The Carpenters Trade

Being Yourself

Nobody can be you, like you!

The greatest goal in life is

"to be yourself."

  But what does that mean? 

How do you know who you are? 

 But what if instead of telling yourself to ‘be yourself’ what if the thing to do were to ‘be the person you dream of being.’ That simple change in the question makes all the difference – it makes you a creation, rather than something fixed that you are tasked with discovering. Alright so if you could be anyone, who or better yet what would you be? and not only what would you be but what has life made of you?

Kind? Confident? Funny? Inspired? Creative? Healthy? Energized? Generous? Available? Light-hearted?

 

We have all made choices in life that led us down the wrong road, and we made some mistakes and blunders in life, But friend if you will take the scripture and apply to your life when it says:

James 1:19-27
¹⁹ Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
²⁰ For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
²¹ Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
²² But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
²³ For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
²⁴ For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
²⁵ But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
²⁶ If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.
²⁷ Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

  According to a recent study, despite the economic downturn in many countries worldwide over the past few years, volunteerism has increased. In the US alone, 63 million people volunteered their time or skills in 2009. 

 I think when people volunteer, they give themselves the freedom to become the people they dream of being. Without the kinds of concerns for reward or performance they may experience in their careers, folks naturally become ‘themselves’. Look at people that are a volunteer, wether it's in the local church, hospital or wherever it might be. They are completely self-expressed when they work- they can be funny, angry, confident, kind, generous. And being around them encourages me to be completely self-expressed myself.
 So my unsolicited advice for today is – find something you can contribute to. And in the midst of contributing, you may discover, or naturally become, the person you have always dreamed of becoming. I guess my counsel to all church members and non-church goers would be this. 

Galatians 6:1
¹ Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. 

It's easy to criticize and  judge someone for their failures and shortcomings. But just take time to realize what the scripture says esp. the part that says:

ye which are spiritual,

Friend, we have a obligation not only to our fellow brother and sister, but to ourselves and most important to our God.

That is that we become carpenters of broken lives, and not demolition experts.

Your Lord and mine grew up in a carpenters shop

 

Dr. Michael N. Smith Sr.

 Please comments are welcomed and appreciated

God bless you.