“What is man that you should note him, and the human creature, that You pay him heed, and You make him little less than the gods, with glory and grandeur You crown him?” (Psalm 8:5-6 Translation by Robert Alter)
I’ve just returned from North Carolina where I appeared before my District Committee on Ordained Ministry (DCOM), and I learned a couple of very valuable lessons.
#1 If you are a verbal thinker the very best thing you can do when you get nervous is to shut your mouth. Abraham Lincoln was right. “It’s better to let someone think you are a fool than to open your mouth and prove them right.”
#2 This one is tied to number one if you are a verbal thinker in a situation where you are nervous. Take an extra moment or two to center yourself before you attempt to answer a question, and when you do answer a question, answer the question asked. In my nervousness I bounced all around what they were asking without landing on the point they were looking for, and what’s worse I didn’t take the time to clarify what they were asking.
#3 Never wander into theology with a group of ministers, whether by accident or on purpose if you haven’t had any training on the subject. If you do find yourself in that dark forest make sure to point out what little training you’ve had.
For all of these lessons learned I too ask God who am I that you should take note of me? Who am I that you would call me to follow this path? In the end I too must admit like Job, God is God and I am not. I cannot explain a fraction of the resources God used to create the universe much less His plan for my life. Instead I will rely on His mercies for today. I have fallen down. Now I will rely on God to stand back up.
