A need to be needed

Yesterday I sat and watched as my colleague frantically ran around the office like a maniac.  Sales day at our business looks like this every month.  Things are left to the very last minute, leaving the key players to scramble to meet the 12h00 deadline.  What I see gives me much insight into the way we are wired as humans.

My colleague’s role in sales is actually a function that should be done by someone else in another department, but that’s a story for another day.  So often he’ll sit and whine about how no one appreciates him and how a lot is expected of him without the recognition.  Most of us may not necessarily be doing what we enjoy doing, but we do want to be remembered for playing a pivotal enough role to leave some sort of a legacy when we leave.  This has led me to this revelation: we all have a need to be needed. 

When the clock struck 12h00, the system closed down, blocking any incomplete sales.  They sat in anticipation of the system opening again; an undeserved grace they seemed to get monthly.  Not this time.  Even then, my colleague sat at his desk after the “going home” siren had sounded.  He insisted that he might be needed if the system restarted.  Even when his manager told him to go home as nothing could be done, he sat and stated to me as-a-matter-of fact that no one can do what does so they need him.  The thing is, they can.  They choose not to.  All I could do was smile with God as He revealed this truth to me.

Now if we can just learn that we are already important to God, we might stop trying to please man.  To my colleague’s credit, he is a loyal, hard worker but he seeks approval from the wrong place.  If we live by the truth that we were created to give glory to God and God alone, we will be secure in our worth.  We won’t need to hold on to our titles and possessions to feel significant.  The mere fact that you were created means you have a role to play in the world.  God does not create waste!

Ecclesiastes 5:20 says that God will keep man so occupied with gladness in his heart as he works that man will not need to reflect on his days (or his worth).  So let’s do what we do as unto the Lord and not unto men, dear friends!  Let us stop seeking approval in the wrong places because God has already put His stamp of approval on us.  WE ARE GOD’S PROPERTY!