Everybody Has Something
Nature never created a failure, all failures are man-made! This was a striking statement for me the first time i came across it. But why is this so, I began to inquire; What about those who through no fault of theirs end up in the most tragic of circumstances or situations. For example, those unfortunately born blind or deaf or with one kind of disability or the other. What about that? Does this statement also hold true for them too? What could a disabled really do or what could someone of very limited education or born in abject poverty really accomplish in life? Well, I had my doubts just as you now have yours as to the validity or practicality of such an “extravagant” claim but now I believe without any shadow of doubt whatsoever that there is no one useless or good for nothing. I agree it might take some work or training or fine-tuning or digging but that does not invalidate the fact of the matter.
No excuse or circumstance or explanation for failure will be adequate to explain away failure because you can find at least five people who had the same or even worst experiences but still managed to soar above the limitations by refusing to take refuge in their excuses. Men in history have scaled over physical disabilities, lack of education, abject poverty to reach out for glories far beyond their wildest imagination or possibility. I think it will be very unfair if God allowed an individual to the earth just to be a burden to his fellow men. The parable of the talents makes this clear as each of the servants had at least one talent.
The problem is not how much you have but your attitude towards what has been freely given. If you don’t concentrate on how you can multiply what has been freely given to you but are envious of how much someone has, there is no motivation for productivity and creativity. Someone may have five talents but that does not automatically turn your one talent to zero. Don’t despise what you have in your hand and bury it in the ground because you think it’s too small to accomplish anything meaningful.
How much has been dealt with you is dependent on your ability to manage and when you have proven to be a good steward more will be added. There is no barren land, only unproductive people. The grass will always look greener on the other side but you can also be the subject of envy when you cultivate what is in your hands and reach. We need a paradigm shift if we going to walk in the revelation that we are not less than anyone.
The biography of Helen Keller is a challenging one. At the age of nineteen, she contracted an illness that left her deaf and blind for life, yet she was the first deaf and blind person to earn a bachelor of arts degree. She went on to become an author, political activist, and lecturer. She is noted to have said;
The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight but no vision.
She proved that disability is not an excuse for unproductiveness and poverty and that mental capacity determines one’s worth in life. Nicholas Vujicic is an Australian Christian evangelist and motivational speaker, who was born with a rare disorder characterized by the absence of all four limbs. Although he struggled mentally, emotionally, and physically and even attempted suicide in his early life, he later came to terms with his uniqueness and rose above the turbulence of insecurity and self-pity, and is now a voice of hope and inspiration in his generation.
He graduated from Griffith University at the age of twenty-one with a Bachelor of Commerce, with a double major in accountancy and financial planning. He is now a motivational speaker, traveling internationally and focusing on teenage problems. He has addressed over three million people in almost sixty countries on five continents; he speaks to corporate audiences, congregations, and schools.
His first book titled “Life Without Limits”: Inspiration for a Ridiculously Good Life was published in 2010. In March 2008, Bob Cummings interviewed him for the 20/20 American television show. He also starred in the short film “The Butterfly Circus”, which won the Doorpost Film Project’s top prize of 2009. In 2010, the film also won two awards as the Best Short Film at the 2010 Method Fest Independent Film Festival. Butterfly Circus also won the best short film award at The Feel Good Film Festival in Hollywood in 2010. He proved that indeed:
There is no mountain anywhere, Every man’s ignorance is his mountain – Bishop David Oyedepo
Living in self-pity and complaining because of what you think you don’t have that others have will only abort your destiny. Your life’s assessment will not be based on what others have but on what was placed in your hands and what you made out of it.
Arise from the ashes of yesteryears, and receive a new direction for your life. The past may not be what you’re proud of but you can make a new beginning today and change the ending. Cast aside the old garment of dissatisfaction and excuses and put on a new garment of belief in what God has placed in your hands. It may be something as insignificant as a rod, but this rod can overthrow the forces of Egypt and part the red sea. It may be just a cruse of oil but exactly what is needed to pay the debt.
You are not an accident or a co-incident. You were divinely orchestrated and fearfully knit together for such a time as this for a purpose. Lift up your head and straighten your shoulders and stand out to be counted for you were created with great value and potential.
By Percy SA.