This summer, when I told some people about my perspective on the idea of being well-rounded, someone said, "Now I'll play the devil's advocate. How do you deal with pride from learning to be good at so many things?"
I fumbled for an answer for a moment, then said "The moment I'm good enough at anything to get prideful, I'll let you know."
It's the big downside to being well-rounded; I'm not good at everything. I know that I am good at speaking, at writing (though the pre-professional committee disagrees with that), and at sleeping, and at humor, but beyond that, it's mostly a trying world where I'm constantly struggling to be good enough to be usable. Not good, but usable.
This is why, as I mentioned in a recent post, I need that individual aspect with God. He keeps me accountable and inspired. I complain to Him rather than to those around me when I am struggling. I keep working at it, and He keeps working in me, so that even though I feel like I'm constantly busy, I look back and realize that it's for a reason, and that He really has done stuff in me. He really has brought me from being virtually tone deaf a year and a half ago to leading worship (I use this example over and over because I still think it's ridiculous that I made this much progress in so little time).
The best parts of life are the parts where you learn the most by going through the hardest things. Without those parts, making it to the seasons of ease and pleasure isn't all that great.
2 comments:
I think the question about dealing with pride is preposterous. Do you deal with less pride if you devote all the effort to becoming fantastic at one thing? If you suck at everything you don't deal with pride?
Pride is a fixation on yourself, regardless of any talents or achievements. The solution to pride is a proper view of God and the knowledge of what Jesus did for you. We are prideful by nature, not because of what we are or are not good at. To discourage progress because of the possibility of pride is to assume you can tame your sin nature by yourself.
Post a Comment