When Purpose Knows Its Place

I recently posted a meme on Facebook, which showed Toy Story’s Woody and Buzz Lightyear with the following statement, “To build a strong team you must see someone else’s strength as a complement to your weakness, not a threat to your position or authority.” I’m not sure I ever saw the full Toy Story movie, or any of its sequels, or that I know the relationship between those two characters, but they must have made a great team.

Pastor has taught us many times that there’s no competition when we know and recognize our purpose. We’ve all heard the saying, “live within your means,” which simply ‘means’ to stay within your budget, spend what you can afford without racking up a lot of debt. But what if we were to also live within our purpose?

If we could learn to “live within our purpose,” we could stop trying to one-up or out-do our friends, co-workers, and family. The bible tells us that we have one body with many parts. Each part has its own function and can’t do what the other parts do.  As members of the Body of Christ, Romans 12:6 says, “We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.” Like the meme suggests, if we understand that everyone we encounter has their own purpose and that we were created to support and complement each other, we could avoid competition and resentment. But remember that not everyone learns lessons at the same pace; so even though you may have learned to live within your purpose, others may still see you as a threat or feel the need to compete with you. Just stay the course and continue to set a good example for others.