WE KNOW YOU ARE GIFTED, BUT ARE YOU TRAINED?

We were in a meeting discussing when some of the pastors shared a story with me about what happened in church. It gladdened my heart. They had cause to take some pictures after service. 

One of the teenagers was handling the camera. Some young man approached him and said, “Can I have the camera. Let me help out”. The teenager politely turned him down. When some of the friends saw what was happening, they said: “He is a professional photographer. Give him the camera”. The teenager did not bulge. They were shocked. 

Why was the teenager not bulging? He knew he would give an account if anything happened to the camera. He also knew that the young man may be a professional, but he did not know our values about stewardship yet. 

A young man was carrying a speaker and asked his team lead, “If I am tired, can I drop it?”. His team lead responded, “When you are tired, don’t drop it. Please, put it down”. There is a heavy difference between the two. 

Never be in a hurry to ask for things you have not been trained to handle. When you receive things that you have not been trained to handle, it will not last in your hands. Trained men preserve wealth. Untrained men waste resources. 

Let me explain: I know how to drive, but I realize that driving a friend’s car is never the same as driving my car. I always have to adapt to the peculiarities of their own cars. The brakes may be sharper. The weight may be different. I drive patiently till I get used to their own. 

If you change churches, be willing to learn the culture of the house you belong to. Do not get offended because you have a huge title from your previous church. Your submission to process will soon speak for you. Do not try to prove any point. Calm down and learn again. 

Do you remember the parable of the lost son? He was in a hurry to get the portion of his inheritance from the Father. 

And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood.”

Luke 15:12 NKJV

An untrained man has a sense of entitlement. If you will grow, kill entitlement. If the leprosy of Naaman would be cleansed, he must not boast about the rivers of Syria when he is meant to dip seven times in Jordan. 

Some of us are like that. Pride will not let us learn. Arrogance will not allow us to receive the instructions that will shape and change us. You prefer to be covered in leprosy with the glimmering armour of a General. 

You may be gifted, but settle down and learn first, even if all you are hearing are things you already know. Be humble enough. You may be able to call down fire, but settle down and grow. Stop referring to the rivers of Syria- you are always harassing everyone with your “achievements,” but your leprosy is covered. Calm down! 

We know you are gifted, but are you trained? 

© temilOluwa Ola, Eruwa.