While rounding up my service year with NCCF that year, a young man approached me and said these words; “Papa, I envy you. I wish I was privileged to have been mentored and instructed as you. It would have made a huge difference. I am only gifted but not instructed.” That statement taught me a big lesson; an instructed man is better than a gifted man.
Friend, an instructed man is better than a gifted man. With all your getting, get instruction (Proverbs 4:13). Most people fail, not because of lack of gifts, but because of lack of instruction. A gifted man without instruction would self-destruct. Instructions keep you safe and lasting (Proverbs 5:23).
Instructions are the highways of life (Proverbs 6:23). No matter how gifted you are, someone needs to show you the way (Isaiah 30:20-21). Like King Lemuel or Queen Esther, no matter how highly placed you are in life, you need the voice of instructors in your life (Esther 4:13-17, Proverbs 31:1). Instructions would deliver you from the seduction of giftedness.
It is one thing to have an instructor in your life. It is another for you to heed instruction. Some people are blessed with instructors, but they turn deaf ears. People who despise instructions end up in prodigality. Like the prodigal son, the consequence of prodigality is wastage and lack (Luke 15:14-16).
You either learn by instruction or you learn by destruction. Instructions are not meant to put us in bondage. They are to free us from bondage. What you don’t learn in your father’s house, you would learn from a cruel master somewhere. Experience is the best teacher, provided it is not your own experience (1 Kings 12:1-16).
Instructions give you the opportunity to learn from the experience of others. No matter how gifted you are, you need a coach (1 Timothy 4:14-15). A coach does not supply the talent or skill. He supplies the training required to maximize your gifts. While it is good to discover your gifts, it is also very important to identify your trainer (Matthew 4:19, Acts 4:13). Every man is ordinary until trained.
‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria