“Be Yourself”

A Shared Calling

“Be yourself.” How often did you hear that advice growing up?

Our heavenly Father calls you and me to become the individual He made us to be. Psalm 139:14 declares, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb” (NIV). God fashioned each of us uniquely while creating us all in His image.

We use our gifts and talents to make a living and a life. We use our abilities and passions for work and play. However we spend our time, talents, and treasure, our overall calling is to be who our Creator intends us to be.

After college I joined a CPA firm. The Myers-Briggs temperament test indicated I was ISTJ, a personality type well suited for accounting. Perfectionism drove me to complete each task on my “should do” list. Dot every i and cross every t. Task-oriented options attracted me and open-ended choices repelled me.

But God didn’t create me to crunch numbers for a living. I became a CPA only because all my advisers suggested it. They meant well for me, but my heart was never in that work. Strange but true: during seminary I “slaughtered the oxen” like Elisha (I Kings 19:19-21) and my file was marked Deceased at the Tennessee State Board of Accountancy in Nashville.

A few months ago I completed Myers-Briggs again. This time, I believe my true self emerged. ISFP types are designed for creative work like composing. Composing words to write and speak offers the creativity and flexibility I need to thrive while being myself. It also explains why I loved writing and delivering sermons, but church meetings, visitation, and politics drained me dry.

An Open Door

Before I took a sabbatical and then officially exited the United Methodist clergy system, in prayer I sensed the Holy Spirit whisper, “I would rather you go run a lemonade stand with joy than to keep pastoring with gritted teeth.” God would prefer I sell lemonade and bear the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) than to keep serving a church without any joy, peace, or patience.

Ministry is supposed to be an honor and a privilege, not a prison sentence.

 John 10:10 tells us Jesus came to offer us life “to the full” (NIV), “abundantly” (NRSV), “more abundantly” (KJV). Dr. Cynthia Ackrill is a physician who works as a speaker, leadership coach, and stress expert.[1] She once asked me, “What do you want? What do you enjoy? If money wasn’t an issue, what do you love doing so much that you’d do it for free?”

The answer is…

I needed to ponder Dr. Ackrill’s questions for a season. Jesus gave me room to discern how abundant living would apply at this stage of life. This is what I currently think.

God made me to write.

And to speak.

And to dialogue one-on-one.

And to act in community theater and church drama.

And to play or coach rec league soccer.

And to work with the children at church because they need male role models.

And to learn how to play the bass guitar.

And to be an attentive husband and father, a dependable son and brother.

I love doing what God made me to do, not what others think I should do.

“Be who God made you to be.” I regret not learning this years ago. But I’m thankful the truth has set me free for the rest of the journey.

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[1] For more information about Cynthia Ackrill, MD, and her work through WellSpark, see www.wellspark.com. 

David