Recently I stumbled on a quote said by Dowell Loggains, offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans, in response to a question about the potential of their troubled star wide-receiver, Kenny Britt. When asked he replied, “Potential just means you haven’t done anything.” Now that quote struck me, not just because I agreed with coach Loggains assessment of Britt’s underachievement, but because I believe there is a spiritual question to be asked here.
Have you and I done anything with the incredible potential of good that God has blessed us with? That’s a tough question to ask yourself, but a question we all should ask nonetheless. Honesty with your own self-assessment is key here! If you feel like you have, awesome. But if you feel like you haven’t, it’s time to!
First things first: recognize, believe and own the fact that God has given you great potential with your whole heart and pray that He gives you the desire and opportunity to unlock it! One way to start unlocking that great potential inside of you is to start using your talents for the glory of God and for the betterment of those you come in contact with. Everyone has talents and the best part is that by using those talents it can lead you to discover talents you never knew you had! If you can fix, fix. If you can sing, sing. If you can translate, translate. If you can encourage, encourage. If you can listen, listen. If you can impart sound words, impart sound words. If you can be so extremely zealous, be so extremely zealous! If you feel like you have the talent to inspire, then go inspire! God didn’t give you talents so that you could keep it for yourself, but so that you could share it with others!
There’s a passage of scripture that exhorts us to do just that, it’s found in 1 Peter 4:10-11 (ESV):

As each has received a gift [talent], use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies- in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To Him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Now let’s get out there and start unlocking that incredible potential given by God, with the talents we all have!