Are you contented with the way God created you? I want to encourage you to be contented with who you are, but not where you are. Like the way God created you, but also strive to be everything God created you to be. An area where you may be discontented is your personality.

Your Personality

Each of us is unique; God doesn't make cookie-cutter Christians. Some of us are “people people;” some are “project people.” Some are extroverts, others are introverts. There are many variations in the personalities God has created. Are you content with the personality God has given you?

I think of my friend, Afton, who thought for years that being an introvert was a huge liability. But thankfully she has learned to appreciate the way God created her and she recognizes the many strengths she has because she is quiet and reserved. She has written a book about it, Living Connected: An Introvert’s Guide to Friendship. It’s a very helpful book not only for introverts, but it helps those of us who are not introverts to appreciate and admire those who are.

My discontent with my personality was the opposite. I felt I was too up front, too take charge, too much of an extrovert, and for years I tried to be different—and of course, I failed. I remember thinking that sadly, I was stuck with who I was. It has taken me far too long to appreciate the personality God has given to me.

The challenge is to be contented with who you are but not where you are in your growth. Focus on the personality flaws that accompany your personality, pray about them, and ask God to help you get rid of the rough edges. For example, I don’t have a natural gift of mercy, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be a merciful person. It’s a weakness I have acknowledged and prayed about, because I need to be merciful as God is merciful to me.

There is wonderful freedom in accepting who you are. Freedom from having to live up to other's expectations—or even your own. Freedom from having to be like others or compete with others.

Are you content with who you are? It took years for me to accept and be contented with the way God created me. I had some wrong idea of what God wanted every woman to be and since I didn’t seem to fit that mold, I kept trying to change but I just couldn’t. After years of discontent with the way God created me, I finally understood that God had a good purpose for me and I have learned to appreciate and enjoy how God created me.

However, at the same time, I want to have a holy discontentment with where I am in my growth and maturity. Contentment and lack of contentment at the same time. Or you could say, accepting who I am but not settling for where I am.

Let's look at some specific areas where we often have difficulty accepting who we are, but where we must also never settle for less than we can be.

Your Body

The Bible says that each of us is fearfully and wonderfully made. So, you should accept and be contented with how God's hands made you because God doesn't make mistakes.

Do you look in the mirror and complain about your body, your face, your hair, your size? I want to encourage you to be contented with the body God has given you. I think of my dear friend, Fran, who was just barely five feet tall. All her life she was the shortest one. But you know, God used her size to enlarge her ministry. You see, because she was short and cute, her appearance was never threatening or intimidating to anyone. It made it easy for her to make friends—and she made friends with everybody. God used her personality and short stature to connect her with so many people, many who came to saving faith through Fran. It is not a mistake that she was a short person.

Accept the body and face and size and shape that God has given you. Accept, but don't settle. Keep that body running on all cylinders. Do everything you can to keep it healthy. Exercise as you know you should; get rid of some of those harmful eating habits. Be contented with your body, while at the same time never settling for anything less than the best it can be.

Do you remember how Jesus acquired the use of the donkey for the most important parade ever—as he entered Jerusalem on what we now call Palm Sunday? I would love to have been the proverbial “fly on the wall” to see the look on the faces of the owners of that donkey when the disciples just walked up and started to untie it. As I was re-reading that story, it dawned on me that lots of us have things tied up, too, and if we'd untie them, they'd be of service to our Lord.

Let me read that passage from Luke 19 that tells this story about the donkey:

 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”

Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” They replied, “The Lord needs it.” They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road (Luke 19:28-36).

This happened just a week before the crucifixion. It’s a really interesting scene, when you think about it. Jesus chose that colt to ride in his one and only parade. He knew where it was, he knew that it had never been ridden, and he knew what the reaction of the owners of the colt would be. How could he know all this? Because he is God, and though he was fully man in his 33 years on earth, he was nonetheless fully God, and God is all-knowing.

Interesting that the disciples evidently did not question Jesus' instructions. But then, after three years with him, they should have been very certain that what Jesus told them could be totally trusted. However, it had to take a little bit of nerve to walk up to this colt and start untying it. You have to give those disciples credit for their faith and obedience in this matter.

