Maximizing Your Potential

with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints____So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. But just as you excel in everything — in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving (2 Corinthians 8:2-4,6-7). The Macedonian churches understood that sharing is a privilege to be sought and enjoyed. Therefore, they gave even when they had little. We do well to learn this same lesson. It is not the magnitude of our gift but simply the act of sharing that produces joy. When we refuse to share we deny ourselves this benefit. Third, selfishness destroys the joy of seeing others share what we have given them. The apostle Paul also speaks of this joy. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:4-6). Partnership speaks of sharing. When we fail to share our potential, this partnership is forfeited and the fruit for which we were chosen and appointed is lost. You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—-fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in My name (John 15:16). God mourns for this loss because the loss of potential limits His activity on earth and destroys the joy of sharing—for God, for ourselves, and for those with whom we might have shared. Selfishness always destroys the joy of giving. Selfishness Destroys the Gift God is often hurt because people are pregnant with great treasure but they keep it to themselves. Say, for example, that you are a medical researcher who discovers a cure for leukemia. Instead of sharing the results of your research with others, you carefully guard your secret knowledge so no one else can take credit for your discovery. Meanwhile, many people needlessly die. In time, your God-given talent to heal will be destroyed. Because you are so concerned that someone may receive the recognition you deserve, you will lose the desire to study and to receive new medical insights. Your selfishness in keeping the treasure to yourself ultimately destroys the very gift that is the source of your

wealth. Potential that is not shared self-destructs. Selfishness Stops the Flow of God’s Blessings

Finally, selfishness destroys the cycle of giving initiated by God. Very often you have not because you lavish upon yourself all you have received. God will