Around three months ago, when I was in the United States, I really got into the show “Fixer Upper.” I think it was because after living here in Kyrgyzstan, Eric and I have developed a love/hate relationship with remodeling and because Chip and Joanna (the couple doing the remodeling) make everything look so unattainably beautiful by the end of the show that how could I resist? Well, of course I did what a lot of people (10.5 million people to be exact) do. I followed them on Instagram. Bear with me, I’m going somewhere. It was in one of Joanna’s Instagram stories that I saw that she and her husband had been chosen as two of the 100 most influential people for 2019 by Time Magazine.
That’s when I started thinking about how cool it would be to one day be one of those 100 most influential people (along with the 10.5 million followers on Instagram!). I began daydreaming about all the important and cool people I would meet at the ceremony, the dress I’d wear, the fame, the honor, the money, and all the selfies I’d take with, I don’t know, The Rock or Michele Obama, for example.
Thankfully, I was knocked out of my delusions by this profound thought: I can have an influence now, where I am, with the people I know. I don’t have to wait until I reach the top 100 most influential people. Let’s be real, it’s never going to happen. But even if it did, I still don’t have to wait. Moreover, I shouldn’t. God has given me gifts, skills, and abilities not for my self-service, but for service to others. Not for my gain, but for theirs. And definitely not for my fame, but for his.
I’m not making this stuff up. It’s right here in 1 Peter 4:10-11: “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace… in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.” So, if God has given you a gift, then use it. Whether to serve others, to teach, to encourage, to give, or to do any other thing God may put in your path. No need to wait to make it to the list of the top 100 most influential people because there are real people around you and around me in this very instant that we can influence in some way. I hope that both, you and I (a.k.a., the unimportant people of this world), are able and willing to use our gifts to bless others.