No Envy Allowed – Embrace What Makes You Special

If you’ve read any of my previous posts, I’m sure you know that I believe EVERYONE was born with God given dreams. We are each created with a unique combination of giftings, talents, passion and personality. When properly cultivated we can live a life that honors God, blesses others and gives us personal satisfaction. I’ve encountered many people who believe that following God means the abandonment of all their dreams. And if that dream included being the biggest drug dealer in the United States or a stripper then I would agree because I can assure you God has better dreams than a life of crime or a career that demoralizes women. However, if your dream has the ability to help people live a better life then it’s probably from God. It’s important to recognize that dreams of becoming a doctor, lawyer, musician, rapper, entrepreneur, dancer or teacher can be inspired by the heart of God. God is interested in touching people in every arena and to do that He needs people who love Him and love their jobs to make that happen. For this reason, God puts different dreams in the hearts of different people, but each dream will help fulfill God’s desire to touch humanity. Don’t allow anyone to tell you that your dream isn’t from God, but God.

In Rick Warren’s book, “The Purpose Driven Life” he talks about gift envy and gift projection. Gift envy is when we are jealous of the gifts of another. We wish that we could be like someone else, the same voice, or knack for decorating, but that my friend, is an insult to the creativity of God. According to Psalm 139 we are each fearfully and wonderfully made and God took great care in forming each of us. To prefer another’s giftings over our own is to minimize what God has placed in you. We must remember that there are many gifts, but one Spirit. Each gift matters and has the ability to impact the world in a life changing way. Each person matters to God. Don’t waste time comparing yourself to others. Celebrate who God has made you! Don’t waste your time being envious instead identify and cultivate what God has placed in you to be used to honor Him and impact the world.

Gift projection is the tendency to expect or demand that others are passionate about whatever we are passionate about. I must admit that I’ve been guilty of this on a few occasions especially where my husband is concerned. Have you ever done that? I love to read and to write and I’ve held him hostage quite a few times making him listen to me read something that I considered “life changing.” I’ve FINALLY learned that God wired us differently. We have different interests, passions and abilities. When we use those differences to complement each other then we are left without weaknesses. I don’t have the right to make him passionate about what I’m passionate about. God made us different. The same is true for the Body of Christ and the world at large.  Imagine the world if everyone wanted to be a firefighter, we’d have an abundance of firefighters, but we’d lack in every other area. Who would teach our kids, run our government and feed the hungry? We need to learn to value our gifts and to value the gifts of those around us. We should resist both the urge to be like others and the urge to make others be like us.

I once read a quote that said, “Whenever we choose to live out our full potential, we give those around use permission to do the same.” Can you imagine the problems we could solve if everyone walked in their purpose? Would education be different if every teacher LOVED to teach and taught at the level the best suited his/her personality? If you’ve ever encountered a teacher who loves to teach, you know there’s a big difference in the quality of work he/she does. I’ve had teacher who literally changed my life because of their passion. What if people selected careers based off passion and purpose instead of just for a paycheck? Would there be an increase in productivity and solutions? I believe so because there is great satisfaction in doing what you were born to do.

Here are a few questions to help you gain clarity:

1. What are your gifts and talents?
2. What are you passionate about?
3. Do you believe this passion is from God?
4. How are you using them to impact your world?
5. What steps could you take to make your passion profitable?
6. Who has done what you want to do? Who could serve as a mentor?

Answering these questions is a great place to start, but now you have to act. Where can you start using your gifts immediately? Someone, somewhere is waiting on you!