Self-knowledge
is a great gift. Self-acceptance is an
even greater blessing. To really know
one’s gifts, abilities, talents, and natural traits, as well as the limitations
in other areas can reduce stress and tension and even inner turmoil. A man who is 5’3" is unlikely to be a
starting center in the NBA. A woman who
has little patience with the high energy of small children will probably not
find herself drawn to a career as a preschool teacher.
I used to be
painfully shy in large groups, even among family members and co-workers. I thought I was being humble, when in fact I
was struggling to grow into self-acceptance and to value my own gifts and
abilities. One of the pitfalls of this
struggle was my propensity to say yes to almost anything and everything my
bosses and co-workers asked of me, to the point of physical and mental
exhaustion. Then along came a guy who
would not only be my new boss, but eventually become one of my best friends, as
well. He is someone who has everything I
envied; a great personality, lots of friends, success, and the admiration of just
about everyone he met. I soon learned that his greatest asset is his
ability to see each individual for who they truly are and the talents they
possess, and to help them realize their full potential through understanding
and guidance. For example, he taught me
how to say no to others—even to him—when I felt it might make me less
productive in those things I previously said yes to. I can’t describe enough how much that one
simple lesson changed the course of my life.
It opened a whole new world where I could do those things I
wanted to do, both professionally and personally. It gave me the freedom to learn more, teach
more, and become more successful. It
allowed me the time to pray more, worship more, and evangelize more through my
writing. Todd also taught me, through
his example, that if someone else could do a certain task better than I could,
it would be better to step aside and let them do it for the greater good of the
company and its goals. It became the key
to our successful collaboration for 20 years, until I retired.
John the
Baptist seems to have really known who he was, his role in life, and the gifts
that were given to him by God. John had
been looked upon as a prophet to whom people came from great distances. Crowds would listen to him preach and many
would accept his call to conversion and be baptized. But when Jesus appeared on the scene and
people flocked to Him, John didn’t express any jealousy or need to compete to
"get his numbers back up". He
accepted that he had done what he had been called to do, used his gifts to the
fullest and now it was time to step aside for another (John 3:22-30). In today’s world the same scenario could have
turned out much differently.
Today,
competition, conscious or unconscious, seems to be in the air we breathe. Money, possessions, friends, accomplishments
of our own or our children, and lifestyle can easily determine our sense of
self and our acceptance or rejection of who we are. It takes great wisdom and inner strength and
maturity to accept that we’re each given gifts and abilities by God to use as
fully as possible. But true joy comes
when we realize, like John the Baptist, that our talents are not given for
personal status or enhancement but for the growth and spread of the reign of
God. And it often takes a lifetime to
realize that all has been given to us from above (James 1:17).
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