How many of you have tried for years to fit in? Is it peer pressure or how society looks at us? Whether it be an ideal look or size or how we think about things, people want us to be like them. What are the traits of that person that we are striving to be? I have struggled with the fact that I am not as organized as another person. I am not as compassionate as others. I am not as smart as others. I am not…..I am not…..I am not…..
God did not make us to be exactly alike. In 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, it says There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
I do not need to be like the next person. I can be myself and celebrate my uniqueness. My main goal should be, how can I give honor to God in everything that I do. God has given me uniqueness. I can be myself and quit trying to be exactly like someone else or society thinks that I need to be. Society says that we should get married in our 20s, buy a house, have a couple of kids, get a dog and live happily ever after. Let me tell you, that was not God’s plans for me. Trust me that I tried to go down that road because it is what you do.
I tried to fit into the mold. In my career, I was always striving to move up the corporate ladder. I saw people stepping all over each other aiming for the same thing and I saw myself becoming someone other than the person that I felt my faith was telling me to do. It was not getting me anywhere but frustrated. It came to me one day to go back to trusting God and applying the principles that He taught me in my approach to my work environment. My whole world turned around.
My uniqueness in my approach to things compared to a lot of people around me is what has made me successful. We all have special gifts and it is how we use them that determines the honor that we can give God through them. What are your unique traits and talents that you are using to honor God? I would love to hear from you.
