There is a ship in the US Navy inventory called the Littoral Combat Ship (or "LCS"). The LCS has been derided by a lot of communities for being too lightly gunned, too unreliable, and too expensive for what it was intended to be. One of the main ways it fights is by using its speed and maneuver to evade enemy fire and give it the tactical edge. During one series of testing, a testing organization told it to fight against simulated threats but instructed the crew not to maneuver or change their speed. In effect, they were having the ship perform in a way it wasn't designed. The ship was criticized harshly in the test report, but hidden in the critique was the fact that it was forced to fight in a way the engineers never intended.
Burn-out is real, but relative. Some groups and individuals can take on heavy, heavy loads while others' plates are full very quickly. God has equipped us all differently and that diversity is part of the beauty in the body of Christ. If a brother or sister seems busier than you, then thank God that you don't have to act that frantic! If a brother or sister seems less busy than you, then rejoice in the gifts God has given them and encourage them to pursue those gifts diligently!
Whatever someone is called to do... or to be... rejoice and do whatever you can to allow their strengths and gifts to bloom because this is how God equipped them to do His work.
Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people. (Col 3:23)
As for ourselves, we should strive to be secure and confident in the place God has placed us. Maybe where God is placing us is exactly where we find ourselves today. Maybe where God is placing us is somewhere different than we had hoped. Maybe where God is placing us is somewhere we can standby and grow. Regardless of where we are placed, we should seek to pursue our calling with drive and enthusiasm.
1st Timothy says it like this...
Practice these things; be committed to them, so that your progress may be evident to all. Pay close attention to your life and your teaching; persevere in these things, for in doing this you will save both yourself and your hearers. (1 Tim 4:15-16)
An important nuance to this section is the emphasis on not just ourselves... but on others ("your hearers"). Arguably one of the biggest themes we see in the Bible, across the board, is selflessness. Our calling is no different. When we are acting on our calling, we owe it to God and to each other to pursue our callings diligently, with enthusiasm and drive (however we express those emotions) so that others might be encouraged through our testimony.
So therein lies the million dollar question. If people look at where God is using you, will they be encouraged by your study and growth? Encouraged by your conviction? Encouraged by your drive? Or, when people look at you, will they feel exhausted, overtasked, and... maybe... complacent? Let us strive to have drive in all we do, serving others with the same enthusiasm and diligence that Christ used to pursue us... even to his death and beyond the grave.
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