Maybe You ARE A Special Snowflake

Maybe you are a special snowflake.  But what if that special snowflake-ness comes with responsibility, not privilege?

If you’ve ever had children, or if you’ve ever been a sibling, or even if you’ve ever spent time around other people you’re probably already aware that people are pretty peculiar creatures.  It doesn’t matter how much you have in common culturally, or how similar your childhood was, or how much genetic code you share with someone…you’re going to be different from everyone else in the world.

It seems to me like the Bible even makes this point.  In Exodus 4 God tells Moses through the burning bush that he has been chosen to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.  After some back and forth between with God, Moses finally uses the excuse that he’s not a very good public speaker and that God should choose someone else.  I’m not convinced that God conceded to Moses’ lack of ability or Moses’ lack of confidence, but God finally agrees to send Aaron to be Moses’ spokesman.  God saw a weakness in Moses’ personality (either his speaking ability or his lack of confidence) and finds someone else whose unique personality fill in that void.

In 2Timothy 4 Paul tells Timothy that Luke is with him, Tychicus has been sent to Ephesus and tells Timothy to bring Mark to Paul, because Mark will be useful for the work Paul was doing.  This is the same Mark that Paul didn’t want with him on a previous journey, but for the new work that Paul was engaged in he recognized the unique character and abilities that Mark had that would be useful.

If you acknowledge that God created each of us, and also acknowledge that we’re all unique with our own personalities and abilities…..  Then you must acknowledge that God has created each of us with our own unique personalities and abilities.  

So maybe we are all special snowflakes.  But that doesn’t mean that we have special privileges, it means we have special responsibilities.

Do we really think that God would create us with special personalities and abilities and then not expect us to use them?

1 Corinthians 12:14-20  For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

We need to realize that we’re special.  We can do things that nobody else can, and God expects us to.  If all you see is that you’re special, without noticing how you can use that unique personality to serve God and those you love, you’re doing yourself and God’s plan for you a great disservice.