of God, we are
"marvelously functioning parts in Christ's body." (Rom. 12:5) You
play no small part, because there are no small parts to be played. "All of
you together are Christ's body, and each one of you is a separate and necessary
part of it." (1 Cor. 12:27) The Author of the human drama entrusted your
part to you alone. Live your life, or it won't be lived. We need you to be you.
You need you to be you.
You can't be
your hero, your parent, or your big brother. You might imitate their golf swing
or hair style, but you can't be them. You can only be you. All you have to give
is what you've been given to give. Concentrate on who you are and what you
have. "Don't compare yourself with others. Each of you must take
responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life."
(Gal. 6:4-5) God never called you to be anyone other than you. But he does call
on you to be the best you that you
can be. The question then is, at your best, who are you? These five questions may
help you on your way.
What are your
strengths? God gave you, not a knapsack, but a knack sack. These knacks
accomplish results. Maybe you have a knack for managing multitudes of
restaurant orders or envisioning solutions to personnel issues. Synonymous
verbs mark your biography: "repairing," "creating,"
"overseeing." Perhaps you decipher things – Sanskrit or football
defenses. Maybe you organize things – data or butterflies. Strengths – you employ
them often with seemingly little effort. My cousin, an interior decorator, told
me this about her work: "It's not that hard. I walk into a room and begin
to see what it needs." "Not all of us see it," I responded. Truth
is I can't even decorate my bed. But she can redecorate a garbage dump. And
people pay her handsomely to do what she’s good at! "God has given each of
us the ability to do certain things
well." (Rom. 12:6) What certain things come to you so easily that you
genuinely wonder why others can't do them? Doesn't everyone know the periodic
table of elements? Nooooo, they don't. But the fact that maybe you do says a
lot about your strengths, not to mention your IQ. It also says something about
your topic.
What’s your
topic? Once you know your verbs, look for your nouns. What objects do you enjoy
working with? Animals? Statistics? People? Your topic can be as abstract as an
idea or as concrete as . . . concrete. God implants these passions. Listen to
the way he described the builder, Bezalel. "I have filled him with the
Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, intelligence, and skill in all kinds of
crafts. He is able to create beautiful objects from gold, silver, and bronze.
He is skilled in cutting and setting gemstones and in carving wood. Yes, he is
a master at every craft!" (Exod. 31:3-5) That's God talking! Can you hear
the pleasure in his voice? He sounds like a grandpa flipping photos out of his
wallet – or on his iPhone. It depends
on the grandpa, I suppose. But what makes your pulse race and your eyebrows
arch?
And then, what
are your optimal conditions? What factors trigger your motivation? Some people
love to respond to a need. Others are motivated by problems. A competent
bookkeeper likely thrives under predictable routine. The firefighter relishes a
day packed with different surprises. God never called you to be anyone other
than you. A 9-1-1 situation starts the firefighter’s engine. What starts yours?
Building or maintaining? Clearly defined structure or open-ended possibilities?
Assembly-line assignments or boundless opportunities? What are your optimal
conditions? And . . .
What about
relationships? Think back over your moments of satisfaction and success. On
those days, how were you relating to people? Some seek out a team, a club, a
society. When it comes to yard work, they want the whole family to be outside.
Some people are stimulated by groups. Others function better alone. They pass
on the community softball teams or bowling leagues. They prefer to hike or
fly-fish or play golf. It's not that they don't like people, but more that they
don't need people to achieve their assignment. Still others enjoy a group, but
they have to lead the group. In fact, they cannot not lead the group. They may
come across as pushy or domineering, but they don't mean to, generally. They
just see what others will see but don't see yet. Know your ideal relationship
pattern. If you like to energize others but your job plops you in front of a
computer screen, your days will pass with glacial speed – slooooowly. So, diagnose
your relationship style, and then determine what makes you say …
Yes! In the
movie Chariots of Fire, Eric Liddell
defended his devotion to running by telling his sister, "God made me fast,
and when I run, I feel his pleasure." When do you feel God's pleasure?
When do you look up into the heavens and say, "I was made to do
this"? When do your Strengths, Topic, Optimal conditions, and Relationship
pattern converge in such a fashion that you say, "Yes!"? When they
do, you are living out your S.T.O.R.Y. So, incarnate yours. Accept God's
permission to be whom he made you to be. The time you spend quarrying your
God-granted skills is time well spent.
Rick Burgess and
Bill "Bubba" Bussey host the wildly popular Rick and Bubba Show, a drive-time radio broadcast that originates
in Birmingham, Alabama. Animators once made a cartoon out of the two characters
and invited Rick and Bubba to provide the voices. Rick was the voice of Rick,
and Bubba, the voice of Bubba. Duh. Bubba, however, couldn't seem to please his
producer. He suggested that Bubba change inflections, volume and other details.
Bubba grew understandably impatient. After all, he was voicing himself. He
turned to the producer and objected, "If I am me, how can I mess me
up?" Great point. When it comes to being you, you were made for the part.
So speak your lines with confidence.
Grace,
Randy
No comments:
Post a Comment