Growing up in Singapore, we were constantly challenged by our government to be number one in all that we did. The idea of being number two was undesirable and discouraged. Why this mindset, you might ask? When I was growing up, Singapore was a tiny island with 2 million people and was strategically positioned within the trade routes in Southeast Asia. But it had no natural resources to tap on for its growth. The only resource that it had was its people. From the 70s, Singapore’s airport, shipping ports etc became world number one for many consecutive years. Singapore was no longer a dot on the map, and today it has become a developed country.
With God, it’s very different. He desires that we give of our personal best. In the Parable of the Talents, individuals were given different numbers of talents. All managed to increase what was given to them, except for the individual with the single talent. His only effort was merely to bury the one talent and to wait for his master to return. God was furious with his foolishness as he chose to do nothing with what was given to him.
We are all given different gifts, opportunities and time. But we can all give of our personal best in any situation in which we find ourselves. We don’t have to be number one to be considered faithful with God. We should not be limited by people, situations or even by ourselves –our insecurities and fears. We can be our greatest roadblock.
If God is for us, who can be against us (Rms 8:31).
And I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil 4:13)
God also meant for growth to occur as we exercise our personal best. We must not be contented with a faith that remains at status quo. As we give our personal best in all that we do, the encouragement is to constantly seek to raise the bar on that personal best. This will ensure that we are constantly challenging ourselves and not just resting on our laurels.
“It is then that one realises that success in life and making a success of one’s life are two very different things. And it is good because it re-establishes equality among men. We are all variously gifted for success in life but we are all equal when making a success of our lives is concerned (Paul Tournier, “The adventure of Living, pg237-238)
Last update : 04-03-2008 07:18
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