{"id":8944,"date":"2017-04-18T11:06:43","date_gmt":"2017-04-18T15:06:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ben-sternke-live.prev17.rmkr.net\/?p=8944"},"modified":"2025-03-07T18:54:59","modified_gmt":"2025-03-07T22:54:59","slug":"god-use-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gravitycommons.com\/es\/god-use-me\/","title":{"rendered":"Why I Stopped Asking God To Use Me"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I was a younger Christian, dreaming about the the missionary ministry I felt called to, I would pray the impassioned petition\u00a0of so many young people, \u201cGod, use me!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

And while I understand what we\u2019re getting at\u00a0when ask God to \u201cuse\u201d us, I\u2019ve stopped praying and talking like this.\u00a0I don\u2019t\u00a0think it\u2019s a good way of framing how God relates to us.<\/p>\n

Who uses people? Bad leaders, that\u2019s who<\/h2>\n

Think about any close relationship you have (spouse, kids, parents, friends). Do you \u201cuse\u201d those people? Would it be healthy for\u00a0one of my kids to say, \u201cDad, I just want you to use me for your purposes?\u201d Would it be healthy for me to say, \u201cYes! You\u2019re finally understanding how our relationship is supposed to work!\u201d<\/p>\n

I hope it seems obvious to you that there\u2019s something off about this kind of relationship. And yet, this is how to many of us conceive of our relationship to God. We talk as if he\u2019s just waiting for us to finally get to the point that we\u2019re willing to be \u201cused.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most of us come by this honestly, and I think a lot of it has to do with how we\u2019ve experienced leaders in our lives.<\/p>\n

A mentor of mine told a story about a leader in his life that he greatly loved and respected. But he would have episodes where, in his frustration, he\u2019d become very utilitarian and harsh, saying things to his team like, \u201cYou\u2019re just dogs pulling my sled. If you don\u2019t like the job,\u00a0there are a lot of other dogs\u00a0out there willing to pull.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"huskies\"<\/p>\n

\"tools\"I\u2019ve heard stories about other prominent leaders saying similar things with different metaphors (\u201cYou’re just tools in my toolbox\u2026\u201d).\u00a0Many people are used to being treated like tools to be used by those with grander visions or greater competency, living in fear that if we don\u2019t perform well or if we complain too much, we\u2019ll lose our place (and thus our belonging and significance).<\/p>\n

It\u2019s so easy for us to project this image onto God, making him the\u00a0ultimate<\/em>\u00a0\u201cleader\u201d who is looking for people to use. But that\u2019s what\u00a0bad<\/em> leaders do. And God is so much more to us than our \u201cleader!\u201d We need a better way of talking about how God relates to us!<\/p>\n

God\u00a0is not a utilitarian<\/h2>\n

Here\u2019s what I\u2019m getting at: the idea that God\u00a0uses<\/em> people to accomplish his purposes is too utilitarian and mechanical to do justice to what we see in the scriptures about how God relates to his people.<\/p>\n

It assumes that all God really cares about is getting his stuff done<\/em>, and people are just there for him to \u201cuse\u201d to get that stuff done. Like tools. Or dogs pulling sleds. Objects whose sole purpose is performing a function. You use them until they wear out, then you get a new one.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s not the picture scripture gives us of how God relates to us, in at least two\u00a0ways:<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0God\u2019s project IS his people<\/h2>\n

God doesn\u2019t have a project that he uses people to accomplish. People\u00a0are<\/em> God\u2019s project.<\/strong><\/p>\n

God created humanity as the pinnacle of his creation, creating us in his image and giving us the task of partnering with him in the cultivation of creation.<\/p>\n

God\u2019s project is bringing his people into abundant life. Flourishing in every way. Becoming fully and deeply human. It would\u00a0be\u00a0absurdly nonsensical for him to degrade us by \u201cusing\u201d us in the pursuit of a project meant for our flourishing.<\/p>\n

God\u2019s commands, then, are meant to guide us toward that which is good for us. They aren\u2019t arbitrary rules he establishes because he\u2019s a control freak with a fragile ego.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you\u2026<\/strong><\/em>\u201d (Isaiah 48:17)<\/p>\n

God doesn\u2019t use<\/em> us to build his thing. Instead, his \u201cthing\u201d is to build us<\/em> into everything he\u2019s made us to be! He directs us because he knows what\u2019s best for us, loves us, and wants us to flourish.<\/p>\n

Almost every act of sin or rebellion is rooted in the\u00a0lie that that God isn\u2019t actually FOR us.<\/strong>\u00a0We fear that he\u2019s exploiting\u00a0us for his own mysterious\u00a0purposes, with no regard for our own flourishing. We don\u2019t believe God is actually GOOD.<\/p>\n

But he is! His project is his people. He\u2019s working for our good.\u00a0Therefore he\u00a0never \u201cuses\u201d anyone. But he is very interested in partnering<\/strong> with us.<\/p>\n

2. God wants to partner with us, not use us<\/h2>\n

So I stopped saying that God \u201cuses\u201d people. Instead, I now try to talk about God\u2019s desire to partner with us.<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the remarkable things about the accounts of the resurrection of Jesus is how many commands are given.<\/p>\n

    \n
  • \u201cDon\u2019t hold on to me, but go and tell my brothers\u2026\u201d<\/li>\n
  • \u201cReceive the Holy Spirit\u2026\u201d<\/li>\n
  • \u201cStay in Jerusalem until the gift comes\u2026\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    The resurrection of Christ means that God\u2019s new world has begun, but instead of basking in the glow of vindication, Jesus is calling his disciples to partner with him in implementing his achievement.<\/p>\n

    Just like God gave Adam the job of cultivation creation, Jesus invites his disciples\u00a0to partner with him in cultivating new creation.\u00a0<\/strong>Instead of telling people to step back and watch, Jesus is inviting people to step up and partner.<\/p>\n

    God isn\u2019t looking for obedient slaves\u00a0he can use, he\u2019s looking for willing partners he can empower.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Try a language experiment<\/h2>\n

    We give people the wrong impression when we talk about God \u201cusing\u201d us. They automatically think about the bad leaders in their lives who left them feeling exploited and dishonored.<\/p>\n

    So that\u2019s why I\u2019ve stopped saying \u201cGod, use me!\u201d<\/strong> I\u2019d invite you to do the same.<\/p>\n

    In fact, why don\u2019t you try a language experiment: for the next 30 days, in everything you say and write, eliminate references to God \u201cusing\u201d people. Instead, talk about partnering with God.<\/p>\n

    Here are a few examples:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Don\u2019t say \u201cGod, use us for your glory.\u201d Instead say, \u201cGod, we want to partner with you in your work.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n
    • Don\u2019t say, \u201cGod uses people in his kingdom.\u201d Instead say, \u201cGod calls people to partner with him in his kingdom.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n
    • Don\u2019t say, \u201cGod wants to use you for his purposes.\u201d Instead say, \u201cGod is inviting you to partner with him in new creation.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      You get the idea. The language we repeatedly\u00a0use over time is powerfully formative in the kind of culture we cultivate. See what the results are of eliminating, \u201cGod use me!\u201d from your leadership vocabulary!<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      When I was a younger Christian, dreaming about the the missionary ministry I felt called to, I would pray the impassioned petition\u00a0of so many young people, \u201cGod, use me!\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":30164,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lead-like-jesus"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy I Stopped Asking God To Use Me - Gravity Commons<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\""God, use me!" is a common prayer among "serious" Christians. 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