What if God Doesn't Want Me to be Cool?

I was thinking about that this morning as I was reading Romans 12. Actually, I've been thinking about it all summer since school got out.

I started my teaching career for a couple of reasons, reasons I'll write about another time. But mainly because I felt confirmed when I made the choice. I was caught between two job options, and by a pure leap of faith I turned-down the better-paying option and ventured over to what I had always wanted to do-- teach. Oddly, as soon as I made the decision, I received an email immediately from the other company, saying that they withdrew their offer to me and were giving it to someone else.

So, teaching it was.

I quickly discovered how hard teaching was. Despite my career choice epiphany, the grunt work of dealing with the 18-year old freshman mindset quickly depleted the blessed euphoria I'd initially felt.

On top of that, I quickly realized that teaching does not fall in the general "cool" category of jobs.

Especially when people smirk and ask me about my level of pay.

Especially when new acquaintances throw up their hands and say, "Ooh, I can't talk to you. Better watch my grammar!"

Especially when friends I grew up with are doing really amazing stuff like making movies, creating art, writing, and generally changing the world while I'm off spell-checking my syllabus.

Oftentimes I'd much rather discuss my writing and photography projects with people. At least that makes me sound kind of interesting. Kind of.

It was the question importance, that brought me to prayer about the meaning of my work, talents, and interests. Is my teaching, even though it's not cool, really valuable? Does my writing, even it's a personal blog, mean anything? I asked God.

This morning I picked up where I had left off (ahem, several days before) in reading Romans, and this is what I came across:

In this way we are like the various parts of the human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we're talking about is Christ's body of chosen people....So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ's body, let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't.

If you preach, just preach God's Message, nothing else; if you help, just help, don't take over; if you teach, stick to your teaching; if you're put in charge, don't manipulate; if you're called to give aid to people in distress, keep your eyes open and be quick to respond; if you work with the disadvantaged, don't let yourself get irritated with them or depressed by them. Keep a smile on your face.-Romans 12:4a,5, 6-8 (The Message).

 I didn't see "cool" or "culturally interesting" anywhere in that list. I do see a call to faithfulness and even a beautiful contentment, even a generous permission to embrace one's identity and  gifts.

As a culture, we hear the message "be who you are!" a lot, but we're also really good about editing the uncool and icky people and parts we don't like.

The Gospel calls us to be who we are and actually means it.

It's all about the spectacles, right? Ultimately, it's about viewing our lives through the eternal perspective versus a temporal,  contemporary, one.

One last thing. Most of us are familiar with the NKJV translation of Romans 12:2: "Do not be conformed to this world (age), but be transformed by the renewing of your mind", but check out this rendering in The Message:

Don't become so well adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging your down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Maybe the work you do IS viewed culturally cool or desirable, or maybe like me you wonder some days. I suspect most of us have our doubts at times. But it is in this place I can turn back to Paul's words and be reminded of where my real identity lies.

Now, about that syllabus...