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Let it pass, step aside

Opinion & Analysis
Mankind’s prime excuse for failure to solve problems in life has been not having enough. Incapacity to advance has been wrongly attributed to little or inadequate resources.

devotion column: Erasmus Makarimayi

Mankind’s prime excuse for failure to solve problems in life has been not having enough. Incapacity to advance has been wrongly attributed to little or inadequate resources.

Business complains of lack of capital. In Zimbabwe, farmers complain, year in year out, about lack of inputs. Of course, no one questions what happens with previous year’s output lest they be labelled unpatriotic. Workers complain about inadequate remuneration. In brief, human development is shelved not because of exhaustion of what is there, but by waiting for what is not there.

Because there is no proof that what is there has been effectively and efficiently used, those that give, (the so-called donors) tend to withhold their hands. I am inundated with mails every week from people crying that they either don’t have or don’t receive enough. No one admits that they don’t use adequately and wisely what they have. It’s either the salary is not enough without a track record that the inadequate salary is being used adequately. It seems people don’t want to maximise what they have, but want to squander what they don’t have.

It’s high time Zimbabwe and Africa used wisely what is available in terms of human capital and natural resources. While we get support and knowhow from those more developed than us, we need to look at us. A look at biblical success shows that all those who made it used what was within reach and at their disposal. In feeding the four and five thousand, Jesus made use of the few fish and loaves that were available. God multiplied what was there and the multitudes ate to the full and there were leftovers. How much of what you have has been put to good use?

To deliver Israel, God did not rely on some outside super power. God used the person that was available, Moses. Moses himself had to use what he had. Exodus 4:2-3 reads; “And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod. And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.” Maximum and optimum use of what you have can produce tremendous power and unmatchable effect. What is your gift or talent? What is that you can do? Have you used it to the fullest?

Does it now appear to you that continuous looking to the east and west has closed your eyes from seeing into you? Innovation and creativity should be explored. Sometimes societies are exploited by outsiders who just come with shrewd mindset. They borrow from your bank or get your government guarantee to exploit you and your resources. In life you need to be always on the lookout for not making use of what God gave you. Beware of outside forces riding on you and driving your dear life. If you park your life and fail to use what you have, some cunning power will superimpose its agenda on you.

The little you have can do more than the much you don’t have. The more you use what you have the more God gives you more till you have extra to lend. Don’t cry over what the outside is denying you, but over what you are denying yourself. Personal growth expert Ken Keyes, Jr said: “To be upset over what you don’t have is to waste what you do have.”

Whatever little faith you have is enough for now if fully used. John Wooden adds: “Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” God told Gideon to fight the Midianites by the power he had and he prevailed. Judges 6:14 says: “And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?”

Start doing something through what you have access to. God loves to see seeds growing. Dwight D Eisenhower encourages you thus: “What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight – it’s the size of the fight in the dog.”

You need to know that those that have achieved more than you were once in a predicament almost like yours.

Stop complaining that you stay in a small room, drive a small car or operating from small business premises. Use the small or the little in a great way. Grace and peace be multiplied to you through knowledge.