Mensa Otabil - Produce Good Results
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Genesis 1:31: Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day. God looked at what He had done, and He pronounced it very good. They were very good morally, and they were very good beneficially. So after God looks at whatever He has done, everything He has done, He says it’s very good because it serves a good purpose, and it is very good because it is beneficial. It is something that is a blessing. So as people who have been created in the image of God, whatever we do must also be very good. It has to be good morally, and it has to be good beneficially. It must serve God’s purpose, and it must be of use to humanity.
Now sometimes people work and try their best. They put in so much effort, but the work they produce is not very good. Sometimes, you know, you see somebody who has put in a lot of effort and produced something, and all of us see that this is not good at all. So God is not just asking us to do things, but He wants us to do very good work. So if I’m a doctor, my work must be very good. If I’m a nurse, my work must be very good. If I’m a pastor, my work must be very good. If I’m an artist, my work has to be very good. He has called us to produce works that are very good.
Now for us to do that, to produce works that are very good, we must always work with our strengths, and we must develop the gift that God has given us into strengths. Now a gift is good, but in its raw state, it cannot achieve much. So gifts must be developed, and when they are developed, they become strengths. They become things that give you a lot of power. It is when our gifts reach the strength level that our works can become very good. So your inborn gift, your natural ability, that which God has endowed you with, that which God has given to you freely, must be enhanced.
In fact, that’s why we go to school. We don’t go to school to discover our gift; we go to school to develop our gift, enhance our gift, and to develop our gift beyond just the talent stage to a skill stage, and beyond the skill stage for it to become a strength. That is when you can produce a work of art, and not only you, but everybody will look at it and say «very good.» That is when you can provide work as a lawyer, and people would say «that’s a very good lawyer,» or «that’s a very good musician,» or «that’s a very good whatever you’re doing.»
So as part of fruitfulness, we are expected to produce works that are very good, so that every time you stand to do something, whatever comes out of you is of the highest quality. That is our challenge. That is what God has created us to be—not to just produce shabby work and shoddy work and mediocre work and things that do not take any effort, lazy work. No, He is calling us to produce very good work. And to do that, you must discover your gift. You must be true to your gift.
Don’t try to imitate other people and copy other people. Because a mustard seed doesn’t have to try to be like an apple seed. A mustard seed is a must seed. Just know what God has given to you. Know the gifts He has given to you. Be strong in the gifts. Allow people to be who they are, but allow yourself also to be who you are and produce the best that God has given to you. So we end on that note that our work must be very good.
Let’s pray. Say with me: Heavenly Father, You are my strength and wisdom. Help me to produce very good results in all that I do, in Jesus' name. Amen and amen.