The Pie-Eating Contest

I have a natural inclination to organize things. I’m always thinking of new programs I want to start at church, or new projects I want to take up as hobbies.

But I also have a bad habit of exercising too much self-doubt. I ask myself, “Would I really be good enough at this to make a difference? Wouldn’t someone else do this better?”

The other day, I was talking with my husband about a project I wanted to do. But then I said, “Oh, but wouldn’t some else do this better?” Luckily, for me, he did not lie to me and say, “No, of all the people in the world, you are the best-suited to this. No one else in the whole world could do this too.”

Instead he said, “Well, let’s say you entered a pie-eating-contest. You might not win. You might only come in 10th place. But you’d still get to eat a lot of pie!” In our household, eating lots of pie is a wonderful thing.

The point is, if you like eating pie, enter the pie-eating-contest. Even if someone else might do it a little better. There’s enough pie to go around.

There are a lot of things worth doing because they make a positive difference in the world, or are enjoyable. And we might be called to do them, even if someone else could also do them just as well, or better.

As I’m writing this, I am remembering Moses in the Hebrew Scriptures. Now, it probably seems like quite a leap from the pie-eating-contest to Moses, but go with me.

When God calls Moses to be an intermediary to the Pharaoh, Moses is aghast. First he asks God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharoah, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11) God assures Moses, saying “I will be with you” (Exodus 3:12).

But Moses remains dubious, and later asks God, “But suppose they do not believe me or listen to me, but say ‘the LORD did not appear to you.’” (Exodus 4:1) God gives Moses the ability to perform a sign, that will prove God’s choice of him as spokesperson. BUT STILL, Moses is not convinced, and he says, “Oh my Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in my past nor even now that you have spoken to your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” (Exodus 4:10).

By now you’re probably thinking “Enough already Moses! Just go do your prophet-ing!” God gets exasperated too. He finally suggests that Moses use his brother Aaron to help him relay messages to the Israelites. But God still has a big job for Moses. Moses is still a prophet. God still speaks directly to Moses, giving him instructions and using him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.

Most of us are probably not going to be Moses-like figures—we’re not going to lead whole tribes to liberation or perform supernatural miracles. But most of us are called to do certain things in our lives that are worthwhile, and also difficult. And when we are called to do these things, we may think, “oh, no, I am not the best one for that. Wouldn’t someone else be a better choice?”

I am trying to break this habit and ask other questions. I’m moving away from using “Wouldn’t someone else be better?” as an excuse. Instead I’m focusing on questions like, “Would I enjoy that? Would that make a difference in the world? Who else would like to work with me on that? Would that nourish my spiritual life? Am I really being called?”