Where You Ought To Be

"Some men are born in the wrong century. I think I was born on the wrong continent." So says Elliot Marston in the movie Quigley Down Under. The idea isn't unique. Many people feel like they're in the wrong place or wrong time. They would be more comfortable, they think in an earlier date in history or another geographic location (or both) or maybe in a future time. Somewhere, somewhen, someone else.

If you believe in a Sovereign God, the question isn't merely moot, it's counterproductive. You see, if God is Sovereign, you are where and when you are supposed to be. Imagine that!

Most of us believe, to some extent (and maybe not without good cause), that we are wrong somehow. The "midlife crisis" is a product of this feeling. "I could be more. I could accomplish more. I could be more important, more significant. I could be a better ______," where the blank is filled in with "dad" or "husband" or "earner" or whatever is of significance to you. But God ...

We've bought a lie. We think that a CEO is better than a janitor or a pastor is better than an usher or a leader is better than a follower. We accept that "more is better." We allow position and possessions to define importance and value. It's a lie. We can just look to Jesus to see this. Jesus was subservient to His Father and died. That didn't make Him less important or valuable. And Jesus assured us this was true when He said, "If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all." (Mark 9:35).

Here's what Paul said.

To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. (1 Cor 12:7)

God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as He chose. (1 Cor 12:18)

The parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it. (1 Cor 12:22-24)

Our tendency, biblically, is to think more highly of ourselves than we ought (Rom 12:3). We might do that by thinking that we are better or more important than others, or we might just as easily do that by thinking we're less when God has arranged us as He deemed best. In either case it is thinking too highly of ourselves. These suggest either that "God loves me better" or "God has failed on my behalf."

The truth is that you are just when you ought to be. You are just where you ought to be. You are just who you ought to be. Oh, sure, there is more to come. You will obviously proceed in time, you may need to move, and you certainly need to improve, but don't let the lie come in that tells you that you're not as valuable as someone else or not as important as someone else, much less that God loves you less or has failed in some way. For the common good, God has placed you where you ought to be doing what you ought to do, and He will continue to do that. Thus, "in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (1 Thess 5:18). And you? Sure, it's a cliché to say, "Bloom where you're planted", so how about, "Serve where God has put you"? That'll work, too.