Word for Wednesday: Used versus Useful

Wow! I’m back for Word for Wednesday! It’s been a while… not been able to post regularly.

In thinking about many things (actually) especially regarding what we are encouraged to be, who we are encouraged to look up to, how we are encouraged to live, etc., not just the world but even Christians, several points fill my heart enough for me to speak about them.

First, Americans, with their godly heritage, have always been encouraged to be “doers,” productive, constructive, building something useful. While anything can be taken to the extreme and if this perspective is it could lead to self-righteousness, I do believe that this is a good, justified stance. The Lord commanded Adam to be fruitful and multiply. Jesus spoke a parable of a master giving his servants talents to multiply while he was away. It is a good thing to work with one’s own hands, to build, to nurture, to work hard, and reap the rewards thereof. God built humans for this!

But today, Americans are no longer doers. They play games and watch TV. “Jobs” are no longer productive and constructive for the most part; they are “services.” Ever wonder why all our manufacturing and specialization is going foreign? And the “good careers” are lawyers, professors, salesmen, musicians, technicians, and the like. While all these things have their use (esp the technicians in this day and age!), with so many going into these realms there are huge spaces left. What happened to our domestic carpenters, bakers, farmers, repairmen, smiths, and craftsmen? Now I realize that some of these jobs have become “outdated” with mass production and foreign trade. But think of it this way: ever noticed the cheap design and structure of items nowadays? The beautiful, sturdy, reliable craftsmanship has gone for the most part. With the American people split between the services and the Ivory Tower, no wonder we’re having illegal immigration issues! The government realizes that somebody’s got to fill in the gaps; we need somebody to work in the factories for low pay! If Americans were doers, where would we be? Men would be what men need to be, and women would be what women need to be, instead of filling in the gap left by the men.

Even Christians seem to look the wrong way in this respect. Everybody wants to be the author, the scientist, the professor, the Christian statesmen, the musician, the worship leader, etc. While God calls people into these realms of service, He does not call all there. Truly these people have their place, and we need to respect these places, but we need to look to God for our standard and not others around us. If we had people after God’s own heart in the business of craftsmenship, consider what a witness they could be! People love good, reliable material. Surely they would see a content craftsmen who loves the Lord, loves his brethren, and loves others without partiality as a light. Surely such a one is GREAT proof of God’s existence! And think of how many people we have today releasing books, albums, making seminars and resources to help the church. This is a very necessary task, to edify and exhort the body of Christ, to water and nurture them in the Word of God. But when you got so many people in this in a “business” way because there’s a good market, we leave the reaching out of the body undone. The evangelism of the gospel is manifold: there must be those who preach the Word, there must be those who translate the Word into other languages, and there must be those who pave the way and support the work of the former two. There are blessed people devoted to studying and preaching the Word of God abroad, and there are those who plow the fields and the driveways. Christians need to compare themselves to the specific call of God upon them, revealed both in His Word and through His Holy Spirit, rather than to the standards and other callings they see around them.

One quick sidetrack: does it seem to anybody else that most every testimony we hear from ministries big and small is how an addict or smoker or some other generally bad person was transformed by the power of God? That is truly amazing, how God can turn a life around. But, why is this all we hear? What of the average Joe, what of the church-goers who looked good on the outside, were happy and content on the outside. How many people walk the walk and talk the talk but have never been born again? Aren’t there so many people who talk spiritually, dress spiritually, have their doctrine all cut out, memorize Scripture, faithfully attend church and tithe, sing Christian songs, read Christian books, watch Christian movies, but— their priorities are how they look to other people, not whether or not the state of their soul is acceptable to God. When they think about this and feel a little uncomfortable, they comfort themselves with the fact that they truly believe Jesus died and rose again, and that they really do try to live as the Bible says. But they have not in a time and place been born again. This is something that occurs in the sight of God. They have not gotten before God and surrendered to Him, been changed by Him for good. To me, that is a miracle! How God saved the good-looking church-going Bible-believing Average Joe. Surely we can all believe that God saved the drug addict and the drunkard. But When someone who looked like the cookie-cutter Christian in culture only surrendered and was transformed, Heaven rejoices, and that’s what counts!

We are not justified by anything we believe, anything we know, or anything we do. We are justified by faith in Jesus Christ alone for rescuing us from our sin– just as He died in a time and place, and rose again in a time and place, He comes to live in each individual person in a time and place. Those who have not been born again in a time and place cannot enter the kingdom of God! Those who wander from His commands and leave the narrow path following their rebirth cannot enter the kingdom of God! Do not strive to please men, but to please God!

Then here’s one last point. Christians strive to be “used by God.” Yesterday, while I was engaged in the constructive activity of scrubbing the tub, I considered this. We strive for in some way to be “used by God.” We strive for the noble and mighty “positions” and acts. But the Lord says that not many mighty or noble are called.

And in fact, anyone, even the vilest person, can be used by God. Shouldn’t we strive instead to be pleasing to God? Even if it’s behind closed doors? Surely if we are pleasing to God, we will be lights, probably when we least expect to be. So rather than being a vessel of dishonor, which does get used, we should cleanse ourselves to be the pure vessels useful to the Master at all times, for every good work!

Young people tend to be ambitious; they (we) believe we can change things. We see solutions, we have energy, we have intellects (at least most of us think we do). Paul’s advice to Timothy is good for us as well.

“But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor.
Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.
Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” (2 Timothy 2:20-22)

God gave us youthful energy and the desire for purpose, and He gave it to us for Him! So we would pursue righteousness, faith, and love. And we can encourage the older folks, too. We can carry on their legacies and visions. They give us a deep heritage, great wisdom, love, and the encouragement we need to fulfill God’s purpose. Paul “passed on the baton” to Timothy in a way, and even he says in Philippians 3 that the things that were gain to him, he counted as loss, that the excellence may be Christ! Surely that’s how we can be sure of excellence! Let’s be called, chosen, faithful, useful to the Master for every good work, ready to get up and go whenever He calls, even as Abraham did, not knowing where he was going!