You arrived carrying gifts that nobody had to place inside you.
Your responsibility is to discover them, develop them and put them to work—without losing yourself while pursuing what they can produce.
Without asking, every one of us is given gifts to use during our earthly journey.
Some are visible early. Others remain hidden until experience, necessity or curiosity brings them forward.
Your responsibility is to seek them, develop them and let them go to work for you.
When properly mined, those gifts become your personal SKILLS BANK. They help you earn a living, contribute something worthwhile and experience your portion of fulfillment.
Failure to mine your gifts—and mind your own growth—can become the beginning of many woes and “ohs.”
MINE IT.
MIND IT.
USE IT.
WORTHY NOTE
Pause and consider:
The body is a shell—a temporary vessel containing the spirit called YOU, breathed into you by God.
The body remains here.
You go on.
Act like it.
ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE
There are no permanent stop signs planted in front of everything worthwhile.
What is necessary, meaningful and even fun may already be waiting for you to activate it.
The obstacle is often that we do not yet know how.
That is where learning curves, effort, trial and error enter the picture.
You try.
You learn.
You adjust.
You proceed.
It is just that simple—not always easy, but simple.
SHAKESPEARE HELPS US OUT
I have often used William Shakespeare’s work to make a point.
He gets around!
He covered quite a bit of human territory, and much of what he observed remains useful today.
When addressing borrowing, lending, stewardship and personal integrity, he wrote:
“Neither a borrower nor a lender be;
For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.
This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.”
GO, WILLIAM!
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TODAY?
We borrow money. We lend it. We cosign for it. We build dreams upon it.
When handled improperly, money can contribute to damaged friendships, family arguments, divorce, bankruptcy, deceit and expectations that were never realistic.
Money itself is not the only problem.
The character of the borrower, lender, spender and seeker enters every transaction.
Interpretation is subjective, and every reader carries different experiences.
Richspeare allows room for that.
However, Shakespeare’s instruction remains standing:
“To thine own self be true.”
That is where many people sell themselves out.
We forsake our principles for gain, pleasure, acceptance or unfair advantage. Then we wonder why self-respect disappears and corruption enters through the opening we created.
If you repeatedly betray yourself, eventually you will stop trusting the person in the mirror.
MONEY IS NOT THE VILLAIN
Scripture does not teach that money itself is evil.
It warns us about the love of money—the appetite that makes money master instead of servant.
I grew up hearing people say money was the root of evil, which may explain why I grew up poor.
If I had heard the entire lesson, I could have decided not to LOVE money—and then gone out and acquired as much as I pleased.
LOL.
Eventually, I did better.
Money can feed a family, support a ministry, build a business, educate a child, relieve suffering and create opportunity.
But when love of money replaces love of what is right, the servant takes over the house.
THE PRAYER OF ENOUGH
One of my favorite Proverbs contains a beautifully balanced request:
Keep falsehood away from me.
Give me neither poverty nor excessive riches.
Provide what I need for today so abundance does not make me forget God—and desperation does not tempt me to dishonor Him.
That is the prayer of ENOUGH.
Not too much for the ego to begin crowning itself.
Not too little for desperation to begin negotiating with wrongdoing.
Enough to live.
Enough to give.
Enough to remain grateful.
There is no natural end to greed unless we put an end to it.
The word “more” will continue asking long after “enough” has already arrived.
PAUSE FOR CAUSE.
Would you recognize enough if it knocked upon your door—or would you be too busy looking past it for more?
WE ARE PASSING THROUGH
Nothing material can be carried out of this world.
We arrive without luggage and leave without pockets.
What travels with us is the character formed by how we lived, loved, handled responsibility and treated other people.
I am grateful to be here.
I am grateful to be here with you.
That realization is sufficient unto itself—and it becomes liberating when you allow it.
AWE-PSALM
Here is something dependable for anyone uncertain about how to proceed:
Seek the right way—righteousness—in how you travel, negotiate, work, spend, earn and explore.
The Psalmist spoke from the experience of a long life:
“I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken.”
That is not a promise that life will never become difficult.
It is a testimony that righteousness does not travel alone or unnoticed.
WORD TO THE WISE
“A word to the wise is not wasted—but tasted.”
That one comes from Richspeare. Yes, me.
But how do you acquire wisdom in the first place?
Wisdom may arrive through experience, correction, observation, scripture, failure or the counsel of someone who has already walked that road.
Then comes the real question:
Will you listen?
Will you apply it?
Will you BE wise—and BEHAVE wisely?
Knowledge can tell you what is right.
Wisdom helps you do it.
THE POSITION OF GOD IS TAKEN
Someone needs to notify the ego:
The position of God has already been filled.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”
In practical Richie speak:
Stop trying to play God—the Creator—and faithfully play your part as creation.
He performs His part.
You perform yours.
There is one Creator.
Everything else is creation.
The GOD position is taken.
You may now behave yourself—and prosper.
PEARLS INSIGHT
Your gifts are not merely possessions. They are responsibilities.
Wisdom teaches you how to develop them.
Character determines how you use them.
Contentment prevents their success from owning you.
Humility reminds you where they came from.
RICHIE SPEAKS
Mine the gifts God placed within you.
Mind the character responsible for using them.
Earn without worshipping earnings.
Acquire without selling yourself.
Enjoy what you have without allowing “more” to rob you of “enough.”
And when the ego attempts to sit upon the throne, remind it that the seat is occupied.
FINAL SAY
Be true to yourself—but first make certain that the self you are following is aligned with truth.
Be grateful for today’s bread.
Be responsible with tomorrow’s possibilities.
Be wise.
BEHAVE.
And prosper in the ways that matter most.
— Richie
Pearls for the Soul
when you feed the soul, you feed everything.
https://pearlsforthesoul.com
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