Thankful for God's Blessings
Copyright ©2019 by The Good Elder. All rights reserved.
A few months ago, I was reflecting upon the events during our trip to drop off my daughter to college. I recall her talent, the talent of her classmates, and the talents of people in general. While there are certainly arrogant or conceited people in the world, many people go to the opposite extreme, hiding their gifts, afraid or ashamed of the attention it may draw, or afraid of the (negative) comments others may offer. But we all were sent here with God-given gifts precisely to share them in the world for the betterment of mankind, and to the glory of the One Who bestowed them upon us. In fact, it is our responsibility--even our duty--to develop them and share them in the world!
From this "space", the following message came forth.
One of the most impressive events that I've experienced in a while was the BSI Ensemble Showcase at Berklee College of Music. This showcase was the culmination of a week of activities to acclimate incoming students of color to the campus. Such orientation programs are uniquely important and valuable to people of color, who have, for so long, found their ability access to higher education to be restricted, which, consequently, limits their exposure to opportunities for advancement, and makes it more difficult for them to achieve their goals and pursue their dreams.
This showcase was essentially a concert during which the students, who had been divided into different ensembles, performed 12-minute musical sets. It was amazing to watch incoming freshmen perform at such a high level! Just when you think real music is dead, you experience something like this!
Certainly, not all students performed at the same level. Some undoubtedly had the benefit of private training or coaches, some had been playing for many years, some had attended arts schools (as opposed to general purpose high schools), some may even be prodigies. But, one of the unique elements about this showcase, and about BSI in general, was their insistence that everyone support each other, no matter the skill level; they strongly discouraged competition.
During the showcase, the enthusiasm of the students for each other was truly refreshing and heartwarming, and they all shined as they expressed their God-given gifts, regardless of their present skill level. Unfortunately, this communal support one for the other is lacking far too often in society, especially among people of color, and even in our de facto "people friendly" institutions like churches, even as we (especially people of color) continue to suffer under the heel of oppression and bigotry.
Although all of us are beneficiaries of talents and gifts bestowed by God, we have also been so acculturated to see another soaring in their gift and perceive it as a threat or as something to be envious of, or as something to be discouraged for fear of raising the ire of the oppressor. But I say today, that even in the face of resistance, even with centuries of acculturation to hide our gifts weighing on our minds, all of us better learn to stop sitting on, use, and be thankful for God's blessings!
Our scriptural reference seems ever so simple and obvious; but its poetic structure conceals deceptively profound truths. Even without plumbing the deepest depths of this chapter, let us work with some of the nuances of the surface.
Solomon, "the Preacher" exhorts about the various "times" of life, the balance of opposites, if you will. He teaches us about how God has set all of this in motion to hide His Hand in Creation. He then asks the haunting question that dawns upon anyone who seriously considers the essence of his/her existence.
"Who am I?"
"Why am I here?"
"What good is it for me to exert effort toward one thing, when the opposite is sure to come?"
But then, he affirms that not only are our efforts worth it, but that we "should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all [our] labour, [because] it is the gift of God." The question begs,
"Why should I put in the effort, why should I pour out my heart, why should I express my gift, when the processes of life will ultimately consume whatever I do?"
This is certainly an appropriate, yet troubling question. But, to consider a response forces us to come up OUT of "the world" and set our sights higher, and truly come to understand that we work in this world for the benefit of our essential selves in the higher worlds.
A basic principle of wood-working or any smith trade is that of using heat, pressure, or resistance to cut, carve, bend, shape, or smooth raw elements into a finished product. There is a statement that I've heard regarding woodworking, for example, that is attributed to a master craftsman. He remarked (paraphrasing), "The finished product is already in the wood. I just use the tools to draw it out."
This statement captures the reason why we experience some of the trials of life. In short, our essence is already here, concealed in/by the body, waiting to be discovered and expressed. This essence, which we identify as "me" is often confused with (and limited by) the body (i.e. I HAVE a body, but I am not only my body). This essence contains within it Divinely-bestowed spiritual gifts, which we are able to express in this world. Like the wind, we know that this essence exists because we can even feel it1. We can also feel the essence of others (vibes). But also, like the wind--which we can't see it unless it blows through the leaves of a tree, or builds up waves in the seas--the expression of our essence is usually (but not exclusively) made manifest through the actions of the body, including speech, gestures, facial expressions, etc.
While our essence, and the gifts contained within it, are spiritual, there are both corporeal and non-corporeal elements that can impede the expression of our gifts. For example, if we don't develop and practice using the vessel, we can't use the gift effectively (all masters practice their craft). If our essence is co-mingled with negative spiritual traits, those can overshadow, obstruct, or taint the pure essence from shining through (think: putting clean water in a dirty glass).
In an effort to encourage (or, in some cases, compel) the development of our vessel to make it fit for the expression of our essence and our gifts, life presents us with challenges (i.e. trials and tribulations) to develop humility, to strip away envy and jealousy, to discourage judgment, to open our hearts, to remove self-consciousness, and overcome fear. Life's challenges encourage us to forge bonds of love, to develop practices which makes it easier for us to express ourselves, and to cultivate an ever deepening relationship with God! These challenges burn us, press us, scrape us, cut us, and abrasively strip the superficiality from us, revealing the essence that is already there.
How ironic is it that, while so many of us go to great lengths to hide or conceal our true selves (for fear of being hurt or ridiculed), it is for the purpose of expressing this essence that we are even alive here on earth at all! In fact, we cannot reach our fullest potential as a society/civilization if we each are not contributing our unique collection of gifts to the whole.
We know that everyone is unique, but we don't always value our gift, especially if we compare it to someone else's, or if we can't immediately see the impact that it will have. It is obviously self-defeating to try to be like someone else (to the level of coveting). While we hide our light out of shame or embarrassment, doing so leaves our work undone (and our contribution unmade).
Certainly, when shining our light, we can become distracted by conceit or arrogance... but it keeps us humble to remember that others have their gifts, too. It is self-defeating to be afraid to use our talents for whatever reason; and often, we succumb to heckler's vetoes, or worse, to a doom and gloom scenario that never actually manifests (Jesus' parable of the talents helps illustrate this). Playing it too safe, staying too comfortable assures not only that our life will tend to be bland and uneventful, but we may become envious of those who had the courage to develop their gifts; and we may have to come back in another life, going through the same troubles, until we do what we're supposed to do.
We may feel trepidation, because "it does not yet appear..." but we live by faith2. We may have made mistakes or fear making new ones, but "remember ye not the former things... I will do a new thing"3.
Jesus said in Matthew chapter 5:
[14] Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
[15] Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
[16] Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Life is hard enough with trials (including those designed to help us develop our gifts), so why not enjoy the goodness? Why let shame or fear thwart you? Why worry about feeling guilty?
Somewhere between school and age 30, that unbridled enthusiasm and feeling of invincibility to conquer the world is beaten and bruised by life. It is this humbled ego, afraid to yield, afraid to be extinguished, that leads the charge to hide in the bushes, away from life, from people, from our destiny. "But if, from thence, [from this context of mental acculturation where we are ashamed of or feel discouraged to be our best,] thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find Him..."4
Then, we can follow the words of the Preacher as we tap that unexpressed essence: "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding; in all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He SHALL direct thy paths"5. Then, we will be able to eat, and drink, and enjoy the good of our labor, because we are thankful for God's blessings!
1There is an exercise suggested by Eckhart Tolle to feel the aliveness in the body. See this link.
2See Habakkuk 2:4
3See Isaiah 43:18-19
4See Deuteronomy 4:29
5See Proverbs 3:5-6
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