Which is the Bigger Issue, Opportunity or Attitude?

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might…” (Eccl 9:10)
Many years ago I read of a young man who grew up in a poor neighborhood where there was very little to do. He wanted to stay in shape, but had no money for a gym membership. For exercise the young man used to push a car up and down the street.

Eventually he went from pushing the car to tackling running backs. He was pretty good at it. My brother once had the opportunity to speak with NFL running back Ron Johnson. He asked him, “What is it like to be tackled by Dick Butkus?” If I remember right the answer was, “A lot like being run over by a train.”

Dick Butkus could have become bitter about his lack of opportunities. Most American kids have more than a junk car to entertain them. But then, most American kids do not sign a contract for $200,000 as soon as they leave college. Most do not end up with a net worth of 8 million.

What is the lesson here? Perhaps the lesson is that sometimes our lack of opportunities, if responded to properly, become our opportunity.

So, if you do not have the opportunities that you wanted and prayed for, if God does not seem interested in giving you the gifts and ministries that you sought, maybe you should find an old car and push it. I am not suggesting that it will lead you to a net worth of millions, but I am sure that it will lead to something better than you will find by crying over the lack of opportunities.

If you cannot do the big jobs, do the small ones. If you cannot find the jobs that will gain you notoriety, do the ones no one will notice. But whatever you do, do it with your might – the best of your ability. Even if no one else notices, the Lord will know. Deep down you will know also, and you may in the end find more satisfaction in the simple and homely tasks than you really would have in the things you dreamed of doing.