Wanting to be the best

GirlTalk blog always has a knack for bringing up topics that are both convicting and wonderfully encouraging. This post is no exception.

Sometimes I don’t want to serve when it is something I don’t think I’m very good at” the young woman humbly confessed to me. The ugly truth behind her reluctance? Pride. This woman realized that she wants to be
“the best” at whatever she puts her hand to, and if she can’t be the best, well, then she’d rather not even try…
Using our gifts requires humility. For as I’ve often reminded my girls (and myself!): “There’s always going to be someone better than you at what you do.” There’s always going to be the smarter kid in the class, the more outgoing friend, the more talented co-worker, the more organized homemaker, the more capable homeschool teacher, the more
energetic servant, the more gifted than you at whatever you do. And you know what? These people have been strategically placed in our lives to expose our pride and help us serve with humility.

Read the entire post here.

She reminds us that we need to be willing to use the gifts that God has given us, regardless of whether we are the best or not, and be willing to simply do our best, in obedience to God and with a desire to bless others.

It’s so easy to let our pride get in the way of using what God has given us, or from doing what He has called us to. While I can sometimes struggle with pride in my abilities and accomplishments (forgetting that absolutely everything I have come from Him, not from me), I can also lean in the other direction, feeling self-conscious and desiring to just sit back because I just can’t compare to everyone else.

Simply put, I want to be the best, and if I can’t, then why try at all?

Anyone else ever struggled with those thoughts or feelings? The part of her post that so encouraged me was the statement that there will always be someone better than me at what I do. What a simple, but profound statement. Let it sink in a little.

If I realize that, then I will realize that it’s futile to even desire to compete with those ideals, or all of the women out there who seem to do so many things better than I do. God hasn’t called me to be better than them, nor does any aspect of my worth or value require me to prove that I am. The goal isn’t to be who He has made those other women to be, but rather to be the unique woman that He designed me to be. What a liberating truth!

Rather than lamenting over what I cannot do, I’m so encouraged to keep my eyes on Christ, and my focus on obedience to Him and on what He has graciously gifted and called me to do.