There are at least three kinds of people who just wear me out.
The Know-It-All: I first met this person in kindergarten. He already knew how to read and made sure that the rest of us knew how smart he was. Throughout life, he’s always making sure that we have the right information and never seems to mind pointing out where we have gone wrong. He just can’t help being right all the time.
The Fix-It-All: This person spends time solving everyone else’s problems. Just as you begin to share about some trouble from your day, they move right into action. “Here’s what to do” is their most common phrase. For every difficulty, real or imagined, they have a solution. You don’t even have to ask for help – they offer it freely.
The-Do-It-All: This person lives in perpetual motion, going from one thing to the other. It’s amazing we ever see these people because they don’t really stop. From school activities to church events, entertainment around town and taking that special holiday, these people just never stop. They want to be included in everything, but in the end, they seldom wind up being present for those that need them the most.
These kinds of people wear me out mainly because they remind me of the tendencies I have in myself. I like to be the one with all the answers, helping people know the right way. I love to solve problems and would be happy to fix the lives of other people. Going from one activity to another has a way of making me feel important and valued.
In reality, our humanity limits us. Only God is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent. Those qualities belong to him. Our greatest sin at times is trying to be like God, to claim his abilities for our own. But we can’t. We must acknowledge that he is God and we are not.
There is great freedom that comes in understanding and accepting our limitations. We don’t have to know everything. We don’t have to solve every problem. We don’t need to be at everything in order to have a sense of identity or purpose. God loves us no matter what. His ways are not like our ways; his thoughts are higher than our thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8-9) Life becomes easier when we stop playing God and let him take over.
