Bring Your A-Game

Scripture:
1 Timothy 4:15 — "Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all."

Observation:
We live in a time of personal growth and development. Everywhere you turn there you see countless ads promising a better you in some for or fashion. There are countless self-help books promising to help reinvent yourself. Reams of paper have been filled with instruction on bettering your career or business. Five minutes in a bookstore can yield a harvest of no less than 100 different and contradictory philosophies on improving your marriage. Our mail filter at work has been down for the past week and during that period of time I have discovered that there is not a single part of my body that cannot be improved for only $19.95. The Christian faith is no different. There is literally no end to the mountain of "Seven Steps to Jesus" type of books.

I get sick of them all. Books can be really useless. They can take something that is absolutely simple and turn it into a monstrous mess of words and phrases that are just barely comprehendible. In likewise fashion they can take things that monstrous undertakings and make them sound as if they are as simple as following seven steps. I think that is what I love about this passage. It paints a picture of that is very realistic when it comes to self-improvement. It is a not so easy, yet brilliantly simple plan designed to help me develop my A-game.

Application:
In this verse, Paul is writing to his young protégé Timothy. In earlier verses Paul tells Timothy not to let people give him junk over his young age. He tells him to stick to the plan and keep on doing what he knows he should be doing. He reminds him of his gifting and the he nets down volumes of self-help manuscripts into on simple command, work your butt off on practicing the use of your gifts. People will eventually acknowledge the growth. As I read this, I feel there are three things that I need to do.

First, I need to take the time to really understand my gifts. This is really hard for me. I do not like thinking in terms of what I do well. I am not sure why, but I feel awkward when I do it. Often times I struggle to come up with anything that I feel like I do well. When I do think about something, I quickly convince myself that I am just being conceited or deceived. But the reality is that God has uniquely gifted every man, women, and child. I am included in that, so I really should get past my hang-ups and make sure that I clearly understand my area of giftedness.

Second, I must prepare myself for the work ahead. Developing my gifts and putting them to good use should be my life’s aim. I like the way this verse is written in the Amplified version of the Bible, "Practice and cultivate and meditate upon these duties; throw yourself wholly into them [as your ministry]". Every day that passes should find me practicing, cultivating and meditating upon putting my gifts into serving God and others. Having an impact on the world for God is what I am put here to do. He has gifted me to accomplish this task. I must be a good steward of what He has given me.

Third, I must learn to ignore my critics. A mentor or trusted friend offering constructive advice that is good for my development is not the same thing as a critic. Critics are a lot like cockroaches in that they will always be around. I am convinced that they too could survive a nuclear blast. They seem to pop up and remind me of my youth, my lack of qualifications, what I did not think about, a better way to do something, and on and on they go. They never seem to be satisfied. Sometimes it is tempting to take these people head on and convince them they are wrong. But that is useless. I should just be content to work hard at what I know to do, listen to the feedback of those I trust, and allow the results of what God does in me to speak for themselves.

Prayer:
I am much harder on myself than I need to be. What was originally intended to be humility has grown into a type of self-depreciation that is not healthy for me and certainly is of no use to me. I pray for the ability to learn to clearly identify and appreciate my gifts. I never want to move down a path that could be remotely considered as being conceited, but I do ask for meekness in my acceptance of my gifting.

Working on developing my gifts is hard. It requires risk. It requires intention. It requires me walking through life connected to You and maintaining a willingness to join you in what you send my way. Prepare my heart to accept the fact that this is a process that will demand every bit of strength and energy that I have. I ask that you strip away anything in my life that will interfere with me developing into the man You desire me to be.

Finally I pray that you protect me from my critics. I need not look far to see my critics nor to I need to focus very long to hear their voices. I pray that you allow me the wisdom and restraint I need to stay humble in the face of these types of people. I just want to work out my faith in quietness and peace. I only answer to You. When someone chooses to look down on me or my ministry, that is between them and You. It has nothing to do with me. Keep me focused only on the things that I can control.

— Jason Hester, executive pastor of ministries, Reservoir campus