“… Don’t be nitpickers; use your head – and heart! – to discern what is right, to test what is authentically right.”  John 7:24 (The Message)

It’s interesting – we may have all been created equal, but we were not all created the same. Some of us can cook, some of us can make music, some of us can build houses or fix cars or heal people or animals or plants. Some of us can discover patterns in human behavior and some seem to have a talent for creating chaos.

I believe that we are all created to fill a position in God’s kingdom. Those people who are born to organize their environments need to have people that need organizing. People who are born to talk need to have people who listen. People who are born to lead others need people who will follow. We all need each other.  

Even those who are gifted in creating chaos are needed. How else would we find new discoveries and perspectives if our lives weren’t upended occasionally? Isn’t that how we clean our houses? In the process of dusting or vacuuming, we move things around so that all sides can be cleaned. We create chaos so that we can re-order our environments.

Chapter seven of John talks about the start of the ministry of Jesus. He was urged to travel to the big cities so that he could become famous and spread his message to all the world. His response was that it wasn’t time yet. He started out quietly and yet was heard by many.

There was a lot of contradictory talk about Jesus. The religious leaders were concerned because Jesus seemed to know what he was talking about – even though he didn’t have a long list of degrees behind his name. How did he know so much without going to a place of higher learning?

The thing is, if all of us are created differently, to fill different positions in the world, we most likely receive different training. If you’re going to spend your life organizing people, you probably don’t need to understand the details of car engine maintenance. Why would you need to learn how to become a train engineer if you were created to become a high-fashion designer?  That’s not to say that we couldn’t learn these side skills but, if we don’t use them, they can become rusty.

It stands to reason, I believe, that if we were all created differently for different purposes, God would find a way to make sure that we were suitably trained to fill our purpose. The directions he sends to me would most likely be different from the directions he sends to an insurance agent or a contractor. This scripture is urging us to discern the directions that God is giving us specifically. It might be a good start to get to know God. That would be the best way to make sure you get the right training!

Becky Gillette is a former teacher, newspaper reporter, and preacher who seeks to take an original approach to life’s lessons. She has recently published her first book, Jessie’s Corner: Something To Think About, which is now available for purchase. Based on several lesser-known scriptures from the Bible, this is a collection of articles which she wrote for a weekly newspaper.