I'm a tool. But I mean that in a good way...
My daily prayer is that God will guide me so that I am in the center of his will and use me for his purposes. I see my role in this world as to serve others and help them also be useful for his purposes.
In a multipurpose knife, every component is useful for a different purpose. Some will go without use for a period of time, but each has its purpose and time for use.
My friend, Christin, is chomping at the bit to get started with the legislature and the wonky policies that will be negotiated and ultimately passed or killed. I don't care about that at all. It's not my wheelhouse. Certainly, the bills and what passes into law matter to my life, but she loves that sort of thing and is good at it. That's her purpose.
My strength is strategic marketing and organization. I love elections. I work with candidates and help them become strong enough to engage bad incumbents.
Said simply, I'm candidates and elections and she is legislators and bills. Both are necessary and both have their season.
I also do grassrootspriorities.com, which is very legislator/policy based. But that's just reporting, really, and not about pushing or crafting legislation. The data there is useful toward both elections and legislative sessions and the organization necessary to be strong in both.
My friend, JoAnn, is top shelf when it comes to connections and guiding people. My friend, Robert, has a terrific bullshit meter and is good at seeing a path to getting things done.
I could go on... everyone has their strength.
It's important to know your utility and stick to that. It's what you do best. God gave you that talent for a reason. Find it, hone it, and put it to use.
Don't try to do those things where you are bored or where you struggle. You'll be unproductive and unhappy for being unproductive.
Surround yourself with people who have found their strengths and work together, each doing their part.
All of this sounds a lot like I Corinthians 12, specifically in verse 24: "God composed the body..."
The word "composed" in the Greek is interesting. One definition of this word might be "mix together into a superior compound." I think that's right. There is an essence of unity in the word.
It's a good day to unite with others for God's purposes. I'm glad to work with those who, when combined, are much stronger and better for the mix of our talents.
8 Comments
Excellent!
So true, Brett! We should never squander our God given gifts. When used together (unity) great things can be accomplished!
Excellent advice Brett, especially finding other people and working together.
Much truth here, Brett. Successful activism happens when a group of very committed, principled people with varying gifts and talents work together on a wise course (God's Way) to achieve a goal. The Lord makes some to be on the frontlines. Others are best suited for behind-the-scenes work, logistics, strategy, and resource gathering. Frankly, some of the most valuable people in the world are those who say, “I’m praying for you” and really mean it.
It is an incredible blessing to me to see how God is bringing together such an amazing team.
This post marked as containing Zero BS on the BS Meter. As usual my friend, you have cut to the meat of the matter in short order. You and your work are much appreciated.
I love this so much! God gives us our gifts and talents, and our responsibilities. He also puts people in our lives who have a different set of gifts and talents to help us along the way, and who bless us with mentoring and friendship. There is so much testimony in the work we do. I am so grateful for all the people you mentioned for those reasons (and others) and for my brother from another mother. God is SO good!
I think I’m gonna spend some time here on a daily basis, checking stuff out. And because of you, I will try to be better about attribution.
Good to see you, Doc. Perhaps when I release OpinionPapers.com, the community version of this, you might want to come on.