Manhattan through Spiritual, Southern, Single eyes

Quote

O make me Thine forever;
And, should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never
Out live my love to Thee.

written by Bernard of Clairvaux in the 12th Century

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Called versus Driven

Ordering Your Private World
I'm currently reading Ordering Your Private World with my staff team at Redeemer. I need to heed to this excerpt MacDonald gives from C.S. Lewis from his Letters to an American Lady.

"Don't be too easily convinced that God really wants you to do all sorts of work you needn't do. Each must do his duty "in the state of life to which God has called him." Remember that a belief in the virtues of doing for doing's sake is characteristically feminine, characteristically American, and characteristically modern: so that three veils may divide you from the correct view!  There can be intemperance in work just as in drink. What feels like zeal may be only fidgets or even the flattering of one's self importance...By doing what "one's station and its duties" does not demand, one can make oneself less fit for the duties it does demand and so commit some injustice. Just you give Mary a little chance as well as Martha."

With my type A personality bent and living in this city of extremely driven and accomplished people, I should pause and consider Lewis's words regularly.

1 comment:

KH said...

Amy, thanks for posting this. Living in D.C., I have the same struggle. I'm trying to work hard and find the career God wants me to have, at least in this season, but I fear the work-aholic lives I see all around me in D.C. These people do have power influence, both for good and bad, but I can't imagine God wanting us to have such unbalanced lives.
Thanks for the book recommendation and hope you post more as you go through it!