As they were untying the colt, the owners approached them. Why there was more than one owner, I don't know, except I can guess that neither could afford the colt himself, so they formed a partnership and bought it together. Could it be that these owners were poor people without a great deal of this world's possessions? Quite possibly. I doubt that a donkey's colt was a very prestigious animal. Not what kings and wealthy people chose for transportation. But likely it was all these simple owners could afford.

I can also imagine that they were a little perturbed to see two strangers taking their prized colt—evidently a young colt, since it had never been ridden. Can you put yourselves in their shoes? I wonder if they screamed at the disciples: "Why are you untying our colt?” I wonder if they were upset?  I think I would have been.

At any rate, when the disciples explained that Jesus had requested to use this colt, this one particular colt, it seems to put an end to the entire discussion. Without another question, they give the colt to the disciples for Jesus to use. I have to believe they had heard about Jesus. I'm sure most everyone in the area had by that time.

Perhaps they had heard him speak at some time; maybe they'd seen him heal someone or cast out a demon. Their willingness to let go of a valuable possession so unquestioningly leads me to believe that Jesus was someone they knew about, someone they respected, perhaps even loved.

As I read this story, I thought, "What do I have tied up that the Lord wants to use?” I think many times we've got resources and abilities that God would use in his service, but they're all tied up. We're using them for our own selfish purposes, or failing to use them at all perhaps, instead of giving them back to God for his eternal purposes

It may seem counterintuitive, but “nice” isn’t necessarily the goal of a peacemaker. Jesus was the perfect peacemaker, and he is our peace, but as you study his life on earth, you will see that as a peacemaker he was not always what we would call “nice.”

There were times he said difficult things that others did not want to hear. There were times when he actually disrupted situations that were wrong—like people selling things in the Temple. But he always was doing what was good for others. We are called to be peacemakers, which means that if you always choose what you say or do based on the idea that it has to be “nice,” you probably will avoid hard but essential conversations. You will become a peacekeeper not a peacemaker.

But being truthful does not give us a license to be harsh. Gentleness is the key word when we are trying to make peace. You remember that Jesus described himself as gentle and humble in heart. And Paul wrote to the Philippian church that they should let their gentleness be evident to all.

Gentleness is required if you want to be a peacemaker in difficult situations. After all, gentleness is a fruit of God’s Spirit and it should be always evident in our lives. It’s a trait that helps bring peace and calm even in contentious situations. It’s a clear-headed way of dealing with others that creates safe spaces to address difficult topics.

Jesus declared that he came to give us peace—his peace, not like the world gives. It’s a different kind of peace, one that keeps on keeping on even in tough places. What we as Christ-followers must do is on a daily basis, receive the peace he gives for our own lives, and then share that peace with whoever God brings across our path that day. What a testimony we could have to our worlds if we showed them the peace of Christ by the way we live, and then we followed our Lord’s directive to be peacemakers by helping to make peace where we live, where we work, with close friends and strangers.

Christ has come to give us peace; he is our peace. We need to be sure we're demonstrating it daily in our lives, and that we are peacemakers, people who bring peace to turbulent situations.

It is so important to develop peacemaking skills, because Jesus said that peacemakers are blessed.

I just want to remind you that Jesus Christ is our peace. He condescended to take on human flesh, even as a baby in a humble setting, so that he could bring peace to our troubled lives. The Apostle Paul in Ephesians wrote:

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit (Ephesians 2:13-18).

Jesus was born—to bring us peace. He came to reconcile us to God through the cross, and for those who have accepted his freely-offered redemption, we now have peace because we have Jesus, who is our peace. We who were far away, who had no peace in our lives, who were in bondage to sin, have been brought near, so near that we can enter into his throne room and have fellowship with God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Remember to thank God for the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ, and if you don’t yet know the peace he offers, you can do so by repenting of your sins and accepting his peace as your own.

We seem to be in a time when there is little peace between people. And this contentious cultural atmosphere can easily seep into our everyday lives—into our families and our workplaces, even our churches.

In Matthew 5:9 we read where Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” It is a blessing to be a peacemaker; there is a special reward for those who make peace, not just keep peace. Peacemakers are proactive, confronting situations of discord to promote peace.

