Doing As Result Of Being or Being Versus Doing Part Six

Being vs doing was a bad title...too misleading of a generalization.

Doing as result of being is key. To pit the two against one another can be dangerous because what I'm learning is that I do have something to do -- I think of it in terms of the word "calling". I do play a role, a really important role, as I believe every person does.

The problem arises when my calling supercedes my identity. Kept in the proper order and balance, I think Paul can say "I'm an apostle", because as his call, that is what he is doing but it's because of who he is in Jesus. Paul holed up in prison was not able to be very apostle-ish but he was still a son of God and some of his most powerful writings came from that time period.

For me, doing my calling can become an idol so easily as a result of how I learned to think about God and my relationship with Him, that it is almost "being vs doing". And I know that I am not alone in that struggle -- many Christians today deal with the same issue, especially American Christians. Some dark part of me wants to believe that there are things in me that merit the love of God, something to offer that will pay Jesus for what He did for me. And that's just a lie.

"But God demonstrated His own love toward us in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."