Dr. Byron L. Battle, Sr.
Moderator, Piedmont District Convention
Pastor, Little Bethlehem Christian Church, Eden, N.C.
We often have the idea that God is looking for people with an impressive spiritual resume—men and women who meet all of the qualifications. We think if God is seeking people to serve Him, He will look for the most qualified, the smartest, and the bravest. The truth is, God doesn’t look for eloquence—He looks for emptiness. It’s difficult to teach someone or to pour knowledge into someone who is already full of himself and believes he knows everything or just about everything. There is a fine line between having knowledge and having wisdom. Knowledge is based on experience, but Wisdom takes the sum of those experiences and applies both the positive and negative of said experiences for a spiritual outcome.
In Acts 6, the newfound church had exploded into existence and discovered its first problem: the people had had a great deal of money! All of its members were selling their land and possessions to give to the needs of others, but some of the widows in dire circumstances were being overlooked. The Holy Spirit moved the apostles’ hearts to choose seven men to solve the problem.
While that job may have seemed easy enough, if I were one of the apostles, I would have called for the accountants in the church, the financiers, the treasurers, the bookkeepers—those who had experience with handling and dispersing funds. That would seem the logical choice, wouldn’t it? But the apostles had different criteria because man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.
In Acts 6:3, we find the qualifications: “Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task.” So the implication here is that the men who were selected were men devoid of themselves, having been filled with the Holy Spirit. They were wise because they were surrendered to God, and because of this, God chose them for the task. Can you guess what happened next? The matter was settled and the widows were taken care of from that day forth.
God doesn’t need the best-of-the-best to change the world; He can do it all by Himself. Yet, in His mercy and love, He has decided to allow us the opportunity to leave a mark on our sphere of influence for His glory. So be encouraged friend. You don’t have to be the best-looking, the smartest, or the most talented person in the world to gain God’s approval.
When Jesus Christ chose twelve men to be His closest companions, He didn’t go into the rabbinical schools to find the most brilliant graduates. He chose instead twelve unlearned men who were nobodies in the religious world’s estimation. Why? He wasn’t looking for impressive resumes.
Today Christ seeks out men and women who are both dependent upon and available to the Holy Spirit for His enabling.
“If it’s all about you, then you are not ready for service.”
“Let your pride die so you can serve and live.”
