SOUNDS GOOD, BUT...
“You can be anything you want to be.”
“If you believe it, you can achieve it.”
"If you put your mind to it, you can do it"
Many of us have heard these types of things said or said them ourselves. This philosophy sounds good, but is it really good advice?
Let’s take the popular show "American Idol" for example. My favorite part of the show is the auditions in the first few weeks. There are so many people that try out that can’t sing a lick and it makes for extremely funny and entertaining television. It also makes for a tremendous amount of hurt feelings and broken dreams. Why? Because there are hundreds of contestants that actually believe “If you dream it, you can be it.” They have been fed that line and many others like it for years. Unfortunately, dreaming about being a superstar singer doesn’t make it so…even if you did take a few singing lessons, even if Grandma said “Awwww, you sound good, baby”, and even if you do think you sound just like the girl on the CD (never mind you're in the shower, singing along with the CD). Hey, I have dreamed many times about being able to dunk a basketball. I even did calf raises and a bunch of other stuff to improve my hops. Regardless, the only thing I’m dunkin’ is donuts.
Don’t get me wrong; there is nothing wrong with dreaming. In fact, I encourage it. It’s just that at some point, we must begin focusing on what God’s purpose is for our lives and not just what we want to do or be. Since God truly has a plan and purpose for our lives we must develop the gifts and talents he has uniquely given each of us in order to fulfill our destiny. Sometimes we focus too much on doing certain things in order to determine who we are. Instead we should focus more on letting who we are (and whose we are) determine what we do.
A long time ago when I was a kid I told my mother and one of her co-workers, Ms. Tina, that I wanted to be the next Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I will never forget Ms. Tina’s response. She asked, “Why don’t you just be the next Hampton Conway the 3rd?” I didn't quite understand her response at that time, but now I do. As much as I admire Dr. King, I don’t want to be him anymore. I want to be the me that God has ordained me to be.
There is no point in aiming high, if you're not aiming at The Highest.
-HEC3
1 comment:
This was wonderful! You have such incite.
Baby, I remember when I was in 6th grade. I wanted to be just like Hazel. Hazel had long hair, cute little nose, and thin lips and she was white. When I went home each day, I would wrap my head in a greasy silk scarf and braid it to mimic the long pigtails Hazel wore each day. I held my pencil like she did and even sniffed my nose like her, too. Her nose was always runny and she sniffed and snorted incessantly. She was also dumb as a doornail. No matter, I just wanted to be like Hazel.
Now, here it is 50 years later. My hair is only 1/4 inch long, my thick lips sport the hottest red lipstick I could find, and my wide flat nose is still spread across my face.
I am so glad that I am not like Hazel and also that I am not like that little 9 year old girl that wanted herself to disappear so that she could become someone else.
Thank you, Lord for allowing me to become more than I ever imagined.
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