Lent Day 34… Maybe You Weren’t Made For Greatness
Question: does a palm tree have to be “great” in order for it to be valuable, useful, beautiful, or special? Does it matter if it is the tallest or fastest or largest? Do we need palm tree competitions and palm tree awards to validate their existence?
God does not demand that I be successful. God demands that I be faithful. When facing God, results are not important. Faithfulness is what is important. —Mother Teresa
I’ve joked before about how I think we shouldn’t tell our kids they are going to be world-changers and champions or princesses and kings. The gist of what I’m saying is that these kinds of well-intentioned statements heap on loads of unrealistic expectations. Maybe we should lower the bar. Why not be content with our kids even if they are *shudder* average?
There’s something unhealthy about the world-changer champion princess narrative in my opinion. It stirs up a discontent, never-enough, always-hungry-for-more poverty of the soul. And it sneers at values like humility, contentment, simplicity, and steady faithfulness.
This week, I saw a tweet that made me stand up, wave my hanky, and shout amen (OK, I probably just clicked *like* and thought about the sentence for a minute or two)…
Being told “you are made for greatness” may be a reason why this generation is not OK with quiet faithfulness. —Samantha McCabe
Here’s an interesting take from Scripture about ambition: “Make it your ambition to live quietly and peacefully, and to mind your own affairs and work with your hands.” —1 Thessalonians 4.11
Statement: you do not have to be “great” in order for you to be valuable, useful, beautiful, or special. It does not matter if you are the tallest or fastest or largest (or any other superlative adjective). You do not need competitions and awards to validate your existence.
You are enough. You are loved.
That is all.
I am a husband, father, pastor, leader & reader. I love God, love people & love life.
The picture of you standing up and waving a pentacostal hankie and shouting is an entertaining vision. That aside, I see the constant drive in our culture to “be the best you can be”, excell, strive, compete–for self worth and others’ adulation. It pretty much leads to injuries in the least (thinking of my own competetive drive and last year’s sciatica) and depression/anxiety on the other end. Returning to Scripture and its call to contentment, trust and fulfillment in Christ is working against the tide of our American culture and self. Paul mentions striving in the light of self discipline in obedience to Jesus (1 Cor 9:25-27) and spreading the Gospel, not human competition against each other. “doing great things for God” is sometimes (maybe often) taking care of what’s in front of me–my husband, kids, house; being a helpful neighbor, none of which will give us public rewards or even bragging points. Dorcas is mentioned as one who took care of those around her with what skill God gave her; the widow fed a prophet, Martha fed Jesus. May I be as quietly faithful with what God has given me and placed before me.
This is an awesome response.
Super great post Brian.
Amen! (With virtual hankie wave.)
Well said, Cathy. I think our problem is perhaps in our definition of greatness.
My dad is the greatest man I’ve ever met. He showed me how to be a good husband and father. He showed me how to follow Christ and give Him my all, to love people unconditionally, to value them as God does, and to live what you say you believe. I never saw him sin. I never heard him speak evil of another person. He never raised his hand, or his voice, in anger. He was the same man at home and at work that he was at Church. He didn’t say much, but he was unafraid to lead by example. I will forever remember walking by his bedroom every night and seeing him kneeling beside his bed, praying – for my mom, for me and my brothers, for his unsaved brothers, for our community and our church, for our family and friends – and getting up early every morning to read his Bible and spend time with his Savior before starting the grind. Of course he wasn’t perfect. He made mistakes, made errors in judgement from time to time, and was maybe more laid back at times than he should have been. But dad had his priorities in the right place, and maintained a perspective on life that was mindful of eternity.
My dad is the greatest man I’ve ever met, but unless you lived on the west side of the Salt Lake Valley and attended Kearns/ Valley Assembly of God, or worked at Simpson Steel Fabricators, you’ve probably never heard of Tom Stanton.
If I turn out to be half the man he was, I will have done great things in this life.