He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as engravers, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers—all of them skilled workers and designers. – Exodus 35:35

Today’s Scripture Reading (September 14, 2018): Exodus 35

One of the greatest lies of American culture is that you can be whatever it is that you want to be. It is simply not the truth. There are many things that I cannot do, and would not be able to do even if I spent all the time I had available to me to learn what is necessary to complete the task. The truth is that I have gone down many of those roads, often actively rejecting the very things for which I seem to have a natural aptitude. In these attempts, I have failed. And for a number of people within my circle of influence, I see people either trapped in a career for which they are ill-suited, often careers that they chose on a strictly on an economic basis, or people who bounce from job to job searching for the right fit, chasing rainbows they will never be able to catch. All while rejecting the things that they are really good, and often enjoy, doing.

We are not blank slates waiting for our education and experiences to write the story of our lives. Each one of us arrives on this planet preloaded for a difference that we can make if we are willing. This difference begins with understanding our strengths, and our weaknesses. And we will never make a difference if all we do is strengthen our weaknesses, even though that seems to be the choice that many of us make. Success is reserved for those who are willing to strengthen the areas where they are already preloaded to be strong. And it is this knowledge of self that we need to maximize.

As Moses explains to Israel what is about to happen with the construction of the tabernacle, part of what he focuses on is that there are some, like Bezalel and Oholiab, who have the natural ability that is needed in the construction process. Others, ones who can be taught to maximize their natural abilities, will also be chosen for the process. But all who are chosen will be somehow gifted by God.

God is still gifting us, allowing us to make the most of the abilities that have been preloaded into our beings. We can’t be whatever we want to be. We are simply not built that way. But we can make a difference by making the most of who God has designed us to be; and building on the gifts that God has already given us, as he prepares us to be difference makers in our corner of the world.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Exodus 36