“God hasn't called us to be world-class—or even very good

“God hasn't called us to be world-class—or even very good—at everything.”

A thought by Larry Osborne, (2009-04-10) from his book, Spirituality for the Rest of Us: A Down-to-Earth Guide to Knowing God (p. 138). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

Somehow that thought for some will lift a great load off of their shoulders. For others it relieves a lot of guilt.

Larry says, “Nowhere are we given the responsibility to become proficient in all the strengths and skills he's granted to others (gifts and capacities that perfectly align with their God-given assignment, but often have little to do with ours).”

He gives a great example of this, “Imagine a professional golfer all worked up over his inability to consistently kick field goals. Imagine him spending hours trying to perfect the difficult skill of accurately kicking a football. We'd question our golfer friend's sanity; write him off as a fool. Anyone gifted to be a professional golfer needs to spend the bulk of his time on the driving range and putting green, not on the gridiron trying to master the art of splitting the uprights.”

He then says, “Yet that's precisely what we do when we try to emulate all the spiritual disciplines and best practices of all the best Christians we've heard about or known personally. In reality, many of those who stand out as the best example of a particular spiritual discipline, trait, or quality do so precisely because it's a significant part of what God called and gifted them to do.”

“We also tend to forget that many of the strengths we so admire in one person are often incompatible with the strengths we admire in another. The grace of a figure skater is useless to a sumo wrestler. The diligent research and study of my favorite theologian doesn't leave much time for the globetrotting compassion of my favorite missionary. Spiritual heroes are great. They can call out the highest good in each of us. But too many heroes can be a problem, especially when we try to emulate each one, all at the same time.”

God has called you to be you not someone else. Be all that God has called you to be. I hope that relieves some pressure and guilt that some of you have in living your Christian life.

Did it?

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