Well, if we’re supposed to be peacemakers, how can we make peace? Proverbs 17:9 says, “Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.” One thing you can do to be a peacemaker is not to spread the bad things you hear or see. Cover up the offense, don't keep telling everybody else about someone's mistake or bad behavior. In other words, stop gossiping.

Proverbs 15:1 tells us that “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” A peacemaker is a person with gentle words. When someone starts telling you how angry they are at you or someone else, find those gentle words to turn away their wrath. If you throw in a few harsh words of your own, you add to the conflict. Often a tone of voice can make a big difference.

If you know there is strife between two people, what could you do to bring them together, let them air their grievances, and restore peace into that relationship? Don’t be afraid to make that effort; often it just takes one person to make a move and these petty differences can be resolved.

What we need in our world of strife are many peacemakers—people who are willing to make peace in the many small conflicts that surround our daily lives. Ask God to give you that skill, that kind of servant heart, so that you are the peacemaker in your world. When you do, Jesus promises that you will be blessed.

Are you a peacemaker or a peacekeeper? A peacemaker is one who strives to make peace in situations that are in turmoil. A peacekeeper, on the other hand, often just tries to keep the status quo and do anything to avoid conflict. In the Beatitudes, Jesus calls us to be peacemakers; therefore, that is what we should strive to be.

Parents know that making peace between children is a part of their job description. From their earliest days, our children manage to disrupt the peace—get into arguments, cause discord, aggravate each other. And we find ourselves in the role of peacemaker. Sometimes that role is a stern role, sometimes it is the role of negotiating, sometimes we have to separate the parties involved. In other words, being a peacemaker is not always a peaceful job! We may have to be assertive and proactive, but whatever we can do to promote peace, that is our calling as children of God.

Maybe you work in a situation where a peacemaker is needed. Some of the things that typically cause discord in the workplace are gossip, job insecurity, out-of-control ambition, poor communication—and the list goes on. It could be a company-wide morale problem, producing tumult and disharmony among employees; or it could be little feuds between individuals, where one refuses to speak to another. I’m often amazed at how petty and vindictive adults can be—but there you have it.

What can we do in these kinds of environments to be peacemakers? It’s not enough just to keep pushing it under the covers, so to speak, and trying to keep a lid on things. That is peacekeeping, just opting for peace at any price. But we want to be peacemakers.

We hear a lot about peace, don’t we? From the proclamation of the angels to the shepherds at the birth of Jesus—"Peace on earth, good will to men”—to our daily news broadcasts, peace is a frequent topic, and there’s no doubt that most people want to have peace on earth.

But you know, peace is not something that can be declared or legislated. True peace is a heart condition, and each individual has the choice to be at peace with others or not. Just think, if every individual decided to be a peaceful person, to never harm anyone else, to do everything he or she could to promote peace, well, we would have peace on earth.

Obviously, you and I have little influence on world peace. But we have great influence on our own environments, whether they are peaceful or not. So, I thought we should talk about peace in our individual worlds. How can we promote peace?

Let me begin by asking: Are you a peacemaker or a peacekeeper? There is a difference, you know. Peacemaking is something every Christian should be very good at doing. We are called to be peacemakers. Jesus said that people who make peace are blessed, and will be called "children of God.”

Peacekeepers, on the other hand, often just want peace at any price. That can lead to compromising and lowering standards and going along to get along, just to keep the peace. So, we need to know the difference between being a peacemaker and a peacekeeper.

A peacemaker is one who makes peace where there is none. I'm sure you have many opportunities to make peace if you recognize them and take advantage of them.

The challenge of setting reasonable boundaries is almost always a relationship challenge. And it frequently comes from our misplaced idea of what it means to be a good friend, or what it means to be a good team player. There’s no doubt that as Christ-followers, our standard given to us by Jesus himself is to go the extra mile, to do more than is required of us. We are called to be servants, as Jesus was, and that should always be our attitude.

But when you try to do more than you should do and you think that going the extra mile means you jump through everyone’s hoops and meet everyone’s expectations, you are then in dangerous territory. This is how you become burned out; it’s how you become an enabler; it’s how you allow false guilt to drive you into exhaustion and resentment.

