1 Peter 4:10
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Children are often peppered with "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Looking back, a couple of the more amusing replies from a much younger version of me were “professional athlete” and “Broadway star.” How about for you?
This simple, common question, reinforced in many different times and ways by our culture over the years, can cause many people later in life to erroneously and unwittingly conclude that who we are is tied to what occupation we do. For example, our culture would have me believe that who I am -- my identity -- is tightly coupled to whatever prestige or lack thereof comes with someone in my occupation, the social circles into which this identity allows me to congregate, the salary and perks that such a role commands, etc.
But our God makes us know that we each have inherent value, irrespective of our role in this world, because we are His children. Truly, the question deserving of deep reflection for us adults, then, is not "what do you want to be?" or "what do you do" but rather "who do you want to be?" And how can what you do create a better version of who you can be?
For example, if I want to be a better person in some way, there is great truth to the following paradox: "We don't think ourselves into a new way of living. We live ourselves into a new way of thinking." That is, applying myself in ways that manifest my God-given gifts to those around me allows me to become, over time, with God's grace, a better version of me -- what Abraham Lincoln referred to as "the better angels of our nature."
For example, if I want to be a better person in some way, there is great truth to the following paradox: "We don't think ourselves into a new way of living. We live ourselves into a new way of thinking." That is, applying myself in ways that manifest my God-given gifts to those around me allows me to become, over time, with God's grace, a better version of me -- what Abraham Lincoln referred to as "the better angels of our nature."
Of course, Christ -- source for all real power -- made this clear years ago to His disciples, who were jockeying for the "power position" at his right side. Christ's response communicated humbly through word and deed was that He "did not come to be served, but to serve." And that they should follow His lead.
So who are you, the real you underneath all the biographical information about race and gender and occupation and so forth? Who do you want to be? How could you find that better angel in your nature? Gandhi has some simple, yet powerful, advice that he also discovered through the opportunities and trials of his life: "You will find yourself by losing yourself in service to your fellow man, your country, your God.” So you folks in servant leader roles, count your blessings! You already have a running start on discovering the real you underneath it all!
In my most hopeful hours, perhaps in a dream, I can imagine one day asking a young child the age-old question about what or who she wants to someday be. And instead of a normal response, I further envision that this young one, much more wise than her years, might instead reply: "When I grow up, I want to be a kind person, someone using my God-given gifts to deeply serve others."
So do I, dear one. So do I.
______________________________So do I, dear one. So do I.
Dear Lord,
Thank you for the opportunity to serve Your Children, young and old. May I view service not only as my civic and Christian duty but more so as an ongoing opportunity to live myself into a new way of thinking -- to increasingly walk in Your ways and, thus, become a better and truer version of Your creation in me. I pray that you plant in my heart a desire to pursue such a path forward and that You would always guide and encourage my steps along the way. In Your name, I pray.
Amen.
