I am not a big fan of Charlie Sheen, yet he did have a couple good movies in the 1980’s; Platoon and Wall Street. In the deep dive into Wall Street greed in the 1980’s, the movie line from Charlie Sheen struck me to the core, “Who am I?”. He had reached a level of success by living outside the lines of ethics and amassing a fortune as he uttered that famous line from an uptown New York City balcony. Oftentimes, we never perform an inventory of who we really are. We might be pretenders, or simply surviving, or figuring out a way that we can avoid looking at our lives and seeing whether what we are doing truly matters. We might hide away to avoid accountability, pain or risk.
Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. I Corinthians 12:15-20
Some of the ways that we might hide are in false humility or “When this happens, then I will be ready to do, be or serve somehow”. Sometimes, that day never comes. God has a different way of ascribing value to us then amassing a level of success or stature in this world. When you are a believer in Christ, is anything an accident? Does he not care for every sparrow and know when any of them fall. He knows us completely, and he also knows what “makes us tick”. He desires to give us “pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11.) In Ephesians 2:10, we are called “…his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” What might keep you from being defined in God? We cannot hide from Him. He has already loved us and accepted us, evidenced by His death on a cross.
I remember being asked to act as the Choir Chaplain at Lookout Mountain Church. I was honored, yet scared silly to stand up in front of the choir and do weekly devotions. My goodness, I would have to represent God through my encouragement. That’s a lot of responsibility. I could fail. I could look stupid. All my life, I had learned to avoid those things that could cause embarrassment or failure. But, my Choir Director asked me to take on this role. I was a people-pleaser to the core. The stakes were high. Many years later, while separated from my first wife, I gave up the role of people-pleaser. I decided to take God at His word and please Him. I had help redefining who I was, through other believers. Now, I have little concern for how people see me. I know who I am, and I know I want to serve the one who transformed me into a bold person with great purpose and vision. I am a valuable part, even if I am a smelly foot.
by John Colvin
