Me, Intimidating?

After a conversation with someone today, I began to wonder whether or not I intimidated others, particularly those that I do not know well, especially when it relates to spiritual matters. I know that some who read this blog may just think of me as the kid they have seen grow-up before their very eyes (which is definitely less exciting than it sounds); however, there are some I meet that know some of my background (especially the part of graduating from a Baptist seminary) and seem intimidated. Are they really intimidated or is my perception incorrect?

I know there is a persona that people expect of individuals who are ministers. They expect them to have solid answers concerning many spiritual concepts and I believe that I understand the fundamental elements of my faith and can assist others in comprehend these concepts. But should that mean that I have answers to all things spiritual or that I should be confident of all things spiritual. Presenting the notion that I have all these spiritual matters ironed out would seem a little presumptuous on my part, I think, and be borderline arrogant.

Caedmon's Call says it this way in their song Thousand Miles:

I have stolen, Lord, let me give
I have left Your house a fugitive
I have wandered in my own way
Squandered everything You gave
But my dying heart You saved and let me live

I have cursed the air and clenched my fists
I have hungered for Your righteousness
I have tried to walk the line
I drew between Your heart and mine
But You forgive me every time the mark is missed

So take my broken offering and make it whole
And set my feet upon the road that leads me home
Let me walk as one fixed upon the goal
Even though I've got a thousand miles to go

I have sought Your grace in my defense
I have plundered Your magnificence
Until my journey is complete
I pray the Lord my soul to keep
That I might sow what I have reaped
From Your great love

As I struggle for Your hand
You use me in ways I can't understand
You take this sinful man and renew me
Working through me

Like Paul, I think of myself as not already having attained this level of spirituality or understanding, but I on the path (Philippians 3:12-14). Though I am constantly growing; I am with everyone else—on the spiritual journey, struggling to make sense of it all. Ministers are not any different than many of the individuals in their congregations and they should not pretend as though they are not!

Am I Just Convenient?

A healthy self-image begins with one’s perception that he can perform many tasks, but there are other tasks that will confound him. Among those tasks that one can execute, there will be some which he excels (as an expert), some which he does well, and others that are completed only by the minimum requirements. An individual’s self-image is healthy when he accurately differentiates those tasks which he excels from those which he completes minimally.

At work, often coworkers flatter me with compliments of how well I do one task or another. One such task is refilling the toner in the copy machine. I have accomplished this task several times—each without spilling the toner on the internal parts of the machine, the floor, or myself. People have waited a weekend to ask me to change the toner on Monday! My coworkers also praise my extraordinary strength as they also tell me the water bottle on the cooler in the break room needs to be changed.

My coworkers compliments are very nice—I enjoy them. However, I have come to realize that we go through many bottles of water and I saw an empty toner box near the copier that I did not change. Am I allowing the compliments of my coworkers motivate me to complete the task and do it quickly? I think I have been duped by my coworkers to completing tasks that they need done quickly but are unwilling or unable to perform. I am not the only individual that can perform these tasks—I am just the most convenient!

Since the price of gas has increased...

I have noticed that it is much harder to get the pump to stop on the dollar (i.e., xx.00). It seems as though it always goes to a penny or more over. This frustrates me!

Why do people from Alabama...

Always have to tell you in the first paragraph of their conversation where they are from? People from Texas usually do the same thing, but their comments seem to stem from a source of pride—I am from Texas so I am an expert on whatever we are talking about. However, the comment from Alabamians usually seems like an excuse—I am from Alabama so you will have to excuse me if I have no clue what I am doing or what you are talking about.

“Pardon Our Progress”

I don’t know about you, but the phrase “Pardon Our Progress” aggravates me. It seems as though they are asking for the public to endure the problems associated with construction while they attempt to establish a means of generating more income. The management company of my apartment complex has this posted where they are expanding and upgrading some of the apartments.

Pardon your progress, but I am the one who has to hear the sounds of construction and I am the one who cannot find a parking space because your equipment is scattered about the parking lot. Pardon your progress, I am the one who has to wait for 10 or 20 minutes while your deliveries are made and the trucks block a street where I cannot turn around! They have the audacity to ask me to pardon their progress and do not give any incentives to help me cope during these inconveniences.

I like the way we phrase this request at the hospital where I work. We ask our patients and employees to “Pardon Our Growing Pains.” This seems a lot better phrasing because it admits that the construction creates disturbances and that these enhancements are for the benefit of the institution. We acknowledge that the work is a pain, but we also promise that the enhancements will be well worth the trouble. The brilliance of the phrasing, though, removes the focus from progress and focuses on change; thus focusing on enhancement of services and not on increase in revenue.

Pardon your progress? I certainly will not. But pardon your growing pains? I am certainly more inclined to do so.