I have a couple of friends who are walking, breathing, movie trivia encyclopedias. Either of them could rattle off more facts about any given actor than I have LEGO bricks on my living room floor (and my bare feet can attest to that!). For example, did you know that the same actor who played the evil Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter saga (Ralph Fiennes) previously played the lead role in the 1996 romantic drama The English Patient? I was stunned to learn that someone who I thought had been typecast as a villain also played a love interest.

Actors are often linked to their roles in various genres, but don’t we also typecast each other in real life? When we meet someone new, the second thing we often ask (after their name) is, “What do you do?” We categorize ourselves by our professions, where we live, our appearance and many other superficial criteria. Some of those traits are flexible, and we can try to alter them if we want to (change jobs, gain/lose weight, dye your hair, relocate, etc.).

What about the traits we can’t change or circumstances outside of our control? What about when it feels like God has typecast you in a particular role, and you want something different? That’s a tough spot to be in, but Romans 9:20-21 (MSG) gives us a blunt answer:

“Who in the world do you think you are to second-guess God? Do you for one moment suppose any of us knows enough to call God into question? Clay doesn’t talk back to the fingers that mold it, saying, ‘Why did you shape me like this?’ Isn’t it obvious that a potter has a perfect right to shape one lump of clay into a vase for holding flowers and another into a pot for cooking beans?”

Although the flower vases receive a lot of worldly attention, many of us are bean pots. We have a purpose and a function in God’s kingdom, and it may not always be glamorous, but it is useful and necessary.

The Casting Manager has written your role exactly as he sees fit, so if you are willing to let him direct you and stop trying to write your own script, then you might just discover that being a bean pot can be more fulfilling and interesting than sitting around as a decorative vase anyway!