I Can't!!!

"Can't never could...."

"Can't doesn't cut the mustard." 

"Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're always 100% right."

I've heard it said that we can do anything we put our minds to.  As children we were told that we could "become anything we wanted to when we grew up."

I mean after all, who in their right mind is going to tell a child, "you can't become the President one day," if the child says that what they want to become.

Would you really look at a sweet, innocent child in the eyes and say, "you probably won't amount to very much.  But hey, you're a good kid."

Or what about, "you may think you know what you want to be, but I really know what you need to be!"   I hope not, but many parents do just that!

For those parents who aren't trying to live vicariously through their children, their desire to encourage them to do their very best and try very hard is admirable, but is it the right thing to do?

As an adult though, I don't really buy into that logic.  I know it sounds harsh, but isn't there a better approach?

Try this one on for size,

Teacher: "little Johnny, what do you want to be when you grow up?
Johnny: "Whatever God wants me to be and I want to be great at it."

I believe it is more honest (can you be "more honest?"  If you aren't 100% honest, isn't that a lie? Hmmm) for us to teach our children that God has a purpose that He created them for.  As we teach that, it is important for us to teach them to do their very best, but to do it for God.

 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. I Cor 10:31

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters. Col 3:23

So the next time your child (or anyone for that matter) tells you what they "want" to be, ask them if they know what God created them to be.  The truth is, we have a lot of unhappy Christians who are "stuck" in places that God didn't create for them, but they chose to be there.

Now before the critics say:  "sometimes circumstances are unavoidable" I'd caution you to understand that what I'm talking about is making a choice.  A choice, mind you, where a person chooses to (at all costs) discover and fulfill their purpose that God created them for.

It is at this point that even though we may not be good enough to do whatever it is God has created us to do, He will manifest Himself into our lives through the Spirit and accomplish that which he created us for.

“The answer to Moses’ persistent pattern of “I can’t” was not “Yes, you can, Moses,” but “I can, I will, I AM." ----  Excerpt From: Macdonald, James. “Vertical Church.”