Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

I've decided to use this blog to write down my thoughts....who knows, maybe it will go somewhere this time! Only time will tell, I suppose.

Anyways, I ran across a website the other day that got me to thinking.  Like, really thinking.  It had 365 thought provoking questions, one for each day of the year.  I decided to start with the number that today would be (today, June 29, is the 181st day of the year).  The website I'm taking this from is http://www.marcandangel.com/ and it's from an article called "365 Thought Provoking Questions to Ask Yourself This Year."  I'm going to try to write every day, but we'll see how it goes.  It might be sporadic.

Today's question, #181, is "Why do we idolize sports players?"

I'm going to change this to "Why do we idolize people (sports stars, movie stars, music stars, or anybody in general really)?"

First off, everyone has a hole in their heart, that's how we start.  This hole we tend to fill with things in the world, like money, fame, popularity, material possessions, etc.  It's only to be filled by God, so anything less than God would be insufficient.  We know that nothing can compare to God, so we're fighting a futile battle trying to shove everything else in that hole.  However, idolizing people is a little more than that.  We see people that have a certain talent or certain looks or certain abilities that we don't have that we would just love to have.  We might not be able to carry a tune in a bucket, so we idolize pop singers that seem to hit all the right notes all the time (they really don't, they get a lot of help anymore from computers.....and lip synching during a concert...don't get me started!).  We might see a sports star that has athletic ability that's 250 pounds of pure muscle or speed or any number of physical attributes.  Why in the world would we look at these people and want to be them?

You see the Kardashians, their marriages are broken up all over the place, they're on the front of every tabloid for every scandal that you could ever dream.  You see the sports stars, their lives are filled with the temptation to take steroids to bulk up, and when they do, their lives are changed forever for the worst.  Music stars, movie stars, they all end up in some sort of rehab for any number of addictions.  The reality of this is, these people are no better than us: broken, sinful people with a hole in their heart that only God can fill.  Why would we want to be anything like them?

It comes down to being dissatisfied with ourselves.

Psalm 139:14 says "I will praise [God] for I am fearfully and wonderfully made."  Do you feel fearfully and wonderfully made?  Do you feel like the pinnacle of God's creation?  Do you feel like an individual that has unique talents and unique abilities?  Or do you feel like God made a mistake on you and your entire existence must be a mistake?  You might not be the greatest musician, you might not be a talented writer or an athletic bodybuilder.  You could be just the average person living the average life.  But you are special.  You have a talent that nobody else has quite like you.  Maybe you're a speaker, maybe you're a writer.  Maybe you just have that special touch with the elderly or children.  Maybe you do have a talent, but you're too afraid to use it and let it grow because you're afraid of what others will say.

This is my challenge to my readers (if there are any..):

Find something you do well.  If you can't think of anything, think of compliments you might get.  That's probably an area that do well in.  If you can't think of any compliments you get, think of something you really enjoy doing and feel comfortable doing.  That's probably something else you have a talent in, just waiting to be developed.  Once you find something you do well, practice at it.  Your talents aren't just going to bloom overnight.  You're not going to write the next great classic without developing your writing skill.  You're not going to sing the next opera overnight, you have to train your voice.  Even the person with the most talent still has to practice.  It may seem to come naturally, and it might come naturally to a point, but that person still has to practice at what they do in order to become better.  So practice, practice, practice.  Maybe you practice at home, at church, or some other place you feel comfortable.  Once you get really comfortable doing what you do well, branch out!  See where it could take you.  You never know what you can accomplish until you accomplish something.  Always try to get better, never just stay in one place.  Keep moving forward, and one day you'll wake up and realize that God did give you a talent, He was just waiting for you to exercise it.  Lastly, I challenge you to do everything, everything, to God's glory.  You'll be rewarded greatly for it.  I promise.

Maybe you won't be famous or popular or a star.  You might not be well known.  But, you will be using what God gave you, and that makes you a star in God's eyes.  And that's all that matters, right?  Of course, right.

Feel free to comment or share your own experiences finding what talents and skills God has gifted to you.  I'd love to hear them!