What Are YOU?

A few weeks ago in church they had a dedication fair. It is where you see the different ministries the church has and what they are about and then you can 'dedicate' yourself to helping in some of them.
The Pastor is new and is trying to get other people in the church involved in some of the ministries. We ALL know that it seems the same people end up doing everything in the church, and sometimes other members just need some encouragement to get involved. He kept saying, "Don't tell me what you CAN'T do , tell me what you CAN do. And by the way CAN'T never did anything!!"
Well, the last night of it, he was speaking on serving in the church, and how all those who are saved are jewels in God's sight.
Malachi 3:17
And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.

He then went on to describe the different jewels that we, as Christians, would be. It was actually pretty funny, he handed out some papers and said we 'may' need to fill out the columns to figure out which kind of jewel we were, but most of it was pretty evident. He said that each jewel was no better than the other, just our personalities were different, and we needed different things to satisfy us, as well as different things to annoy us. Just as each jewel has strengths, it also has weaknesses, and once we recognize these, we can work together sooo much better. You can't humanly change a jewel into another jewel, it just IS.
He started with the

EMERALD

Emeralds have a need for perfection. They like charts and graphs, and are very analytical. If you tell an emerald something, they want proof!! If you say "this is the Bible, it is the Word of God, and God loves you" They answer with 'PROVE IT', your best bet is to give them the facts and leave them to deal with it.

Place in puzzle: Detail Person

Best at: Planning and explaining the details, Keeping financial records straight, Being sensitive to others, Making sure the group sees the long range goal

Is apt to be: Too easily distracted and critical

Presentation style: Accurate and sincere

Warning: May come across as too intellectual and remote, May make others feel less intelligent, Can get lost in the details

NEED ORDER AND UNDERSTANDING
____So all the emeralds got up and went to sit together on one side of the auditorium._________

Then he spoke on

SAPPHIRE

Sapphires are your 'popular' ones. They need fun, if it's not exciting, they are sooo gone!!They are convicted and saved just like emeralds, but for them it's an adventure!! They drive the emeralds nuts because of their disorganization, and the emeralds drive them nuts because they are much more analytical.

Place in puzzle: Creative person

Best at: Making initial contact with people, Creating enthusiasm and excitement, Encouraging and uplifting others, Insuring the group has fun

Is apt to be: Too easily distracted and forgetful

Presentation style: Humorous and with a light touch

Warning: Can come across as too happy or cute, Not considered serious or believable, DON’T let them handle money

NEED FUN AND ADVENTURE

__So, the Sapphires went and sat in the middle together. They were the loud amen crowd.__

Then came the

RUBY

The Ruby is motivated by control and power. They are the leaders. They are the decision makers in the crowd. They get things done.They don't follow well, and can be very domineering. They want things done, they want them done right, and want them done right now! If you try to "boss" a ruby they will dig in their heels.

Place in puzzle: Leadership person

Best at: Motivating people to action, Controlling the plans and productivity, Giving quick and clear instructions, Making sure the group sees the immediate gain

Is apt to be: Too Impulsive and intimidating

Presentation style: Authoritative and convincing

Warning: May come on too overpowering, Seems to look down on others, Often intimidates less confident people

NEED ACTION AND EXCITEMENT

____ So, the rubies were requested to go to another part of the room___

The last jewel was the

PEARL

The pearls are the quiet support team. They don't fuss, they don't argue, they rarely make their opinions known. If you scold them they are likely to either cry, or just leave. They don't like arguments and just wont stay part of it for long. It is hard to win their trust, although they will always be kind, they just wont share much of themselves with you until you win them over. Then, you'll never lose them. They are the cookie bakers, hand holders, quiet strength in the church.

Place in puzzle: Support person

Best at: Making sure the group is relaxed and comfortable, Always finding the middle ground, Staying calm and functional amidst chaos, Not overreacting to a negative situation

Is apt to be: Too Undisciplined and indecisive

Presentation style: Believable

Warning: May come across as too low key and dull or lazy, Appears unenthusiastic and unconvinced, Don’t count on them for motivation

NEED REST AND QUIET TIME

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By now we are rolling in the pews. I mean, come on, who needs sheets???? We found that quite a few of us are mixes of more than one jewel, but the dominant personality type was obvious!!

Then Pastor gave this illustration. He said " Now, I am a ruby!! I wont deny it, my wife is a pearl,. She drives me NUTS some times. If I ask Where do you want to go for lunch? Her response is I don't care!! This can go on for awhile, ya know. But just say I have 2 tickets to see Miami play football this Monday, I HAVE DECIDED I AM GOING.Period, no doubt about it, the decision is made. Now, since I wanna have some fun I'm gonna call my sapphire friend to come with me!! Does He wanna go?? OH YEAH!! FOOTBALL! Hotdogs! Hotels! Whoopee!

And then we run out of gas 20 miles down the road. Wwe might eventually make it, but we will be late because we did not really calulate how long it takes to get to Miami, and once the game is over we realize all the hotels are sold out, and we could not have afforded one anyways!!

SOOO,Lets imagine instead I invite my emerald friend. He wants to know before we leave: WHERE is the hotel? How much does it cost? How may miles is it? How many MPG does your car get? What is the price of gas here? What about down there? How much are the hot dogs at the gate? What are FL taxes on hotel rooms? How long will the game last?

YOU SEE??!!

Now, imagine I ask a pearl. My wife for example? Her response will be something like... Well, i"ll go if you want me to. if you don't want me to, that's okay also. I mean If you WANT me to want to go, then that's okay, but if your REALLY don't care then I really don't want to unless you want me too, if that's okay.

( A pearl usually DOES NOT care that much, one way or the other. If they do and trust you they will let you know!!)

Do you see how each of these has a place in Gods design? And how knowing what or who someone is can help with working with them? How many people have left churches and churches have split over nothing more than personality differences. God designed each of us to fill a need at our church. Can you imagine a bunch of emeralds working a bus ministry? There would be plenty of funds, and it would well organized, but it would not be very exciting! Or if a bunch of sapphires did it? You'd have NO organization, not enough funds or chairs or tables, but man they' d have FUN!!

Or all Rubies!! Sit Down, Be quiet, YOU are GOING to have FUN!!( lol)

I don't know, but it sure helped me even see my children differently!

So, which jewel are you?What is your spouse?