Going to an Interview for a Job You'll Never Get

Suggested Reading: Ezekiel 2:1-3:3

Several years ago, my family was in a time of transition and weren't sure where God was going to lead us. I had been putting out resumes and got a call from a church in central Texas to come down for an interview. It was odd because, from the very first, I felt very certain that God was not going to move me to that church, but I also felt a very distinct leading that I just had to go to that interview and do the best I was capable of. So I went. The interview went well and I enjoyed a time of fellowship with other people seeking God's will. I wasn't surprised, though, when I was notified that the search committee was going in a different direction. Like I said, I already felt fairly certain that God wasn't going to move me to that church. Only several months later, when I unexpectedly crossed paths with an old friend, did I find out how God used my obedience in going to an interview for a job I knew I wouldn't get. 

Similarly, God commonly calls us to undertake tasks for which success - like getting the job - is never the point. When God calls us, God does not call us to a result. God calls us to obedience. In Ezekiel chapter 2, God called Ezekiel to be a messenger to the Israelites. But the point, as far as God was concerned, was not that Ezekiel's message be accepted. When God called Ezekiel in this passage, God did not want Ezekiel to be concerned with whether or not the people liked him, or even "whether they listen or fail to listen" but so that "they will know that a prophet has been among them" (Ezekiel 2:5, HCSB). Success, if you define it by people listening and changing their ways, was not what Ezekiel was called to. 

When God calls us to a particular life of service, all God wants us to be concerned with is obedience. Whether people respond to the message God gives us or to the love we demonstrate is beyond our control. All we can control is whether or not we are obedient and whether or not we hold back out of fear.  At times, God calls us to very scary places, but even there, we are expected to obey "though briers and thorns are all around you and you live among scorpions…" (Ezekiel 2:5, HCSB).

Whatever life God has called you to, stop worrying about whether or not you will be "successful." Stop worrying about whether people will listen to you, much less respond to you. Stop worrying about whether or not you will even survive. None of those things are ultimately our concern. Our concern should be obeying God and trusting God enough to do so.

Whatever God has called you to, are you willing to live that life in obedience, or are you paralyzed by questions and fears? God has promised to never leave us and never forsake us. The only question is, do you trust Him? If you can, there will come a time when the task God has assigned will taste "as sweet as honey" in your mouth.

Finding Motivation for Family Competitions

Suggested Reading: Ecclesiastes 4:4-6, Matthew 6:25-33

In Cheaper by the Dozen 2, Steve Martin plays a father who takes his wife and 10 children on vacation, only to discover that an old rival is also vacationing at the lake with his own family. This other father is rich with a supermodel for a wife and children who all excel in both schooling and sports. Martin's character, driven by jealousy and a competitive desire to prove he is just as good a father, enters his family into a competition against his rival's family. His desire to prove his own worth pushes him to succeed but it also pushes his family away.

Solomon, the likely author of Ecclesiastes, knew something about this dynamic. He records, Then I observed that most people are motivated to success because they envy their neighbors. But this, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind (Ecclesiastes 4:4, NLT). Most of us tend to think we are above "jealousy" but we practice variations called insecurity and self-importance, using what we have accomplished and what we own as our measures. We believe are just as good, just as important, just as worthy as that person over there who has all of the things we think we deserve. We're not "jealous", it's just not fair that that person has what we deserve, especially when they themselves don't deserve it. And so we work to prove what we deserve - the recognition, the higher salary, the leisure time, the perfect family - never realizing that we are working so hard because we are jealous.

But we cannot allow ourselves to be motivated by the things we think we deserve or the desire to prove that we are just as good or worthy as someone else. As believers, our focus is to be building the kingdom of God and our motivation is to be gratitude toward a God who loved us enough to send His Son to save us. Jesus advised us, Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need (Matthew 6:33, NLT) because whenever our thoughts are focused on what we don't have or on what we think we deserve our focus is away from seeking the lost and making disciples. 

What things have you been focused on because you believe you deserve more? A better job? More time off? That new electronic gadget? A spouse who appreciates you more? Don't work so hard to get what you don't have or what you think you deserve. Focus on the Kingdom of God, and God will make sure you have everything you need.

When Moses Killed a Resurrected Fly

Suggested Reading: Exodus 18:9-26 (or read the whole story here)

When I was in college, I was part of a drama ministry group that did a skit called "The Fly Skit." It started off with a guy on stage who is minding his own business, reading a magazine, when a fly starts buzzing around and annoying him. After swatting the fly away several times, he reaches out in anger and catches the fly in his hand. Amazed by his luck, he shakes his hand and can hear the fly buzzing inside. Quickly, he is joined on stage by another person who suggests they play catch with the fly. They proceed to throw the fly back and forth between each other, accompanied with the appropriate buzzing as the fly travels from one person's hand to the other's until, finally, having been thrown around so much, the fly ends up on the ground, seemingly dead. In desperation, the two begin applying CPR to the dead fly and manage to bring him back to life. They begin jumping around and celebrating and then, these two people who have been so good with the fly that they could toss it back and forth, catching it without any difficulty at all, high five each other. As their hands meet, the buzzing of the newly resurrected fly abruptly stops. These expert fly handlers accidentally kill their beloved fly. (Add the tagline, "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away," and you have yourself a nice ice-breaker skit for Christian venues.)

In Exodus 18, we have an interesting account where Moses' father-in-law, Jethro travels into the wilderness to visit Moses and bring Moses' wife and children to him. When Jethro arrives, he hears all about the incredible miracles God has done through Moses. He hears about the plagues and the parting of the Red Sea and the destruction of Pharaoh's army at God's hands, all through Moses. Jethro is duly impressed by all of this news and  praises God for all that has occurred. But the next day, Moses sits down to judge the people, who have formed a line so long that many of them wait from morning until evening to have their cases heard. Suddenly, Jethro, this man who was so impressed with all of the things Moses had done in freeing the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt, becomes critical of Moses and says. "What you are doing is not good. You will certainly wear out both yourself and these people who are with you, because this task is too heavy for you. You can't do it alone" (Exodus 18:17-18, HCSB). Jethro then suggests a plan that will help Moses accomplish the task without wearing out both himself and the people.

Sometimes, when we are flush with the success of some major venture, we can easily begin to think that we have it all together, or that we are successful at other unrelated things as well. Having led a successful business, we think we are experts on management. Having succeeded in an acting career, we think we are experts at politics. Having successfully started a camp fire we begin thinking we know everything about pyrotechnics. And inevitably, reality hits us in the face in a way that reminds us that being successful in one or more areas doesn't mean we know everything. For Moses, that day was the day his father-in-law came to visit and saw him judging the people's cases in a very counterproductive way and called him out.

In that moment, when someone calls us on our bad strategy, our hubris, or simply the overestimation of our own skills, we have a choice to make. We can, like some people, insist that we know what we are doing and continue to bluff our way through until we end up in total failure; we can realize the truth of the warning but refuse to change because our pride refuses to let us back down; or we can choose to accept good council and change our approach like Moses, who "listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said" (Exodus 18:24, HCSB). We have the ability to recognize that good advice can come from unexpected places and that we are never so big and knowledgeable that we will never make mistakes.

When you accidentally kill the fly you have just resurrected, when your moment of success is quickly followed by a false-step, how will you react? Will your pride keep you from changing course? Will you decide that you don't have to listen to someone who doesn't have as much experience as you? Or will you demonstrate wisdom by following the sensible course, no matter who happens to present it? The fact that you've succeeded doesn't mean you can't also fail.