More Than a Seat Filler

(Well, it's that time of year again. Hollywood loves honoring itself with awards, so I thought I would repost one of my previous blogs in honor of award season.)

One of my favorite things to do when watching award shows is to try and pick out the seat fillers in the audience. Seat fillers are those individuals who are paid to sit in the seats of the celebrities while they go to the restroom or the bar during the show. This helps the auditorium appear full when the camera skims the audience.

The thing about seat fillers is that no matter how hard they try to fit in with the celebrities around them, it just usually doesn’t work. Their excitement of seating next to Clint Eastwood or Nicole Kidman is not hidden very well. While the celebrities have a cool and somewhat bored look, seat fillers are usually wide-eyed with a huge grin on their face. They have a look about them that tells you that they don’t quite belong in that seat.

Reading through 1 Samuel 17, I wonder if David felt like a seat filler as he watched the sheep while his brothers were off in battle. I can picture David sitting in a field with the sheep, aching, because he knew he was created for something more. When he went to take food to his brothers on the front lines, something rose up in him – he knew he was called to confront Goliath. David took his place on the battlefield, killed Goliath, and eventually got a pretty nice seat of his own—the throne of Israel.

Often we try to do what we see someone else doing – even when we don’t have the same gifts as they do. We try to fill a seat where we don’t belong. A few of the signs of seat fillers are constant frustration, exhaustion, jealousy, and anger. Have you felt any of these? If so, maybe you are simply occupying someone else’s seat.

I have had those times in my life, and I think most of us have as we struggle to figure out exactly what we are made to do in this life. I have decided I would rather face the fear and uncertainty of taking my own seat rather than to fill someone else’s seat.

God has given you specific abilities and talents for His purpose. Pursue that purpose! Make sure you are in the right seat.

Blessings,

Stephanie

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