There’s a popular meme that shows up on social media from time to time.
It may be from a kid who answers their school test questions in an extremely literal way, or maybe a camera person getting a perfect shot of a blooper. But it often gets tagged that the person in question “understood the assignment.”
For those of us in technical ministry, I wonder whether we understand our assignment, or whether we’re too busy getting distracted by whatever has been assigned to someone else.
The Bible is clear that God had a plan for me before I was ever formed in the womb (Jer. 1:5), He has specific plans for my life (Jer. 29:11), I’ve been assigned to be a part of the body with a specific purpose (1 Cor. 12:12-17), and the gifts and calling He’s placed on my life are irrevocable and, thus, will never and can never change, regardless of my circumstances (Rom. 11:29).
Why do I allow myself to get distracted by what God has assigned to other people instead of solely focusing on what He’s assigned to me?
Furthermore, we know that God works all things together for good, regardless of how far off the rails it seems to be (Rom 8:28), whatever good work He began in my life He’ll keep improving and perfecting until it’s been completed (Phil. 1:6), and that every person in authority (even leaders of tech teams) has been set there and established by God (Dan. 2:21, Rom. 13:1).
So, if I know these things to be true, then why do I allow myself to get distracted by what God has assigned to other people instead of solely focusing on what He’s assigned to me?
Thanks in part to social media, it can be easy to become jealous of the lives that others lead, especially when they appear to be better than mine. It’s someone at a bigger church, or with a bigger team, or with better gear, or with more influence. I can see those things and get upset about why someone else has something that I don’t.
But to live in that arena is to suggest that God doesn’t know what He’s doing after all, right? That even though He says He designs us and our callings to be intentionally cohesive and perfectly in sync, when it comes to me and my life, He actually made a mistake, because there’s something else (bigger, better, greater) that I should be doing instead of what I’m doing now. God got it wrong and it’s not fair.
What we're individually made to do
I think often about the parable of the talents in Matthew 25. A master assigned different levels of responsibility to three different servants (5, 2, and 1 bag of gold, or talents), who were each expected to steward those assignments during the master’s absence and create a return. Two “understood the assignment” and were honored for multiplying what they were given, and one did not and was cursed (and actually lost what he had been initially given).
I imagine that most of us probably see ourselves as a five-talent kind of person, right? That we can handle a whole lot and probably deserve more than what we’ve been given. But what if the focus of the parable shouldn’t be on how many talents the servants had when they started?
In the parable, the master didn’t judge the five-talent servant differently than the two-talent one. They both were given something specific to handle, and they both received a return. Both of them were commended for doing just that.
The master didn’t look at the two-talent servant and ask why he didn’t end up with 10 talents like the five-talent servant did. He didn’t question that servant’s heart, work ethic, or character. He didn’t talk about the fact that since the five-talent servant ended up with 10 talents, he clearly was more than twice as smart, capable, and talented than the two-talent servant, and that if the two-talent guy knew what he was doing, then he clearly would have ended up with 10 talents also.
No! Both servants were given an assignment and both were commended equally for gaining a return.
The master didn’t compare them to each other.
He held them accountable to what he gave them as individuals.
There’s no way to know exactly why the master gave one servant five talents and another just two. Maybe one was more experienced or mature than the other. Maybe he knew that the two-talent servant would have gotten way too stressed out or anxious with five talents, so having two was a better fit for his temperament.
Maybe the master knew the two-talent servant would have expended more time trying to double five talents than two, and would have then spent less time with his family. Maybe the two-talent servant also had other important responsibilities not mentioned in the parable, and the master didn’t want him to neglect those other duties at the expense of handling more bags of gold.
The point is, the master knew exactly what each servant was capable of at that particular time and gave them an assignment accordingly.
So am I capable of walking in confidence and security in ministry knowing that God has given me a specific assignment for a specific reason?
He doesn’t compare me to my industry peers at other ministries. All He cares about is how I’m doing with the assignment He’s given me.
And there’s always the promise that the assignment will change over seasons of life. Maybe if I knew everything God would ultimately ask me to do, it would stress me out or I’d try to figure out my own path to get there instead of letting Him guide and grow me over time.
The big picture
In Exodus 23, God is telling the Israelites about the great plans He has for them to inhabit the Promised Land after He drives out the enemies currently occupying the land. But in verses 29-30, He adds a caveat: “But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.”
Sometimes, like the Israelites, we have to take steps and go through seasons of growth and learning to be prepared for what God has ultimately prepared for us. Maybe He wants (and needs) us to become capable of handling five talents of gold at once, but we have to first demonstrate the ability to properly steward the two He’s given us. When I’m faithful with a little, I demonstrate my ability to be faithful with more.
Sometimes, like the Israelites, we have to take steps and go through seasons of growth and learning to be prepared for what God has ultimately prepared for us.
My church doesn’t have the same assignment or calling in our community as another church down the street. Likewise, I don’t have the same assignment on my life as that church’s tech director.
God’s not comparing my life to someone else’s Instagram reel, so I shouldn’t do that either. And instead of asking God (or complaining about) why I don’t have more such-and-such, maybe I should focus on asking Him how I can better handle what I’ve been given.
Is there something new I need to learn? Is there an area in which I need to mature or grow? Do I need to improve how I work with and lead others? Are there blind spots I need to become aware of? Do I need to get better at receiving feedback?
I may never go from being a two-talent servant to a five-talent servant, and that’s perfectly fine. We’re all different parts of the body with unique functions and callings, and we have all been asked to excel at different things.
What’s important to remember is that the body couldn’t function without me doing my part the best I possibly can. It’s not about trying to mimic what another body part is already doing.
It’s about understanding my assignment.