I would remind you that Jesus knew how to say no. Do you remember when the disciples were looking for Jesus one morning because a crowd of people had gathered to hear Jesus again, and no doubt were eager to take advantage of his gift of healing? They found him alone, praying, and they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!” Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come” (Mark 1: 37b-38). The disciples tried to tell Jesus that he should come back and preach to the crowd waiting for him, but Jesus knew when to say no.

Another time a man stopped him and asked him to settle a disagreement. He said, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But Jesus said to him, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” (Luke 12:13-14). Basically Jesus said, “Sorry, that’s not my job.” He drew a boundary and said no, even though he could have done it but it was not what he was sent to do.

Jesus knew that he could not please everyone; in his human body while here on earth he had physical limitations, as we do. He became weary, as we do. He needed rest and time alone, as we do. And in order to do what God had sent him to do, he had to refuse to do other things—he had to draw boundaries. I believe his example teaches us that we must also learn to draw reasonable boundaries in order for us to be able to do what God wants us to do.

So, let’s see what other boundary issues Fran is facing now. It’s Wednesday of this week in her life, and she has just barely made a deadline for her most important client, but it was at the expense of late hours last night because she allowed a coworker to talk her into helping her for “ten minutes,” which turned into three hours. This is one of the boundary issues she faces. Fran is relieved that she got it done, but quite honestly, she is exhausted and sleepy.

With two hours to go before the end of the day, she is counting the minutes until she can leave, tying up a few loose ends, and dreaming of going to bed early when the kids do tonight. But in walks her manager, who says,

“Fran, if you’re not busy tonight, I’d love for you to join me for dinner with the Vice President of Marketing, who is in town this week, you know. I’ve been telling him about your success and how much you’ve contributed to the fact that we’re twenty percent ahead of our quota, and he asked if you would join us. I know you have your kids, but if you could get a sitter, I’d be glad to cover that expense for you.”

Don’t do it, Fran, the inner voice of God’s Spirit seems to say to her, but how can she say no? I mean, how often do you get this kind of opportunity to make a good impression? Well, she thinks I can do it. Mom will keep the kids for me, I think, and it’s just one night. So, she hears herself saying, “That’s very nice of him. I, uh, I think I can make that happen. Let me make a call and I’ll get back to you.”

She calls her mom, who does have plans for that evening, but Fran twists her arm and convinces her that her Dad will be glad to watch the kids while she’s away, so of course, Mom can’t say no either,

How can the people you work with know that Jesus Christ makes a difference in your life? I'll give you one way that will always work. If they see that you have peace in your life, regardless of the circumstances, they're going to want to know how in the world you do it. People today are desperate for peace, and as Christians we know the Prince of Peace, the only one who can give us true peace.

But if our lives are just as frayed around the edges as everyone else's, if we don't display that peace of God which passes understanding, then we're missing an incredible opportunity to show Christ to the people in our worlds.

I want to tell you the story of how a good friend found Christ: Janet, who is a member of our Board here. Before becoming a believer she was working in a situation that was highly stressful. Everyone was under constant pressure and the environment was really crazy. But in all of the chaos, she kept noticing one of her coworkers who seemed very peaceful. He did his work as well as anyone, produced what was expected of him, but he just never seemed to be frazzled and stressful like everyone else.

Janet watched him for a long time, and finally she said to him, "How do you do it?” He smiled, and shared with her that it was his faith in Christ which made the difference. Then he simply recommended that she read the Bible and suggested the book of John.

Though Janet had considered herself a Christian, she had never read the Bible, so she decided to see what he was talking about. After a couple of months of reading and investigating, Janet accepted Christ, and a few months after that, her husband Ray did, too.

And it all started when one person was peaceful in a chaotic work environment. What a testimony we could have to our worlds if we showed them in our lives that Christ is our peace, and because of him, we can have peace even when the situation is chaotic.

So, there are many reasons we need to learn the secret of having peace in the midst of pressure. Christ has come to give us peace; he is our peace. We need to be sure we're demonstrating it daily in our lives.