TheHighCalling.org: Gifts and Talents

Void Where Prohibited (Bible Reflection)

Robert Hruzek — Sun, 31 May 2009 06:00:00 GMT

You know what "the fine print" means, don't you?

It's that ridiculously dense paragraph you find on coupons or contest notices, usually in a font so tiny you need a 40X magnifier to read. Or, in the case of TV or radio, it's those 853 lightning-fast words they rattle off in the last four seconds of a commercial.

Often called a disclaimer, it's the detailed listing of every conceivable circumstance in which whatever you want to do—whether it's to enter a contest, get 82% off your purchase, or obtain multiple items for the price of one—can somehow be disallowed. Adding insult to injury, they're usually written in legalese, a language most of us don't even speak!

The disclaimer I find most puzzling, though, is "void where prohibited." It makes me wonder what possible circumstances would make it illegal for me to, say, win fifty bucks or to finally attain that Holy Grail of fast food: five giant Bubba Burgers for a dollar? How could something so innocuous be so wrong? Is there some vast shadowy organization out there whose sole purpose of existence is to prohibit folks like me from getting a good deal?

Rules and Regulations

There's no doubt about it, my friends; life is all about rules and regulations. Do this; don't do that—it's a full-time job keeping track, isn't it? The irony is, even if you can get all you want—of whatever it is you're after—you may find, like the kid in the candy store, that too much of a good thing really isn't so great after all.

But what if I could point you toward something that is never void, and never, ever prohibited? That's right; you can have as much as you want! Wouldn't you be interested? If so, then read what the Apostle Paul wrote in the fifth chapter of his letter to the Galatians:

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." (Gal. 5:22-23; emphasis mine)

The Fruit of the Spirit

So what exactly is the fruit of the Spirit?

Perhaps best described as character traits of the Spirit-led Christian, they are positive, desirable qualities God desires to produce in us as we grow in him. Here's what I find most amazing: we don't even have to develop them ourselves; he promises to grow them in us, if we'll just follow him.

It's no accident that Paul uses the metaphor of a fruit tree; it's a beautifully clear picture of how God grows these qualities in us. After all, have you ever seen an orange tree strain mightily to produce an orange? Of course not! It's an inherent characteristic—orange trees, when planted in good soil, just naturally produce oranges.

The fruit of the Spirit comes about in the same manner: Christians who live and grow in Christ just naturally produce fruit. It's the way he made us!

Alas, the truth of this passage painfully smacks me in the face. Do I personally exhibit these characteristics in my daily life? Do the folks I work with know I'm a walking fruit stand? Do I bless folks around me by my words and actions? And even beyond the workplace, what about folks I encounter at the restaurant, at the corner store, or at the garage?

Note, too, how Paul points out "there is no law" against these things. That's good news, because it means here is something for which there is no fine print! You won't have to drag out a magnifying glass, break out your legal dictionary, or even listen closely so you won't miss anything. When it comes to the fruit of the Spirit, you'll never have to wonder if they're "void where prohibited."

It begs the question, though, doesn't it? If all we have to do is let God do it, then what's stopping us?

What To Do With Vocational Honors? (Bible Reflection)

Jonathan Dodson — Sun, 24 May 2009 06:00:00 GMT

Nothing beats an honest day's work, so the saying goes. In an age of unethical business schemes and get-rich-quick internet commerce delusions, an honest day's work is harder to come by. The new saying might go something like: "Nothing beats a quick, lucrative day's work."

But there is a vocational reward greater than wealth or honor, a reward grasped centuries ago by St. Augustine. In Confessions, he writes: "I looked with longing at honors, wealth and marriage, and you laughed at me." Does God laugh at our longing for honor and wealth and relationships?

Imprisoning Honors

Augustine was an immensely successful teacher and rhetorician, but he felt imprisoned by his awards and recognition. Is it possible that these honors are inherently bad or oppressive? A glowing review, a congratulatory comment, published research, or an endorsed product? It seems right to recognize goodness in some person—a purple heart for a soldier wounded in battle recognizes courage and self-sacrifice, noble qualities indeed. I think of remarks I have received after a sermon, emails regarding articles I have written, comments on a blog post. Have I been ensnared by these honors, awards, and recognitions? What was it about Augustine's honors that imprisoned him?

False Joys

Augustine continues his reflections by describing an encounter with a beggar, whose fleeting happiness over a few coins outweighed the joy of Augustine's ambitious plans. Augustine sees in his own efforts a joy that was "much more false" than the beggar's financial delight. The beggar was "free from care, while [Augustine] was full of fear."

Every day I drive by homeless beggars on our highways, often cynically imagining how stress-free their jobs are, as they hold up signs that read "Why lie? I want a beer." I then reflect on the stress—dare I say fear—many of us carry due to the demands of our jobs and employers. We are consumed with pleasing people at work and in life, while at the same time fearing that we might displease them. What's worse is that very often the "them" we aim to please are anonymous.

What was so wretched in Augustine's soul that required a spiritual freedom? Was it his honors for fine learning, teaching, and instructing? If not, what was it about his honors that bound him, leading him down the path of falsehood and soul-wrenching deception? His fear led him to take pleasure in winning approval of men "not to instruct them, but only to please them." Augustine's heart was imprisoned by lesser affections, by his inordinate desire to please men over God. He looked "with longing at honor, wealth, and marriage," expecting these from men not God.

