Free to be yourself
Joyce Meyer spoke on the Sunday services at Hillsong church. She was talking about how to be free to be yourself.
This has brought a lot of thoughts and freedom in me.
I remember I have a few close friends here. We used to get together every week to have lunch or go out for something. But after a while I felt so guilty and ashamed of myself that I stopped being with them. Here's why. One of them has a father that's the finest cook in Guangzhou. Those of you who love Chinese food knows that Guangzhou is famous for it's food. Her father is not only a good cook, but also a cook trainer. And she's definately her father's daughter, she started cooking from 8 years old and she can cook up a big feast with no sweat. Whenever I go to her house, she'll always put up a whole table of delicious food that's five star hotel standard, even if it's only for lunch. Well, another friend who is her closest friend, used to be a waitress in five star hotels in China. Her husband, who was an Australian Malaysian stayed in her hotel once and was so impressed with her service that he ended up marrying her! She was superior with her room service. Now whenever I go to her house, it is always spotless clean and tidy. Well, they have been closest friends for a long time, and they both can cook(for feast) and they both manage the house and garden extremely well.
Now I never cooked and I never cleaned house at my parents place. I only started pretty much after I got married. My mother grew up with 12 servants in her house so she didn't have much idea on cooking and cleaning either.
Now you can understand why I stopped going out with my friends? All those time I was trying to be one of them that I forgot God created me differently! I felt miserable and exaulsted trying to keep up with their standard and I was sick of having to come up with excuses all the time. They never said anything bad to me. But uncontiously they've set a standard that was never meant for me to meet.
Now do you understand what I'm trying to say? You might be in a different social circle, church, work place,etc and there're people around you with their different giftings. You could be just like me, have been busy trying to function in their giftings and forgot about your own!
It's just like, an ear trying to be an eye. He can improve, learn, but it can never see as good as an eye. And if all his years he's been trying to be an eye and forgot that he's an ear, he'd never be happy and fulfilled. Sometimes he can even get so angry at God because he couldn't smell as good as Mr. Nose. But in fact, no matter how hard he prayed and tried, God can care less about his ability to smell. How many people have wished they could be Darlene Zschech or they could have a church like Hillsong?
God created gifts in each and everyone of us, but He never meant for us to compare and compete with each other. We're meant to use our gifts to serve one another and be benefited from each other.
So, if all you can do is to hear, be happy! You don't have to feel guilty and miserable because you can't smell or talk or whatever. Just hear and that's plenty. But if you don't do the job that you're created to do, then the whole body will suffer.
Tuesday, July 13, 2004
