Do you ever find yourself pulled in a thousand different directions at one time? Each day the “to do” list grows longer instead of shorter. Your head spins because of all the demands and nothing gets the attention you know it deserves.
Each morning when you get up you are already tired. There is just too much to do. You do well to juggle the responsibilities by working on each one just a little.
Occasionally you ask yourself how you got in this situation. Is it because others are always asking you to take on more and more? Is it because you have a hard time saying “no”? Do you promise more than you can deliver? Do you end up unable to keep all the good intentions that drive you?
Are you the kind of person who likes to hold on to special memories? Do you enjoy reliving important events, retelling family stories? Recalling distinctive moments can be positive. It can help people bond.
Sometimes holding on to special memories can become neurotic. We all know the problems that can happen when one relives negative events. But it also is possible to get stuck in the glow of positive experiences. Are you tempted to live in the past instead of the present? Do you talk more about the way life (your church, your family, society) used to be rather than acknowledging the way it is? Are you able to live in the moment?
Healthy self-confidence
Not to be immodest but you know God has given you certain abilities. You have a healthy self-confidence. You don’t mind assuming leadership. After all, you believe most problems can be solved once they are examined. Many times the solution is clear. It just takes someone looking at the problem and calling attention to the obvious answer.
When others are stuck on a problem or taking too long to present a recommendation, you don’t mind talking to the appropriate person and helping them see the direction they should be moving. But in honesty, others don’t always appreciate your approach.
Person of action
If you were to take a personality profile test, it would probably show you as a person of action. Once you see a way forward, it is time to act. There is no sense in being caught up in the “paralysis of analysis.”
Emotions are motivators. Reacting quickly while emotions are high is what you prefer. Others can sort out all the “whys” and “what ifs” later. Some may call you impulsive but they don’t understand you are just leading by example.
Fairness is important to you. You carry a heavy load. It is important that others carry their fair share of the load rather than only one or two people. It is not fair for you to work hard and others not. You don’t hesitate to make sure responsibility is passed around to everyone, even when you are not in charge.
You may have been called a “busy body” for asking about what someone else is doing or not doing but that is OK.
Someone has to make sure everyone is doing their fair share.
Upholding your religious heritage is a part of your very being. You have been in the church a long time and you like the way things are done. You like the time the services are held, the songs Baptists have always sung, the choir and all the trappings to which you have become accustomed over the years.
Religious heritage
Others may say these things are trivial, that experiencing God is what is important. But the trappings of your heritage are important to you because you found God in their midst. Change is hard when talking about one’s religious heritage.
Are these traits part of your autobiography? If so you may be kin to the Apostle Peter because the New Testament tells how each of these characteristics were part of his autobiography. Unfortunately, the stories don’t present him in a favorable light.
In Matthew 26:35, Peter promised that even if he had to die, he would never deny Jesus. He over promised. Before the night was over Peter denied Jesus three times.
Matthew 17 describes the transfiguration experience where Jesus’ “face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light” (v. 2). Peter wanted to hold on to that moment rather than go back down the mountain to a hurting world. God spoke out of a cloud, effectively silencing Peter.
A chapter earlier we learn that Peter’s self-confidence caused him to “rebuke” Jesus after our Lord said He would die in Jerusalem (v. 22). Peter was a leader of the disciples. He had just been praised by Jesus. Peter had little compulsion about setting Jesus and everyone else straight about the correct course of action.
In the Garden of Gethsemane Peter’s self-confidence overflowed to impulsiveness that drew a rebuke from Jesus. When troops came to arrest Jesus, Peter drew a sword and attacked the high priest’s servant (John 18:10).
‘Put your sword away’
Whatever Peter’s good intentions Jesus stopped him in his tracks, ordering him to “put your sword away.” Impulsiveness can get us on the wrong side of our Lord.
In John’s final chapter, the author describes Peter being commissioned by Jesus to “feed my lambs.” But before the scene is finished Peter sees John and asks, “What about this man?” One can almost hear the exasperation in Jesus’ voice when He answers, “What is that to you? You follow Me” (John 21:22).
Acts 10:9–16 describes an experience where Peter resisted direction from God because the command was different from what Peter had always been taught. Peter opted for heritage rather than being a part of new things God wanted to do.
None of the New Testament stories place Peter in the best light. They point to shortcomings that are shortcomings for most of us too. We share a similar autobiography.
But God used Peter in ways He used no other. It was Peter who declared, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” It was Peter who preached at Pentecost and saw more than 3,000 persons repent and be baptized. It was Peter who God used to open the door of salvation to the Gentiles. And it was Peter who became the undisputed leader of the early church.
God used Peter despite the character traits of his autobiography. And God will use you and me when we make total surrender to Him part of our autobiography just as Peter did.
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