I Yam What I Yam

For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that, my soul knows very well. Psalm 139:13-14

On our last post, I made a confession about my recent state of mind - frustrated and discouraged. I then went on to talk about woodpeckers of all things. Some might have been wondering - "What in the world is the connection?"

Well, here it is.

My frustration, generally, is directed at myself. I want so badly to be all that God wants me to be, and to do all that God wants me to do, but I know I fall so far short. The questions keep rolling - "Am I using the talents and abilities God has given me to their fullest?" "When I do use them, am I using them for His glory, or for mine?" "My efforts at one-on-one evangelism are pretty pathetic, Lord. How can I teach others when I'm not doing my part in this area?" These questions and their answers could fill some blog space on their own -- but not today.

The discouragement comes, usually, and I'm sure, unintentionally, from other Christians.

I've noticed that we seem to have moved into a period of Christianity, at least in America, where we measure success in our Christian lives by how "successful" we are in "ministry." Find "Your Best Life Now" while living a "Purpose Driven Life!" "Be all that you can be!" Or worse, to me anyway, is measuring your success financially. It's very easy to get discouraged when you don't seem to be able to "measure up" to everyone's expectations. Or, to what "they" say God's expectations are for your life.

This not a rant on Rick Warren or his book, The Purpose Driven Life. It's not really a rant on related teachings or their proponents. It's not the subject matter that I have a problem with - I truly believe that God has given us all unique talents and abilities to be used for His Kingdom - it's my own inability to do and inadequacy in doing, these things. I know, it sounds like I am expecting perfection of myself, but I don't really. I know that perfection is impossible to achieve. However, I also know that I could be doing much, much better.

It doesn't help when others around me are successful at what they've been called to do. That sounds like envy speaking, but that's not what it is. For example, I know several men in prison ministry; they love it and they are successful at it. I believe that God has a special place for ministry to widows and orphans (Psalm 68:5; James 1:27), and by extension, those who can't do for themselves or are oppressed. I think prison ministry is a very noble cause and it pleases God. I really am not interested in going into a prison to teach though. I also have no interest in going to a nursing home, again, as an example, and visiting. And that bothers me!

This is where God gave me the correlation to my own life: I had been focusing on everything that I am not, instead of what I am. I have been focusing on everyone else's expectations of what my life should look like, instead of what God says it should.

So what does God say He expects from us?

Is it that we should be wealthy? Not necessarily. I am a Christian; a follower of Jesus. What does the Bible say about Jesus and His wealth? He had none. In fact, He did not even have a place "to lay his head" (Matt. 8:20). In addition, most of the original 12 disciples were common men, fishermen to be exact, and were most certainly not wealthy. And they most definitely did not become rich after deciding to follow Jesus. So, while God does not say we shouldn't, or couldn't be wealthy, that is not His main goal for our lives.

So, what does God say we should do? Here are three, one Old Testament and two New Testament.

The first is found in Mark 12:30. Jesus said, "'And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment."

The second is found one verse later: "And the second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."

The final one is found in Micah 6:8: "He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?

These are things God wants from us. Love God and love those around us. He may have given you a call to minister to (love) millions, like a Billy Graham, or He may have called you to minister to (love) those in your immediate family - according to the most recent census, all 3.14 of you in a household.

So, these are things I should focus on. Not that I shouldn't continue to try to improve myself, but to focus on what it is that God has given me to focus on, and to stop trying to measure up to other people's expectations and standards for my life and to be who I am.

Like the unique woodpecker that does what woodpeckers do, and that other birds are not equipped to do. And, just as the other birds do what they do and not what the woodpecker does, so should we concentrate on what we have been uniquely called to do.

In the immortal words of Popeye, "I yam what I yam and that's all that I yam!"