Transform: Made for Greatness.. A Modern Day Myth

There is a phrase that we hear a lot in our day:

“You were made for greatness.”

You see, I don’t think that’s a true statement, or at least not in the sense that it’s usually meant. Each of was made, according to God’s word, with specific good works in mind that God has created us in advance to do. That’s Ephesians 2:10. The Bible even says that we are His masterpiece – His workmanship – to do his good works. It sounds like the same thing doesn’t it?

But it’s not what people mean. People are trying to motivate us to do great things in the world; such has having a social cause that we champion.

Before I continue, let me say that I am not one to discourage that kind of behavior. In fact, I believe that Christians should be leading the way in those areas. However, not all of us are wired for such things.

God did not create all of us to do such amazing things in the world that everybody is noticing and taking note of. The statement “You were made for greatness” appeals to our pride and our desire to be noticed. However, Jesus, the way of the master, is a way of humility. It is a not way of pushing you or your brand forward. It is a way of serving Christ through service to others.

Can you being doing great things and be I service to others? Absolutely! In fact, if you’re a believer in Christ you should be.

However, I think it goes awry when every single one of us thinks that we should be doing great things and believe that means being lauded and applauded.

When I hear that, I have some simple questions that come into my mind: ‘What about quality plumbing?’; ‘What about quality auto repair?’; and ‘What about quality ditch digging?”

We need all of those things in our world and those tasks are no less important than other tasks.

The way we are designed by our Creator is the best way for us as an individual to be designed. If that means we are not to be doing these, wonderful, awesome things, then that’s fine. Because, we’re doing what our creator created us to do as an individual. We need to learn to be content with who God has made us. 

Now, it’s true that many of don’t know who God has made us and all of the amazing things that he has done for us and in us. So, we live below the level of who we are supposed to be. “You were made for greatness” is supposed to motivate us to live up to our potential and what got has created us to be. But that statement and other like it never mention God, never talk about being true to yourself, and that it’s okay if you don’t have those dramatic gifts that put you out in the forefront.

That’s okay, because if God has put yourself, then it’s the exact place you should be. I think the most important thing is that we realize that we are not to be world changers, but we are to be changing our world and the world we live in – the world God has placed you in.