“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” – 1 Peter 4:10
It’s odd. Never has a generation of humans like ours lived on the planet that has had access to so much material comfort, so much worldly pleasure, so much entertainment, and so many…pillows.
My wife woke up the other morning and said, “I think I need a new pillow,” which caused my brain to glitch as if with an electric shock. Zzz! Because we have a closet full of pillows. A year ago we bought a new guest bed when our daughter was with us for a few months, so of course we had to buy new pillows, which only added to the stash in our closets. Now a year later my beautiful, lovely wife asked if she could get a new pillow. Zzz! What a world! What a country!
We have all this at our fingertips, and yet antidepressant use has skyrocketed in our culture. Addictions are soaring. Suicide rates are swelling. An epidemic of meaninglessness abounds.
Why This Epidemic?
One thing that accounts for this, among many reasons we could talk about, is that God didn’t create us to find life in getting, but in giving. It is better to give than to receive, Jesus said (Acts 20:35). We don’t find joy when our attitude is serve us, but instead one of service. Jesus said other things like this that sounded strange at first, but then wrapped around with wisdom. We live…when we die to ourselves. If we want to be first…then we need to make ourselves last. It we want to be great…then we need to serve others.
Peter offers a tutorial on Christian service in 1 Peter 4:7-11. What he says in verse 10 sounds like medicine for our culture’s nihilism. “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as stewards of God’s varied grace.” Just let that first phrase sit on your heart. “As each has received a gift…” You, reading this now, have been given gifts, talents, and passions by God your Maker, not just for pleasing yourself, but for serving others.
What Defines Your Worth?
Depending on who you talk to, you’ll hear all sorts of theories about what it is that defines your worth. At the heart of socialism and its evil twin communism is the idea that government defines my worth. Darwinism says my worth is defined by my genetics. (Good luck with that if you’re weak, old, plain-looking, or an unwanted baby in a womb.) Racism says my worth is defined by skin color. Feminism by gender. Now we’re told I get to define my own identity and worth. Zzz! AI is the latest threat to our self-worth.
Christianity stands in stark contrast to each of these by insisting, “Sorry, but your worth, value, and purpose is defined by God.” This realization blew David away, causing him to respond by turning to one of his God-given gifts – his pen – by writing, “For you formed my inward parts. You knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” (Psalm 139:13-14).
Your escape from meaninglessness is found in doing something similar to David. All you have to do is answer two questions. 1. What are some of the gifts God has given me? 2. What am I going to do with them?
As you think through your answers, here’s a suggestion: Start with the people that you live, work, and play with.