3 Offensive Character Traits That Make it Hard for God to Use You...
If you are like me, when I see a list type blog I quickly skim the points to see if I want to continue reading. My hope in writing this is that when you look at the points, you have to keep reading just to see how insane I actually am. But my insanity is not what drives me to write today, actually it's a lesson I have learned and want to share.You see, God has really been working on me lately because about a year ago, proabably not knowing what I was getting myself into, I started really praying that He would use me to do big things for Him. I was laying it all out for Him to use whatever He wanted, I was ready, or so I thought. He had other ideas and unbeknownst to me there were a few things that He wanted me to learn. So these are three issues that I had to uncover in myself. I am no where near mastering them or even identitying them in myself completely and I have no doubt that over the next year or twenty there will be more to add to the list. However, sharing these with you today will hopefully take us all one step closer to fulfilling our God given potential.
1. You are ugly. Now before you start writing your hate mail, keep reading. I am not talking about physical features, God does not just use supermodels and perfect looking people to do His work, He doesn't care if you have warts on your nose or a face that isn't symmetrical. He doesn't care if you are fat or skinny, short or tall. Not at all. But what He does care about is if you have warts on your heart. If you speak with hatred and detest. If you gossip and slander. If you hate your neighbor instead of loving them. If you are critical of anyone who does not think like you. If you are ugly on the inside. Proverbs 4:23 says "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." There is so much truth in that verse. If your heart is ugly it will be very hard for God to use you. I am working on this one...it's a daily struggle.
2. You think about others. I know, I know, that goes against everything your mother ever taught you, but hear me out. We know that God wants us to love others. Jesus even said that the two most important commands are love God and love your Neighbor. However, sometimes we get so focused on other people that we lose our focus on God and His plan for us. We especially like to worry about what other people are doing wrong. What our husbands or wives are doing wrong, what our kids are doing wrong, what our boss is doing wrong, what our coworkers are doing wrong, what the lady in the car next to you is doing wrong, what your waitress is doing wrong. There is one person that you can change. There is one person that has the exact gifts that you have. There is one person that you can decide how their life can be used by God. Must I state the obvious? Yes, it's you. If you are consumed by the lives of others and it is getting in the way of what you have to offer, it will be very hard for God to use you. I am also working on this one...it's a daily struggle.
3. You have big dreams. This one goes against all the quotes you have ever seen on Pinterest, I know, but I am hoping that my track record has earned your patience. The key word in this one is YOU. If you truly want to be used by God, His dreams must become yours. I whole heartedly believe that God puts a passion inside of you for a reason, to fulfil His purpose through you. But when we take Him out of the equation our usefulness for Him greatly decreases. I was watching an interview today that Rick Warren did with Jordan Smith, this season's winner on The Voice. Jordan said something in that interview that I hope I never forget. He said, "I never want to use His name to promote my position but use my position to promote His name." How profound this statement is, that the reason for our dreams and passions to come to fruition is to point people to Him. In this super star world that we live in, it's so easy to desire fortune and fame but to really be used by God we first have to desire His dream for us. If your plans don't revolve around Him, it will be very hard for God to use you. I know what I want to be doing in ten years, figuring out what He wants me to be doing in ten years is a struggle...I'm working on it.
I wish I could say that I am looking forward to what God is going to teach me next , but I will be honest, change is hard. Letting go of yourself is hard. But God has big plans for you friend, embrace them, welcome them, ask for them and then be ready, God does some pretty amazing stuff with some pretty stupid humans when we let Him.
