APPRECIATE ACCESS

A dear brother shared a ministry training material with me when I needed help developing a similar one. A few months later, I was in a meeting where another minister requested the material after spotting it on me. I sent it to him. I felt I did the wrong thing. I should have asked the owner of the document for permission first.

I sent him a message immediately apologising for sharing the material without his permission. He gave me that material by privilege of access, I apologised for sharing without asking. It could look simple, but it is important that access is not abused.

There are people who are not trained to appreciate access. They have not learnt to appreciate boundaries. It is possible for you to walk into other people’s spaces and begin to abuse them.

Have you seen those people who shout and sing on top of their voices while their ears are plugged even though they are in other people’s space?

Appreciating access is mastered when you understand that honour begins from the heart. Train your heart to master honour. There are things you will do that your heart will smite you. When it happens, do not shut down that question in your heart. Ask to confirm first if the act was honourable or not.

A dear mentor and a brother were having a conversation one day. I perceived that I jumped into the conversation without asking. I called afterwards to apologise and ask how I should approach such matters. I got the training I needed.

You must know when to speak and when to keep quiet. A dear teacher was about to share some lessons with us a while back. Another person there (who was also supposed to be learning) just began speaking, and we all missed out on the lessons the teacher wanted to share. It was really painful. When you are in a place where you can learn, ask questions more. Take in lessons.

Do not try to prove a point to anyone that you have access to someone. Do not barge into the spaces of people you honour without notifying them. Some even come with other people without any notice.

When you do that, a trained person will talk less. Even if they have things to share with you, they will hold back on it. There are times when people get access to information they cannot handle because they are in a space they have not earned. Be careful.

There are people who have lost great opportunities because they went into great people with a person who lacks courtesy.  Someone told me about an access that he lost. He traced it to a talkative friend of his who accompanied him.

There is how to behave around greatness. It is called the protocol. You cannot last in the palace if you keep abusing protocols. Learn how to appreciate access.

There are simple keys:

Proverbs 23:1,2 TPT

When you’ve been invited to dine with a very important leader, consider your manners and keep in mind whom you’re with.

Be careful to curb your appetite and catch yourself before you fall into the trap of wanting all you see.

Consider your manners.

Keep in mind who you are with.

Hope this helps!

temilOluwa Ola, Eruwa