Vocation part 3
Here's where I think it gets a little bit tricky: "Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called" (1 Corinthians 7:21). And I say tricky--even though it seems really simple--because it seems like all we ever want to do in this life is get out of our lane. Be someone we're not. And I can kind of understand the rationale behind that. It's kind of like, "If you want something you've never had you have to do something you've never done." But we've twisted that stretching, that getting out of our comfort zone, into, "I have to be someone I'm not in order to get what I think I haven't got." See, here's the plain and simple truth: We are who we're supposed to be, and we have what we're supposed to have. God conformed us to the image of His Son on the cross. After creating us in His image in the first place in the beginning. HE did all of that. We couldn't do it, and weren't supposed to. You can't earn a gift. You can't be someone you're not no matter how hard you try. At the end of the day, you are who you are. So instead of fighting that, we ought to embrace it. We ought to let our light shine, instead of trying to hide it. Or instead of trying to shine a different color light, if I can say it that way. We need to abide in OUR calling. I need to abide in MY calling, and you need to abide in YOURS. Look: I can't do it all on my own. I need what you've got--who you are--and you need what I've got--who I am. Things work out better when we work together. It's all about harmony. Pieces of a puzzle fitting together so that the whole picture can be seen. Paul wrote about this when he wrote about us all being different parts of the same body. The body of Christ. And one part of the body isn't more important than another. They (we) all just have different tasks. Different strengths. Different weaknesses. And, listen, I've said this many times: Asking for help when you need it is not a sign of weakness. It is a sign of wisdom. We're all in this together. If I can do what you can't, and you can do what I can't, then together we can do it all. Did I mention that things work out better when we work together? But when I don't stay in my lane... it's a two-fold problem. Because 1. I'm not doing what I'm supposed to be doing, so that isn't getting done. And 2. If I'm doing your part (badly) that isn't getting done either AND I'm robbing you of your chance to do it. So what I'm saying is: Just be who you are. Just do what you can do. Learn to say no. Learn to respect your limits. Anybody who would push you past what you're willing or capable of doing is not someone you need. And, again, I'm not talking about stretching. I'm not talking about doing more than you THINK you can do. I'm talking about--once you've given something (or someone) everything you've got... that's either enough, or it's not. I'm talking about knowing when to say when. Knowing that there are things you can do, and things you can't. And knowing that that's ok. Be you. Nobody else can. But don't try to be someone you're not. Nobody can do that, either. You vocation, your calling, your invitation, is not to put on a costume or a mask. It is to just simply and truly be yourself. That was who God wanted when He made you. So that is who you should be. Not someone else. You. Be you!