Tonight I was reading an article in Collide Magazine about Sam Duregger who lived an entire year in a tent. He worked his normal job and pretty much a normal life but lived in a tent. I could blog for a while about that fact (which I’ll probably do later) but there was one line in his article that really jumped out at me.
“In my opinion, social media has contributed to the deception that we all can be innovators and leaders, experts and specialists. I think this false sense of ingenuity has led many to adopt a lifestyles that distracts from where God is calling them to employ their gifts and talents.”
When I read that I thought, “Right on!” It’s ironic that I would put such a quote on my own blog because it basically calls me to examine why I blog. More and more, I have noticed so many blogs and “consultants” for youth ministry popping up. In many ways this is a great thing but in some ways having so many “experts” dilutes what God is truly trying to do in people.
Ephesians 4:11 talks about different roles that God created people for. In that passage it doesn’t he “He gave all to be…” It says, “He gave some to be…” Which, logically, means that He gave others not to be… Unfortunately, we don’t want to admit to what God has not given us to be. We find something the catches our attention and interest and we run with that. Typically those things are good and Godly things and so we think that if it’s a Godly thing then it must be God’s will for me to do it. But that’s not necessarily true.
I believe that God has not only gifted each of us in great ways to do great things for Him. He’s also some times chosen not to gift some of us in certain ways so that we can allow others to minister. I’m convinced that it’s a pride issue for many.
We don’t all have to be experts in everything. We don’t have to be “the best” in our field. We don’t have to have all the answers. Find where God has gifted you. Recognize the measure that He has blessed you and allow Him to work in and through you as He sees fit.
in my humble opinion 🙂
man, although i enjoy blogging, facebook, twitter, and all the social media madness, it has done a lot of damage to our culture when because it has been left unbalanced and unchecked.
cut out that “when” ugh, typos!
joe, thanks for the linkage… i’m still wading through the words that i wrote, it’s not as easy to live it as it is to write it! but your words are so true! what is your gift, and where do you need to be utilizing those gifts? questions that don’t get asked too often, i think for the worse.
keep on bloggin!