Ask Not What You Can Do For God

Well it was a good week at work and I am still glad that it is Friday so I guess I get joy on two levels. Part of the reason that I had a good week was that I had the opportunity to work with one of the other lead hands whom I rarely get to connect with one on one. We usually like to spend our time talking about spiritual things, marriage, kids etc., so the time is well spent.

Today we talked all over the map, but one thing stood out for me and that was a continuation of a thought from the previous day. It started with a rant about conference brochures, book jackets and all the fluff they are covered with. It was a good rant too. I personally hate all those blurbs on the speaker or the author and all the things they have done and why I should put importance on every word they care to drip from their lip. Blech! I feel that if the Spirit is speaking through them then that should be evidence enough. I guess they think that just in case God does not validate their message they should have a few good friends to back them up or maybe a splashy ad telling about all the other great things they have done. It's no wonder that the books I have read currently are all ones that God has told me to pick up (except for my photography magazines...oops). The continuation of this thought was that it really seems odd that we spend a lot of breath telling about the exploits of men for God. It is encouraging to hear tales of spiritual daring do, but so much of the emphasis seems to be of the fortitude of the people and implying that if we were similarly gifted or driven then we too could do such wonderful things. The fact of the matter is that it is amazing to me that God can do the things He does with the materials He has to work with. As a carpenter I would probably go through the pile of wood and chuck out most of the stuff as scraps and yet God builds wonders and beauty with those same studs (no pun intended). Perhaps the difference is His willingness to invest no end of time on each piece, but in the end the kudos should not go to the stud but to the craftsmen who so lavishly applied His skill to the stud.

So the end of this is that I would really appreciate it if the next conference you speak at or book you write could leave off from all the furious back patting and just get the job done. Better yet, maybe just a nod to God would be a good place to start.