giving credit where credit is due...in this credit market, there's lots of debt.

Where I work there are a certain amount of goals we have to meet as far as sales--which makes sense since it's a small business. So we have these certain items that we have to meet a certain goal for number wise. Often before I go into work, I will say a little prayer that God would help me to reach these goals. When I do meet these goals or exceed them, I tend to get prideful and over-confident in MY abilities. Now it's not that I feel that confidence is a bad thing--otherwise I'm in trouble for I may be one of the most confident people you'll meet--but rather it's realizing why I can be confident, who I am confident in, and that when I am successful (especially in answer to prayer), it is not because of myself but because of God. I hope that I can improve on being a beacon of what God has done through and for me. I have been blessed with many talents, and will admit that for the majority of my life I have used these talents to glorify myself...valedictorian, most rebounds in basketball, leadership positions and conferences galore...I gave my parents bragging rights and have boasted in and of myself multiple times. But I recognize this--Proverbs 27:2 says, "Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; someone else, and not your own lips."...so there's not really any wiggle room there. I need to just keep it shut when it comes to 'me me me' time. What I'm trying to drive home here is remember where the glory comes from. We are made in the image of God, the image of Christ--we are reflections of His handiwork and everything we are able to do is through and by the power He provides (Philippians 4:13). We can do nothing on our own (John 15:1-8). So when God blesses us with abilities, with beauty, with brains, with honor, with talent, etc. we need to appreciate and credit the source [God, our Creator]. In the same vein, when we see other's talents it is also important that we give God the credit for their talents and see His glory in them, that we are not jealous of them and do not covet their talents. He has given each of us a divine purpose, and we need to seek that and not feel down when we aren't the best singers, writers, speakers, etc. We each have our strengths and weaknesses--but hey, if we all spoke well, there'd be no one to listen, and then speaking would be quite pointless. When we fall short of our goals, it is also important that we seek to understand God's purpose in that. Sometimes it's that He wants us to be good, but that He wants more of our heart in the situation and more effort put forth. Sometimes our failures are to humble us when pride overtakes our ability to be good witnesses for Him. Other times we fail because God is trying to point us in another direction, and failure is sometimes the only way our stubborn minds will look to His will and not our own. He's got a great story for your life (Jeremiah 29:11), and when He allows you to be a success in something, make sure you remember to credit the Big Guy (God). Fortunately, He charges no interest, but He does have an interest in you :)