Reaching our Potential

But story after story told me that there was no option of uni for these Filipinos as they were working these jobs to pay for the basic needs of their family.

Matthew 20.1-16

Reference: v.3-4 "About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.'" (NIV Bible)

 

Explore: Last year I led a short-term missions team to the Philippines. After the team had gone back to Australia I stayed for another couple of weeks. The Philippines is a beautiful country filled with the most wonderful people, however there is much greed and corruption there which leads to vast amounts of poverty. One thing that grieved me most was meeting the waiters at restaurants. They were young, intelligent, attractive, assertive people and in Australia you would assume that they were just paying their way through university. But story after story told me that there was no option of uni for these Filipinos as they were working these jobs to pay for the basic needs of their family. Because there were no funds for tertiary study, these amazing young people would be stuck these low paying jobs for the rest of their lives. They would not earn enough to bring their families out of poverty but would just continue the cycle. Young people with so much going for them are not being given the chance to reach their potential.
I wonder whether the landowner felt the same way for those that were waiting for work in this parable. These capable workers were not reaching their potential and the landowner was willing to pay a high price for them to use their skills.

Application: There are many people, even in developed countries, who do not reach their potential. God has given us all skills and abilities and if we are not using them to build God's kingdom then we are not fully reaching our potential. While the world looks at our bank balance to see if we are a success we need to assess whether we are working within our area of passion to bring glory to God.

Prayer: Lord, You have been so generous to each of us with the gifts you have given. May we use them to bring glory to your name. Amen.

Do you feel you are reaching your potential?  Do you see others who are not reaching their potential?   Are there ways we can help others to be their best?