Toward True Joy

Do we take hollow comfort and empty joy in anonymous approval of those around us? Do we fear that we will not be honored or rewarded for our performance or appearance? All too often my joy rises and falls with the numbers of compliments I receive, comments on my blog, or recognition by a colleague, spouse, or friend. Our longings and desires rest too firmly upon the approval or rejection of finite men and not in the unfathomable pleasure of an infinite, loving, accepting God. With Augustine, we seek only to please men, not instruct them.

How can we move toward true joy? What do we do with the honors we receive? How do we avoid making compliments a basis for our confidence?

•   Identify the particular recognition that can imprison your soul. Think about the kind of recognition you cherish most. Who does it come from? What does it look like?

•   Receive recognition without cherishing it. Accept the compliment without savoring it for significance.

•   Deflect the honor and recognition to God. Give him the credit for your performance, since we are to glorify God in whatever we do (1 Cor. 10:31).

•   Repent where you have cherished the honors of men over honoring God. Exercise faith in God's all-sufficient love and grace as the only place your soul is satisfied.

•   Rejoice in the privilege of work, the favorable results, and the greatness of God to give you the capacity to produce God-honoring results.

Nothing beats an honest day's work, especially when we are honest about who is worthy of the credit for our honorable work. By pointing away from ourselves to the strength, creativity, and wisdom of our Creator, vocational honors can be a reminder of the sufficiency of the gospel for our significance. When we identify and deflect honors that woo us, we can learn to rejoice in God's grace, not man's compliments.

The Woodpecker (Audio)

Howard E. Butt, Jr. — Sun, 17 May 2009 06:00:00 GMT

A woodpecker can peck 20 times a second. A second. And if you think that little jackhammer gives you a headache, think of his cranial strain. But no . . . a woodpecker's skull has extra air pockets to cushion his brain.

Even nature teaches us a workplace truth: when God gives us work, he equips us to do it.

This is Howard Butt, Jr., of Laity Lodge. At the start of my career, I knew how I wanted God to use me. But my way gave me headaches. If I could go back now and tell my younger self an important truth about work—I'd point to the woodpecker and say: when it's right, he'll give you what you need . . . in the high calling of our daily work.

God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need , you will abound in every good work. (2 Cor. 9:8)

Workplace Gifts and Ice Cream Flavors (Personal Reflection)

Emilie Griffin — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 06:00:00 GMT

When I first began to practice the life of prayer in a very intentional way, I was working in a major advertising agency in New York City. You probably wouldn't have thought about it as a spiritual place, but it took up a large segment of my life. And a very creative life it was too. I loved my job in spite of the anxieties I often felt. I had to meet deadlines, satisfy expectations, and convince other people to choose the best of several campaigns I was proposing.

At that time, I was eager for a closer relationship to God. I did small things—and large things—to come closer to the life of grace. I prayed. I looked for times of solitude and silence. I went to church often. Sometimes I made retreats. Daily I read favorite Bible passages, especially from the Psalms and the Gospels.

At one point, I came across the notion of spiritual gifts. Some are described in Galatians 5:22: "the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." Later in the same passage I read, "let us be guided by the Spirit." Earlier in the Scriptures, in Isaiah 11, I found a description of the spirit of the Lord: "the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord." I was struck by these two lists, which seemed like descriptions of the transformed person. I wrote them down on a three-by-five card and kept it with me as a reminder. These were the qualities I wanted to have. My husband referred to them as my Baskin-Robbins ice cream flavors.

I loved his light remark. But I understand that these qualities can't be ordered by the scoop. They really are gifts. We don't acquire them. They come to us by grace.

Even so, I think we can sometimes spot these gifts in the workplace. Possibly it isn't so easy to see them in ourselves, as in the fellow workers or managers that we admire. One of the most inspiring figures in my own work-life was my mother, Helen Russell Dietrich. She founded and ran three different companies—relatively small ones—and she always envisioned her work in terms of the benefit to others and not to herself. One of the things I noticed about her was her humanity in dealing with members of her staff. When an older woman applied for a job, my mother would sometimes create a job that suited her particular talents. And this was the way she behaved with staffing over time. She noticed another person's talents and tried to make space for them. I had a chance to observe her warm personal style at close range. I worked as a consultant to her firms through much of my adult life, and directly under her, as Executive Vice President, for two years. I knew many of her coworkers and members of her staff. I knew how much they admired her and how she influenced them in positive ways.

My mother rarely talked about her faith. She would probably never have made a Baskin-Robbins list of spiritual gifts. Yet the warmth of her personality told me something about how she relied on God for everything. She often turned to the Bible in difficult moments or when hard decisions had to be made. I don't think she saw her spiritual gifts as a result of her faithfulness. No. It was the other way around. God gave her generous scoops of his grace. And she expressed her thanks whenever she opened the Bible to a passage she loved.

Creativity or Being Like Everyone Else? (Ramblin' Dan)

Dan Roloff — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 06:00:00 GMT