Being used
I was once talking to a young man who was just a little older than I was at the time. He was not a believer, but he was interested in talking to me about the Bible, so we had a number of conversations.
During one particular conversation I mentioned how it was a blessing to “be used by Yahweh” to do His work sharing the gospel with people.
He looked at me and asked me how I could like “being used?” It dawned on me that his perspective was so different from mine. He thought that it was the forced “using” of someone in a negative, self-serving way for personal gain.
I attempted to explain what it meant to be willingly used by Yahweh. He appeared to finally get it, but I’m not sure if he actually understood what I was saying.
This made me think about two things.
One, he had a very bleak view of life and of Yahweh. Was that really how he saw life? I was seeing Yahweh as the loving Father He is, and wanting to be used by Him as a willing vessel. The young man couldn’t seem to think of letting anyone use you or tell you to do something willingly because, in his eyes, to do so was to let someone take advantage of you and/or hurt you.
Two, it is interesting how our experiences shape even how we view phrases or words. So, perhaps I could think of another way to explain what I mean in a way that doesn’t use the word “use” (which evidently is not easy to understand).