Fulfilling Your God-Given Role
Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? (1 Corinthians 12:12, 15-19)
One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned from playing and coaching sports over the years is the importance of fulfilling your role on a team. Take a basketball team for example. All five players on the court play a different position, and within their position, they each use their unique skill set to help the team succeed. Some players are really good at shooting three-pointers. Some are good at driving to the basket. Others are really good at playing defense and rebounding. Everyone has their strengths.
However, when players start to try to play outside their strengths and outside of their position, it can sometimes hurt the team. I’ve seen this happen a few times over the year where one player will have a really good game and be shooting really well. Meanwhile, another player on the team sees that this player is doing well, so she starts to copy her. But because this second player is playing like someone else instead of playing according to her role and her strengths, she struggles to succeed.
The same can happen in the Kingdom of God. We each have different roles and different strengths we’ve been given to bring God glory. And it’s important that we fulfill our role and utilize our strengths, rather than trying to fill someone else’s role or emulate their strengths.
Maybe you have a friend who is a really great teacher. She’s the person you call when you need something explained or when you’re trying to understand something new. That’s a great gift for someone to have, but that doesn’t mean we all need to have it. Maybe you’re not the best teacher, but you’re really great at being hospitable. You love to host people in your home (or even your dorm room) and make them feel welcome and at ease when they come over.
Both gifts are valuable. Both gifts are meaningful. And both gifts are important to the Kingdom. But you’re not a failure in God’s eyes if you don’t have both gifts.
There’s absolutely no way you can be good at everything. It’s just not possible (as much as I’d like to convince myself otherwise). If you get too sidetracked with trying to copy other people’s gifts instead of using your own, you could be missing out on the opportunities God wants to give you to utilize your gifts and talents.
Just like Paul tells us in today’s key passage, every part of the human body is different but purposeful. In the same way, every member of the body of Christ is different but purposeful.
So, have you been trying to fulfill someone else’s role? Have you been minimizing your own gifts while trying to copy someone else’s? If so, let me encourage you to shift your perspective to the gifts has God given you. Ask Him how you could utilize those gifts more often so that you can fulfill the role He has specifically given to you as part of His team. I promise you’ll be much more effective, helpful, and fruitful if you focus on your own role rather than trying to fit into someone else’s.