Born to be Average

     Born to be Average, is not something you see or hear every day, as a title for a movie, a book or sermon title. In fact, you hardly ever have media or any other form of communication, depict anyone as being born to be like everyone else. No, they single out success; people who stand out and people who make a difference. All of this, with just cause, because who wants to hear about people who have accomplished nothing, where’s the fun in that?

     All this being said, most people settle for being average. They’d prefer others doing the hard work in getting somewhere in life and reaching their potentials; they’d prefer to sit and let others be prepared to fail, instead of trying themselves and running the risk of failing. Here’s the deal: No-one is going to be writing a book, making a movie or teaching a sermon on someone who was not willing to risk everything, in order to become what they were made to become. No-one is going to be speaking about you for generations to come, if you just stand by, watch and criticize, saying something cynical like, “Can you believe that guy? Weird!”

     The truth is that nobody was born to be average, we were all meant to reach our potential and therefor glorify God. If it wasn’t for God’s glory, there would be no glory on earth (Rev 5:11-14, 7:9-12). All creation has an element of glory, it reflects the glory of its Creator (Rom 1:20). When we, the crowning glory of God’s creation, reach our potentials by using our talents, it is God who gets the glory (Acts 14:15).

     An eagle, who decides to be a chicken, reflects very badly on its creator. The eagle is communicating to its creator that it really doesn’t want to be what it was made to be, to soar high and be the king of the air. It would rather scratch around on the earth, not risking the heights and the thermals of being an eagle. The irony is that whenever an eagle flies overhead, a chicken and its chicks will run for cover, so that the eagle doesn’t prey on them. Thus, an eagle, wanting to be a chicken, is at the mercy of an eagle that risks being an eagle!

     The above scenario of the eagle is what many people struggle with; the victim mentality. It sounds something like this, “Why are bad things always happening to me?” or “Why does it feel like I’m treading water and not going anywhere?” When we start fulfilling our callings, that which God has called each individual to, we transition from being victims to being people who determine how situations will end up. By putting your future in the hands of your creator (Rom 12:1) you can stop being a chicken and become an eagle; someone who will be remembered for what God did through you; possibly for generations to come.