“If you want
to claim credit, claim it for God.” What you say about yourself means
nothing in God’s work. It’s what God says about you that makes the
difference. (The Message)
My sisters and I have this horrible, um, we'll say habit, of hearing one another say something funny, and then turning to the people in the crowd who didn't hear the funny thing and re-stating it as if its our own creation. They roll with laughter, and the sister who originally said it gives The Stealer a look like I heard you just steal my funny, and I won't throw you under the bus right now, but you and I both know that I said it first, missy.
Oh, sisterly competition.
Well, when your nickname in middle school is Foul-Ball Molly, you have to get positive laughs from somewhere. And so it all began....
We all like to get credit though, don't we? What is it about receiving credit that we work so hard, work so long, create and create, or steal the creations of others so that we can be the eyebrow-raiser? And if we don't get the credit for our creating, then something has gone horribly wrong in the world.
But here, Paul reminds us that WE should never worry about getting credit. The credit belongs to God.
This made me think -- how good am I at giving God the credit for the things I think I do? Wasn't it He who gave me the abilities, gifts, and talents to do anything I do in the first place? (Except for games that have fouls, maybe.) And couldn't He also take away what He has given?
Fun fact you never knew about me: In high school, I studied opera. I always thought I was an alto until I took a year of voice lessons and the teacher was amazed by how high I could sing. So, I started singing up there more often. I loved it! The Italian arias (an expressive, self-contained piece for one singer) were just beautiful, and I felt such pleasure that God had given me the ability to sing that way and that I'd actually discovered this hidden gem.
Until I got sick. Right before a state competition in which I was to compete. My voice was not what it "could be." After taming the tears, I did fine, but not as well as I thought I could've. Then, the next year at the same competition, I got sick right before it again! What a cruel joke!
I don't know all the reasons why that happened two years in a row, but God used those times to remind me that He was the one who had given me those gifts, and He could also take them away. There was no reason to think my voice was anything I'd done -- even my ability to get better was a gift He'd given me -- and any day I could get sick and lose that gift.
It's the same with any gift He's given us -- athletic ability, academic ability, a great family, a positive marriage, a creative mind -- we could lose it any second.
The same is true with gifts we haven't been given. He did not bless me with the natural ability to play sports that require hand-eye or hand-foot coordination; He did not bless me with the natural ability to figure numbers and math problems; He did not bless me with the natural ability to cook, garden, sew, or be crafty. I could learn those things, sure, but they are not my "gifts". And I'm perfectly okay with that now. He's given me other things.
So, claiming credit? I try so hard not to, because I see that any talents I have are exactly that -- gifts -- that were given to me by Someone because He loves me. All credit belongs to the Lord, the Lord who gives and takes away.
And I don't need to be known as a good singer, a good writer, or a good teacher by people.
As I sit here and think about it, the only One I want to roll with laughter at my jokes, to give a nod to anything I do, to smile at me with His fatherly approval, or to hug me and tell me how proud He is of what I've done, is the One who sees my heart, not just my talents.
And more than anything, when I see Him face to face someday, and He bends toward me with His hands on my shoulders, our noses almost touching, and the gentlest of eyes seeing right into my soul, the only words of acclaim that will matter are the words, "Well done, Molly, my good and faithful servant."
So if someone were to say to me, "That song was beautiful, Molly," I'd smile and say "thank you" to be polite. But then, Lord, help me to remember in that moment to also whisper up to the heavens a grateful "thank you" to the One who gives good gifts to His children.
He is the source of all credit.
Molly Monroe
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