Am I Special? by John Garfield
But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. 1 Peter 2:9 NKJV
Throughout history people groups and individuals who have outstanding achievements share a common trait, they believe they are special. Jewish people have a reputation for entrepreneurial feats that has lasted for centuries. Even now they stand out as a people group.
Jews are a famously accomplished group. They make up 0.2 percent of the world population, but 54 percent of the world chess champions, 27 percent of the Nobel physics laureates and 31 percent of the medicine laureates.
Jews make up 2 percent of the U.S. population, but 21 percent of the Ivy League student bodies, 26 percent of the Kennedy Center honorees, 37 percent of the Academy Award-winning directors, 38 percent of those on a recent Business Week list of leading philanthropists, 51 percent of the Pulitzer Prize winners for nonfiction.
For example, between 1980 and 2000, Egyptians registered 77 patents in the U.S. Saudis registered 171. Israelis registered 7,652.
The first obvious question is, Why? I want to suggest that both secular and religious Jews believe they are God's chosen people and they express it in their work ethic, wisdom, and their care for one another. Technically (and Biblically) they are not more chosen than any other people group. They just believe they are chosen and they act like it.
Nearly every great nation or people group or individual has that same trait. Aryan supremacy was not true, but Germany's industrial strength prior to World War II was a remarkable achievement. They went from downtrodden and debt-ridden post World War I to a national power because they believed in the destiny of their motherland.
American Exceptionalism is a political belief that a free people in a free market economy provide the best platform for individual and national growth. Americans don't really believe they are exceptional above others, but they do believe in freedom and free markets, and they share those ideas freely and are willing to defend them to the point of death. Once a man finds the freedom to pursue his heart's desires in Christ, no tyrant, ism, or religion can take it away from him. He cannot go back to slavery or servitude.
Americans are simply the world's best example of a Biblical concept as measured by their national productivity (GDP). Attempts to share those truths can be viewed as imperialism or nation building. However, freedom, free markets, a work ethic, creativity, personal industry and the resulting personal and national prosperity are Biblical concepts that pre-date the American Constitution. Those principals work in every nation and every individual that chooses to employ them.
Why Some Believe and Some Don't
Are you special and treasured, or insignificant and overlooked? This simple question of self esteem is at the root of political, philosophic, and theological beliefs systems around the world. Am I a treasure or a worm?
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Eph 2:8-10 NIV
Hearts Desires - As Christians, we are freely saved by grace just for asking! However, the point of salvation isn't just a ticket to heaven; it is the works God prepared for us to do. Most believers approach works as an obliging servant fulfilling the expectations of another. I call those dead works.
The living way that instills life and vitality in believers occurs when we find out that God wrote His desires on our own hearts (Heb 8:10, 10:16). All those verses where Jesus invites us to ask whatsoever mean just what they say. We should have desires, and pray and work toward their fulfillment. The religious mindset simply can't receive this simple truth, yet it is the very key to the Kingdom and making disciples of all nations (Mt 18:19). The desires in our hearts can and do overlap the desires in God's own heart. When we make those dreams come true, we also thrill the heart of God.
History and Future
Jesus was the beginning of the end of slavery. The reformation was the engine behind the industrial revolution because it set the hearts of men free. Christianity is the engine behind creativity in America. This willingness to pursue our own heart's desire is better understood by Jews than most Christians. The more we accept that we are special in God's eyes and created in His image, the more we can become loving, creative, confident, productive, prosperous and generous.
Imagine the productivity in America if we truly understand the exceptionalism God has given us. Now imagine that exceptionalism influencing the productivity and wealth in every nation. That's the entrepreneurial goal of the Kingdom to make disciples of all nations. That's God's plan.
The Question
If I am special in God's eyes, then there must be a special purpose for my life. And it must reside in the desire of my heart. And it must connect the dots between the talents he gave me, my experience, and the environment I come from and my current station in life. I can use my life to create something great for God's Kingdom and experience great personal joy in the process.
Do you know what that purpose is? Can you write it down?
John Garfield
