It ain't what you do, its the way that you do it!
28th April 2017
Eighties 'girl power' pop group, Bananarama, are re-forming, it has been recently announced. Never a big fan particularly, however, sometimes a tune worms its way into your brain. And their take on a 1939 jazz classic - 'T' ain't what you do (Its the way that you do it)' - has wormed its way into my head in the last few days.
It has got me thinking about the nature of vocation. As one of contributors reflected yesterday, a vocation is not something always very grandiose but is most often borne out of the ordinariness of life, the mundane duty
or service, the humdrum routine or small act of kindness.
Its not what you do, it is the way that you do it. (And that's
what gets results).
Of course, what we do is important. But it is interesting I
think that we get so tied up sometimes about the big picture ('what is the big plan that God has for me') that we forget
that much of the instruction of the Scriptures is about how
we do the stuff God calls us to do, not the 'what' of what he
calls us to.
The prophet Micah, perhaps most memorably of all the
prophets, sums up this with his pithy three-phase teaching in chapter 6 and verse 8:
He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
It ain't what you do, its the way that you do it: and that's
what gets results.
Ian Paterson was a skilled breast surgeon, a man with a vocation to improve people's lives, one who instilled confidence in his patients. Despite everything, he used his skills and power to destroy many lives.
ReplyDeleteHere are quotes from the Telegraph:
"Julian Christopher QC said: 'He was extremely experienced and knowledgeable in his field, which makes what happened in this case all the more extraordinary and outrageous.'"
“He’d be very caring and would put you at ease. There wasn’t any reason to distrust what he was telling us.”
Make we use our lives to build up, not destroy, to work for Christ, not for man.
Ephesians 6:7
Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people..
1 Thess 5: 11
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
It's not what you do, it's the way you do it.
On a prayer walk over the Clent hills this morning I came across a National Trust sign by one particular tree. It was by a 250 year old beech tree, the oldest one, they think, on the hills. However, it’s not in the best health so the Trust has made a boundary around it to stop people walking by it and thus eroding the soil away from its trunk. They hope this will protect it and allow it to get sufficient nutrients it needs from the soil to continue to grow and give pleasure to people for the next 250 years.
ReplyDeleteThe Trust’s calling to protect, care for, and conserve some of our nation’s most beautiful landscapes and homes is carried out with gentleness and kindness even to individual trees. It is done selflessly for future generations to enjoy.
The hills are also now covered with bluebells - a truly beautiful sight. Creation speaks of God’s glory, pointing us to the Creator, leading us to praise. Living out our vocation can speak of God at work if we do it humbly, and not for selfish gain or self aggrandisement.
Then, unexpectedly, at the top of the hills, by the standing stones, I came across a group of young adults and got chatting with them. They turned out to be a Birmingham based band called Earth is Flat and had been filming part of their latest music video, using both a drone and more conventional cameras. Even though they were now quite cold, they were doing their work of creativity with joy and thankfulness, keen to share what they loved doing, giving me their business card. Here’s a link to hear their music:
http://listeningsessions.co.uk/earth-is-flat-debut-album-away-from-here-and-now/
Vocation - how do we do it? With gentleness and kindness, humility and selflessness, joy and thankfulness.