New Year Advice From Proverbs

As we start the New Year I ran across this passage. 

Proverbs 18:16(NKJV)

16    A man’s gift makes room for him,      And brings him before great men.

A man's gift makes room for him.  What the heck does that mean?  And how about the second part?  "And brings him before great men."

Here is my take on it.  God has given each of us unique gifts and abilities.  Unfortunately many people never really take account of their gifts and so spend their lives doing things that don't utilize the gifts that God gave them.

Now I'm not talking anything evil or bad.  I'm just talking about how so many people take the first thing that comes along and then spend their lives doing something to earn a living that they aren't really passionate about.  They settle into a life of mediocrity instead of leading a life of excellence.

Proverbs on the other hand tells us that if we identify our gifts and actually use them, God will figure out how to make that work in our lives.  And what about the second part?

There are a couple of things there.  The first part is that when we are really passionate about using our gifts we tend to not be average.  We tend to excel.  Great men, men who excel, like to meet and know other people who excel. 

That's all well and good but what are the benefits to the believer of going before great men?  I believe that it opens up opportunities that they would never have dealing with just average people.  Does that make sense?   

So as we start 2015, for me it seems like a great time to take note of my gifts and make sure I am using them the way God would have me do. 

Here is hoping that you all have a blessed and prosperous New Year!