As a young boy, I heard many preachers talk about the importance of giving the best of our resources to God e.g. our time, energy, money, etc. I have worked as a consultant with several organizations around the globe and I have observed, to my chagrin, that many Christians rarely give their intellect to God. Whenever I attempt to compare some believers’ attitudes in their workplaces with that they exhibit in the ministry, I realize it is long overdue for us to discuss or emphasize the need for us to give our intellect to God.
Many believers possess great brains which they use primarily to enrich their employers. Some work 8am to 8pm using their creativity and intellect to maximum capacity for ‘peanuts’ but the same measure of intellect is not reflected in the work they do for God. I see many believers spend much money to develop their intellect for use at their work or business; they attend all kinds of courses and write numerous professional exams for certifications, but little effort is given to renewing the mind with the Word, and developing our intellect for the Master’s use.
I know a guy who works at the IT helpdesk of his company. He receives users’ complaints via phone calls and provides first level of support as much as possible. His monthly reports to management show elaborate root cause analyses for all logged calls. The same brother is responsible for handling church calls/ enquiries to a mobile phone but he doesn’t even have a register to log the church calls. What a shame!
Similarly, some believers go all out to prepare “world class” visual presentations at work but do dismally in their weekly Sunday school presentations.
Recently, a pastor saw our magazine – Today’s Lifeline and said – “this magazine is so rich in content and quality, but it’s unfortunate that it will not last because Christian magazines don’t last in Nigeria. More so, the quality is even higher than magazines we have seen before, so I don’t see how you guys can sustain it”. Can you imagine that? If he had seen such quality from a secular magazine, he would not have made such a comment. Where did we pick up the mentality that we don’t give the best of the best for the things of God?
Perhaps we should read Matthew 22:37 (MSG) again. Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.” Some other versions say we should love God with “all our minds”. The mind is the seat of our intellect and you cannot claim to love God, if there is no visible proof that you have given him your intellect.
If many believers were to put in the same level of intelligence they use for the work of God at their workplaces, they would be without a job or client today. We need to start acting differently. Some people ask how I am able to give so much time and creativity working in the ministry despite my full time vocation. One of the reasons is that I hate giving to God less than I would ordinarily do to my work. Beloved, you are God’s handiwork, created for His good works. He needs those brains performing at ‘full bars’ at all times. When will this generation start to see evidence that you are giving God all your intellect on a daily basis?
– Tope S. Aladenusi
