You’re A Tool!
It wasn’t that long ago where the above phrase was thrown around quite often. You would here someone talking about someone else and they would say “they are such a tool.” Or you might hear a friend teasing another by calling them a tool. In my mind it always meant a jerk or someone who thought they knew it all and were better than every one else. It wasn’t a compliment for sure and nothing I really liked to hear anyone say.
When you read through Romans there you find out that everyone is a tool. No not everyone is a jerk, although we probably all fit that definition at one time or another. We are told in Romans 6:13, Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. Whether we like it or not we are a tool. What we say and what we do either builds up wickedness or righteousness. We give ourselves to one or the other to be used to advance the working of Christ or the working of Satan.
Paul is really good at using inclusive words to make the things we are supposed to do even more challenging. Paul says, “Offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument.” Some people are willing to give parts of their life to God and certain days of their week to him but they don’t give all of themselves. We should commit all of our lives to being a tool for God and doing His will.
You are a tool, I am a tool. The real question is what are we a tool of? Am I a tool of wickedness or am I a tool of righteousness? When I was a kid I used to help my dad a lot. He had been a carpenter and we did a ton of remodeling on our house. I learned so much from working with him and have been able to use some of that on my own houses. I will never forget being his “gopher” though when I was really young. He would send me to get a tool, crow bar or level or a square (which by the way is a triangle is was quite confusing for me.) If I brought the wrong tool he would tell me and that he couldn’t do what he needed to do with that. Certain tools are made to do certain jobs.
I think about that now and if am I being the right tool for Christ. Am I allowing him to use me for for the jobs he has created me for? A tool in a tool box is worthless. It is only when a tool is taken out and used for the job it was created for that it is fulfilling it’s purpose. Be the tool you were created to be for righteousness today! Remember….You’re a tool!