The Apprentice

I started watching The Apprentice. I've never watched it before, as ego-driven, self-obsessed, jargon-riddled prats are not my thing. However, it is entertaining. The petty in-fighting, the ridiculous attempts at one-upmanship, the dismissive way with Alan Sugar and his lackeys deal with the contestants is hilarious.

I watched the first episode yesterday, and the guy who got fired was the Project Manager for that task. He was an accountant, and was desperately trying to prove to anyone who would listen that he was not in the mould of your average accountant. However, the task at hand required basic accountancy skills, and the failure of the task possibly would have been saved by a pause to work out the mathematics.

However, Edward was determined to prove he wasn't an accountant. He even called himself a wheeler-dealer. Lord Sugar, Harry Redknapp, and Del Boy are the only people allowed to describe themselves as wheeler-dealers, and one of them is fictional. In trying to avoid what he was good at, what he knew, Edward missed a real opportunity. Using just an ounce of those skills would have saved him the trouble of being fired.

Sometimes we Christians can be like that. We're so determined to prove that we're good Christians that we forget to use the skills God has given us. My spiritual director has a real problem with Christians who get so caught up in what we think we should be doing, that we forget who we are. Edward got carried away trying to be a leader, and not being an accountant, and he got fired. We are people, designed and created by God with certain characteristics. We are called to love God with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind, and all our strength. We are not called to love God with the best bits and the bits we hope to be and the bits we think we should be.

God loves us now. We should return him the favour.