Recognition

“Now remember what you were, my friends, when God called you. From the human point of view few of you were wise or powerful or of high social standing.” 1 Corinthians 1:26

I believe we all long for recognition. I love watching children after they have created something special. Maybe it is a cutout of Jonah and the Whale provided by the Sunday School curriculum. Or perhaps they have finished a masterpiece with crayons and markers on paper. They proudly point to each person or item. Maybe they created a small bowl of clay and now Mom and Dad are expected to use it for paper clips or rubber bands. Well, it doesn’t really matter what it is used for, as long as it is used and appointed a place of honor in the front room.


I don’t think we ever outgrow this, we just become more sophisticated. Learning to grant recognition is one of the wisest tools a leader can learn. Very few of us are self-motivated. Even if we are function very high on the artistic scale, having learned the virtuosity of a musical instrument, handled paint and brushes with deft strokes and a keen eye, or speak in a manner that moves people and sways opinion, we still need to hear what other people think. It is the rare person who is happy with their own work without needing emotional reinforcement.

The trouble can begin when our need for assurance overwhelms the task at hand. If we do not get a big pat on the back every time we do even the smallest task our feelings are hurt. Once we carry the hurt around awhile, we begin to think our talent is unwanted and underdeveloped. We may soon leave behind something that we once enjoyed; all because we received less recognition than what we thought we deserved.

The other response is to sort of throw our ability all over the place. If I am a singer, but rarely asked to take a solo in the community choir, I may begin to hint how much better we could sing the part. “My normal range is well within this solo’s requirements. This is the sort of music I sing the best.” Or we begin to put down the others who have been recognized. “I can’t believe he is singing the solo in such a melancholy way. I’ve never heard this song interpreted like that. He must not know anything about this piece at all!”

To help us all with this need for recognition, Paul asks us to remember something. “Ask yourselves,” he says, “What was your life like when God called you?” He hopes they will remember that few of them much to offer in human accomplishments. Most of the followers of Jesus in Corinth were relatively poor, had few positions of authority in local government, and were laborers as opposed to what we might call upper management.

With that question we remember the amazement that we were chosen at all. I have received my fair share of awards during my lifetime; an acting award in High school, an award of recognition from a school choir, as well as an award from the Governor of North Dakota for work on the state’s Suicide Prevention Task Force.

But I also have been a pastor for almost 30 years of churches in rural America; three in North Dakota and one in Washington, all in communities with a population between 1,300 and 8,000. I have not served on any positions in my denomination, am not well know at all in my newest area, having lived here five years and not reaching out to my fellow pastors in this part of the state. That is primarily due to my headache syndrome which keeps me from committing a whole day to travel and meetings.

I will be honest, I would have liked to risen somewhat higher in my chosen profession. It feels nice to be admired by your peers. That desire, though, can cause me to either avoid meetings where I know other pastors who are quite well-known, or, attending them, to spin my ministry in the best way possible, skewing the numbers to sound as successful as possible.

I believe a healthy desire for recognition can be a positive motivator for accomplishing goals and plans. But when our happiness depends on it, we begin to lose sight of the wonderful thought that we were chosen by God at a point when no one would have taken hardly any notice of us at all.

Paul says, “From the human point of view few of you were wise or powerful or of high social standing.” And yet, God took a look at us, loved us, and gave all He had to bring us close to Him. Professional Head-Hunters spend time and energy to offer huge salaries and signing bonuses to men and women who excel in the business world. God expended even more in the pursuit of those who excelled at very little; at least from a human point of view.

Whatever our position in life, we should always remember that God didn’t pick us out because we were the shiniest gem on a particular pile of rocks. He chose the bottom of the pile, muddy, slimy, ill-shaped and rugged stones, picked them up and said, “These are my jewels, my crown, my glory!” And, He was talking about you and me…that is how we look as we follow Jesus.