As I continue my journey of discovering God, His world, and my place in it, I’ve come across a strikingly excellent paper written in 2002 by Scott Rodin called “Becoming a Leader of No Reputation.” There are about a million amazing phrases and truths in there that resonate with me, and one of them is about the difference between being appoint responsibilities and being anointed for them. This is vitally important for me, and people like me, because I often find myself spending lots of time & energy doing things I shouldn’t be doing….not because they’re not worth doing, but because they’re things that I’m not meant to do. The word “meant” connotes an origin…and that origin coincides with his use of the word “anointing.”
Anointed is a weird word, I know; but it’s all over the Bible as a key ingredient for how God works through people….so if it sounds too ‘hocus pocus’ and makes you queasy, you might as well get used to it and learn what it is.
This has to do with why and how we become who we are…and do what we do in the world. An appointment is an obligation/responsibility we put on ourselves or others put on us. An anointment is a deeper burden/conviction that God plants within us that seems to drive our motivations and values…something we always seem to come back to.
Here’s what Dictionary.com says:
a·noint [uh-noint] – verb (used with object)
1. to rub or sprinkle on; apply an unguent, ointment, or oily liquid to.
2. to smear with any liquid.
3. to consecrate or make sacred in a ceremony that includes the token applying of oil: “He anointed the new high priest.”
4. to dedicate to the service of God.
These definitions are interesting, because none of them refers to the anointing I’m talking about…these ones all have to do with something WE DO in order to connect with God. Although these acts of devotion and sanctification are, indeed, found throughout scripture, they are all based on the common precedent of God’s anointing on individuals….something that HE DOES to those He chooses as His servants. Here are some excerpts from Rodin’s paper:
“I know of few Christian leaders today who were anointed before they were appointed. We have employed the business model of doing careful searches looking for Christian leaders whom we can appoint to office. We check their credentials, put them through rigorous interviews, and even give them psychological tests before we make the critical appointment. Once in place, we then anoint them and ask God to bless their work.
“The Biblical evidence seems to indicate that God selects leaders in the opposite order. Samuel anointed David before he appointing him King. The selection criterion for leadership was not based on who would most likely get the appointment, but whom God had anointed for this task. And appointment without anointment always led to disaster…
“With God’s anointing comes God’s power and presence…without it, we are continually thrown back upon ourselves to make things work. With it, we have the resources of heaven at our disposal if we will be the faithful servant.”
I find that when I fail, which is often, it’s usually because I’ve been trying to either do something the wrong way (ie. ‘push’ on a door that says ‘pull’), or that I’m trying to do things that are wrong for me to do in the first place….taking on an appointment for which I am not anointed.
What are you anointed for?
