God does not call, choose, or use a ‘self-made’ man. Anyone who seeks to be a ‘self-made’ man has only a mess with which to work to begin with, and only a bigger mess to make for all his efforts. We did not make ourselves to begin with, nor can we now. We must be content to be who God has created us to be in Christ … and what God is pleased to give us to do to serve Him and others.
The Psalmist said the same thing this way: “Know that the LORD, He is God! It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture” (Psalm 100.3).
It was so in the beginning. God created the first man. “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth’” (Genesis 1.26). The first man had no participation and made no contribution to that first creation. He was not a ‘self-made’ man – he was a ‘God-made’ man. And God didn’t consult with the man about whose image he would be made in. God chose the image in which the man would be made – His own. Further, God assigned to the man what he should do for God’s purposes, pleasure, and glory. And, still further, God made the venue in which the man would serve Him: “And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and there He put the man whom He had formed” (Genesis 2.8).
God made the man who He wanted him to be, assigned him to fulfill the work He wanted him to do, and even made the venue where the man would fulfill that assignment, and placed him there. And for the (probably brief) time the man was willing to surrender to his Maker’s will, it was Paradise.
Then he decided he wanted to be a ‘self-made’ man. And that’s when he made all the mess of himself and the world in which everyone of us finds ourselves.
It is so also in the new creation of the new birth. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2.8-10). Does any one of us think he can create a better ‘workmanship’ than God has? Or make a better ‘self-made’ man than to be created ‘in Christ Jesus’? Or make for yourself better ‘good works’ than those God has chosen and ‘prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them’?
And yet, in our quest to be ‘self-made’ men, we strive, angle, lobby, and seek to announce ourselves through all sorts of surreptitious schemes, hoping we’ll be noticed, seen, and heard – advance our own name and ‘brand.’ I recall, much to my shame and embarrassment, one such experience from my much-younger self’s days. Not to say there haven’t been others since then [that ‘self-made man’ ambition seems to be a chronic thing] … but this one still haunts my conscience and gnaws at my memory. This was 50 years ago, around 1972, and I was just starting out as an ‘up and coming’ young preacher – probably 21 years old. But there was a prominent pastor in our fellowship who was one of the most influential leaders among our circles and associations of churches and pastors. The church he pastored hosted an annual Bible Conference, and that year he invited me to preach on their program. Numerous other churches and pastors attended. And it was a distinguished honor to be invited. But I remember sitting at the table with him during one of the meals, thanking him for inviting me to preach, and crassly expressing it this way: “Thank you for the exposure.” I still cringe to remember I had those thoughts and said those words. But also to assure you that God has His ways of crushing and correcting such ‘self-made’ desires and ambitions.
So here’s at least some of what we need to learn – and will learn – if we sincerely want to be servants of the Most High God and be used by Him in His service, to please Him, and bring glory to Him:
- God is wise enough to know what He wants us to be and do
- God is sovereign enough to exercise His prerogative to assign to each of us what He wants us to be and do
- God is gracious enough to want and give to each of us what is best for us to be and do
- God is powerful enough to arrange all the opportunities for us to fulfill who He wants us to be and what He wants us to do
- God is faithful enough to gift, equip, and prepare us to fulfill all His good purposes for who He wants us to be and what He wants us to do
Or you can still persist in your ‘self-made man’ ways. You’ve got a lot of examples you can follow and emulate [just to name a few of the most prominent in the Scripture’s ‘Hall of Shame’]:
- Cain
- Nimrod
- Balaam
- King Saul
- Judas Iscariot
- Alexander the coppersmith
- Demas
- Diotrephes
Why wouldn’t we be content to simply obey Jesus’ most-often used commission: “Follow Me!” Trust Him to make you who He wants you to be and give you what He wants you to do. For when we do, we will find that “For in Him the whole fullness of Deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in Him, who is the Head of all rule and authority” (Colossians 2.9-10).
And really, who could – or should – ask for anything more? “Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will act … Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him … The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in His way…” (Psalm 37.4-5, 7, 23).
“Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable [which would certainly include any ‘self-made’ desires and ambitions], he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.” (2 Timothy 2.21)
God can, and He will:
~Dave Parks 