The Purpose of Self-Development

00:04

Hi, again, everyone. I’m your host, Wanda Thibodeaux, and you’re listening to Faithful on the Clock, the podcast all about getting your faith and work aligned. In Episode 2 of the podcast, I’m digging into self-development for Christians. How come we need to bother with all that growth stuff at all? Here we go!

00:27

So to start off, I want to just want to mention that I’ve actually talked about this idea in an article I published on Medium. I’ll post a link to that in the show notes so you can read it, bookmark it.

But if you listen to anybody around the water cooler, look at articles online, I can tell you, the whole idea of bettering yourself, you know, continuing education, being a lifelong learner, that’s one of the core ideas in the corporate space. The whole idea is that, if you don’t develop, then you don’t stay flexible and adaptable or even empathetic, and all of those things are necessary to be successful. And there’s a connection between this idea of self-development and security and being happy.

So in the traditional business view, self-development is incredibly egocentric, right? You do it because of what it can bring YOU, what YOU will gain in terms of reputation or money or other things. You do it because YOU want to give others the best picture of yourself that you can and feel good about who YOU are.

01:25

But in my opinion, that is 100 percent backward to the Christian view of self-development. And that’s because joy, peace, and security don’t come from anything YOU do. You can’t earn or create them. They’re gifts from God. Psalm 27: 1, for example, says “The LORD is my light and my salvation--whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life--of whom shall I be afraid?” Isaiah 56:7 makes it even clearer and says “these I will bring to my holy mountain and GIVE them joy in my house of prayer.” And there are other verses as well, such as Jeremiah 33:6. That says, “I will heal my people and will LET them enjoy abundant peace and security.”

Now, when you take all this together with other verses like Psalm 92:4 or Ecclesiastes 1-3, then you start to see that you become happy when you focus on GOD’s works or accomplishments, not yours. What we do on Earth is meaningless in comparison because we can’t take any of what we do here with us.

02:33

So if bettering yourself isn’t going to give you peace or security or make you happy, then why do it? Why not just sit like a bump on a log and, you know, grow fungus or whatever?

The answer is in Genesis 1:27. God created you--He created ALL of us--to be more than you are right now. We were designed to be in His image and reflect everything He is. And when you engage in self-development, you just acknowledge that original vision and intent. It’s a way of getting as close as you can to it and respecting Him, of just modeling all the possibility He contains and that’s in His whole nature.

So bettering yourself isn’t for you at all. It’s for God and all the other people that you’ll bring to him. It allows you to more accurately reflect HIS potential and character, not yours. It’s a way to acknowledge the purpose that He has for you and the fact you’re not replaceable.

03:37

Now, you’re probably thinking, but hang on a second. How can I reflect God if I’m sinful and I’m not perfect like He is? Well, the thing is, you don’t have to be perfect. Romans 3:22-24 and 8:34 remind us that He already knows we’re going to mess up and fall short. That’s the whole reason Jesus died on the cross, to intercede for us. But in Matthew 5:43-48, Jesus talks about loving your enemies. And he encourages you to “be perfect as the heavenly father is perfect.”

Now, you can look at this verse and take it more at face value and interpret it that He was just dealing with the very specific issue of how to treat people. But I kind of take a broader interpretation and think this was a challenge to try to get as close to God’s nature in everything, and to set yourself apart by doing what’s right, not just settling for what’s easy. So if you look at it that way, then yes, you have to admit that you can’t ever reach God’s level. But you are still called to try to be as much like God as you can be. You can try to do more than the minimum and behave in a way that lets other people know that you believe in God, and that includes learning and maximizing all the abilities He gave you to glorify Him. Maybe you could do really well with a hard skill like math, for example, or maybe you’re meant to tap a soft skill like reading the room. The more you flex those muscles and get stronger, the more prepared you are to serve in whatever He might call you to do.

So bettering yourself isn’t for you at all. It’s for God and all the other people you’ll bring to him. It allows you to more accurately reflect HIS potential and character, not yours. It’s a way to acknowledge the purpose He has for you and the fact you’re not replaceable. It’s about preparing yourself to be a servant, and it always has God at the center. You’re always asking yourself how the new information, the new skill, or new growth is going to benefit Him and the Kingdom, rather than how those things could support YOU.

05:46

So the next time someone hands you an opportunity, you get the itch to take a class, or your boss says there’s some training to do, think beyond the business. That matters, sure. But think about how what you’re doing will let you testify better about who He is or what He wants. Think about whether it’s going to help others understand Him. None of us know the future for sure. But if you’re open to the idea that you could apply your new talents in these sort of, you know, off-label ways for Him, then you might see really amazing opportunities in front of you. And if you really feel like you’re pulled in a direction God doesn’t want, then have the courage to speak up and tell people what you feel called to do.

06:32

So let me take a moment to pray.

Father, as professionals, we can have people telling us every day that we have to improve ourselves for the good of the team or the company. We have people every day telling us that, if we just grow in this or that way, we can guarantee some peace for ourselves. But peace and joy are gifts, and our purpose is not to serve ourselves, but to serve You. Help us to find the ways to grow that are going to be the most useful to you, and help us build ourselves up in a way that reflects exactly who you are and what you meant us to be. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

07:23

That’s it for this episode, everybody. In Episode 3, I’m going to be talking about planning. Does all this focus on risk management and contingency really help? And if not, what’s the alternative? Thanks for sharing your day with me, and until next time, be blessed.

In Episode 3, I’m going to be talking about why empathy is so important for great leaders to cultivate. What happens when we get it right, beyond just an amazing bottom line? Thanks for sharing your day with me, and until next time, be blessed.