The concept of being holy is somewhat scary to me but the thought of being useful to God is appealing.
What if being holy is like being the right pair of scissors for the job? I couldn’t get by without my scissors. I decided to round up some of the ones I use the most and take a picture for you. And, I started thinking about scissors.
There are different scissors for different tasks we do, just as there are different people who are cut out for different kinds of jobs in the world.
Three things to remember about scissors:
1. Use the right pair of scissors for the job. I learned to never use the fabric shears for cutting paper. If you dull fabric scissors with paper, they might ruin your project by causing runs in the material. If you dull and nick haircutting scissors, the blades will chew and pull hair instead of cutting it. Use the right pair for the right job. And, I’ve found that my clippers do a better job of cutting my roses than my paper scissors or kitchen shears.
2. Take care of your tools. Clean and sharpen them.
3. And, make sure you can find them when you need them. Store them in the right place, kitchen shears in the kitchen, fabric shears in the sewing machine drawer.
That is what Holiness is all about, I think.
First, we need to understand ourselves, know what it is we do well, what we enjoy doing. Then, we need to understand our purpose.
In order to do our best, we need to be clean and sharp. This could mean many things to us, what we study, what degrees we get, how we spend our free time, or even how we care for our physical bodies. It can also mean that we pay attention to all our relationships, making sure that we forgive and are forgiven, as well as making sure that we live honestly and pay our debts. There are so many ramifications here. To stay clean and sharp, we need to pay attention to what we are putting in our bodies and our minds.
We need to be in the right place at the right time.
And, if we pay attention to these three things, perhaps we can do what we are designed to do: love for God, people, and this world we live in.
And, what would this possibly look like?
A friend of mine went to lunch with several teens one day. One of them removed the sign from the middle of the restaurant table and put it in her purse. My friend said, “What are you doing?” The young woman said, “I collect these.” My friend said, “That’s not collecting. It is stealing. It is someone else’s property. It’s stealing.” The woman put it back on the table.
How many of us would have spoken up? My friend’s understanding of what was right, her living an honest life, and her willingness to speak up made her the right person for that day. Perhaps, her words of sense made an impression on that young woman.
For others of us, being holy might be teaching high school, practicing law or medicine, writing computer code, designing bridges, running your own business, raising children, or managing a store. In every place, in every job, everr relationship, God needs people who know the Way to live and act in love.
Are you the right scissors for your job? What is your purpose? Do you keep yourself clean and sharp and in the right places?
Are you holy like a pair of scissors?
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