Cookie-cutter lifestyle (CASM 17)

When you make cookies with a cookie cutter they all look the same and are uniform, which’s good for cookies. Our lives are different because we all have different assignments and people we have to reach. We have different talents, abilities, and personalities that will only work in certain situations and circumstances. Have you ever said something and someone didn’t understand it, and someone else said it with a different tone and words, and the person understood it? There are certain people you will reach that I can’t and vice versa. One reason is due to location, geographically God placed you there and not me. Another reason is due to personality. Sometimes we need someone direct and straightforward other times we need a softer approach.

Whatever your personality and skills are, we need God’s refining power so He can use us at any given time. Our job is to plant seeds for the kingdom even if someone else has to water them. Embrace your unique life and how God uses it in diverse ways for His kingdom.

Refining

I tend to be on the direct side of things and there was a time when I was extremely harsh. If you have a direct personality, your goal should never be to intentionally tear someone down, see them cry or hurt. Words cut, wound, and scar people for life. If you on the other hand have a softer approach and tend to coddle that can be just as ineffective. Avoidance of words can hinder the person from growing and being accountable. Remember, love without truth is foolishness, and truth without love is cruel.

I witnessed the words of direct people rip others to pieces and came to the realization that’s what I was doing. I saw my reflection and it was not a good look. My eyes were opened that I didn’t have to hurl words of fire to get my point across. There’s a need for our personalities, but for them to be fruitful we must take our orders from the Holy Spirit.

God took me by my heart and reminded me of the mercy, compassion, and longsuffering He daily extends to me. Through God’s love for me, my speech and love for others were refined and I was able to be used.

Stop being ashamed that your path is different

We can sometimes fall into thinking that our lives should follow a specific blueprint. For example, go to college, then marry your high school sweetheart and have children. Of course, all of us didn’t take that path. Again speaking from experience due to my choices life took some dark turns, but God still blessed me. We must be accountable for our actions in disobeying God because He didn’t intend for us to follow the path of sin. As stated above and throughout the Bible God’s mercy, compassion, longsuffering, and love for us far exceed any blueprint.

Don’t envy other people’s paths. Looking at the outer appearance can deceive you into thinking they have it made. Unfortunately, not everyone has what they have because they followed the words of Jesus. Also, coveting other individual’s paths causes comparisons. In doing this we exalt their abilities and minimize ours. We can want to be like someone that we start following them and their dream instead of our God-given talent. You are good at what you are good at because God instills that in you. If God calls you to do it, it’s intended for you, not anyone else.

Don’t be ashamed because you may not want the path others have or they feel you should have. Now, don’t go to the left with this, use the Holy Spirit’s discernment. Listen to wise counsel. If you are not ready to get married and have children or don’t want either, don’t. If you would rather travel, start a business, help the homeless be sure to seek God’s counsel and direction for this path. Don’t be rebellious or ruthless, that is not the purpose of going down a different path. It’s about doing what God is calling you to do for His glory and purpose.

In conclusion

It can be scary and a bit intimidating to do the opposite of what others are doing especially when it involves those that love you. Remember, this is not a competition or an argument, it’s about living out loud for Jesus. It’s about not being put in a box you or someone else has made for you. It’s about not just existing and going through the motions. More importantly, it’s taking on the identity of Christ and going out into the world and sharing Him in the unique way He calls you to do it.

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