I know the saying, “having a chip on your shoulder” has a negative connotation, but, and hear me out, what if it didn’t. What if it didn’t mean
+ always having to prove yourself to others
+ daring others to question your abilities
+ competing with others where someone has to lose
What if waking up with a chip on your shoulder meant it was just you against you.
If you’re a Christian you know that every day is a spiritual battle,
The Apostle Paul who hated his own flesh was miffed and confused, just like us, when he said,
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. Romans 7:15-18
He knew his spirit was competing with his flesh but he also knew that it was his sinful nature that was the saboteur of his best desires.
For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.
This is why I have chip on my shoulder. I know what I am capable of
+ I’ve recorded over 300 podcast episodes
+ I have over 1200 videos on youth ministry
+ I’ve written over a dozen ebooks and guides
and yet, every day is a struggle to produce something of value. I struggled to write this article. Why? Life. Conflict with self. Not with sinful self as much as the imposter self. The mirror image of me, the bully in me, the giant in me that keeps telling me to knock the chip off his shoulder, taunting me,
+ Go ahead, write one more article, no one will read
+ Go ahead, film one more video no one will watch
+ Go ahead record one more podcast episode no one will listen to
Those are the kind of chips I wake up with and every day, I have to face myself and decide if I am going to knock that chip off or not. I know the battle I will face if I do, but in the end that bully inside me isn’t so tough.
David had a chip on his shoulder. He was the runt of the litter and his brothers treated him so. David had something to prove, if not just to his brothers, but to himself. He had been anointed king by the prophet Samuel and there he was delivering lunch to his brothers. I would have been fuming.
Then David heard Goliath’s voice challenging anyone to come out and fight him. The chip had been knocked off. A righteous anger filled him and he said, “Not on my watch” and slayed that giant.
Later in life, David had more troubles
And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God. 1 Samuel 30:6-8
The giant is not the devil, but me/but us.The devil is already defeated. We, on the other hand, must be defeated daily.
I feel the same way about ministry and life, and maybe you do to
+ Go ahead plan one more event no one will come to
+ Go ahead, preach one more message no one will listen to
and you’re afraid to knock that chip off because you believe you can’t win.
The giant is every midweek meeting. Every Sunday school. Every student interaction. Every parent meeting. Every time we hear the false threats of our giant say, “I dare you to knock that chip off my shoulder” we need to knock if off and say, “What are you gonna do about it?”
If this article resonates with you, let me know by sending an e-mail to thediscipleproject@gmail.com and put What are you gonna do about it in the title.
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