"Oh Lord...who may dwell on your holy hill? He who walks with integrity." Psalm 15:1-2
You would not give your 5-year-old a 12-gauge shotgun or a big Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Shotguns and motorcycles are for adults. You need maturity to handle them. Giving such gifts to your child would endanger them and everybody around them. The gifts just do not fit the person. Perhaps you are a talented individual. God has given you some large gifts like the ability to speak well, or organize things, or create and design. But we sabotage ourselves when our gift becomes bigger than we are. How does this happen? When we begin to lean on the talents God gave us and do not mature emotionally and spiritually, we ruin our chance to use those talents as God designed them. When our character does not keep up with our talent, we learn to "wing it" through life. We live on the surface but lack real strength underneath. And it shows up when the crisis hits, the storm comes, or we are under pressure. You cannot "wing it" when it comes to character building. The greater the size of your gifts, the more you must dedicate time to developing your character. Eugene Peterson paraphrases the Psalmist in The Message: "God, who gets invited to dinner at your place? How do we get on your guest list? Walk straight, act right, tell the truth. Do not hurt your friend, do not blame your neighbor; despise the despicable. Keep your word even when it costs you, make an honest living, never take a bribe. You will never get blacklisted if you live like this" Psalms 15:1 - 5. So, do you live that way?
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