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Resourcefulness vs. Wastefulness

"Finding practical uses for that which others would overlook or discard"

 

 

 RESOURCEFULNESS - A Four-Minute Sermon

Faith Committee, Character Council of Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky

Contributed by Clyde C. Miller

Senior Pastor (Retired), First Christian Assembly, Cincinnati, OH

November 28, 2001


THERE'S ALWAYS A WAY

Outline:

    1. The Soul of The Word
    2. Resourcefulness Defined
    3. The Bible is Full of Resourcefulness
    4. Four Traits of Resourceful People
    5. Conclusion

  1. THE SOUL OF THE WORD

    For me, word studies are fun, because if you look closely into the "soul" of the word, you often find it giving up its meaning even without the help of "Brother Webster". Resourcefulness is such a word. For instance, the heart (soul) of the word is "source", meaning "the starting point of a stream or spring". Add the prefix "re", which means "again", then the suffix "ful", meaning "full of' or "characterized by" and the second suffix "ness", which means "state of being", --and VOILA! You have it.

  2. RESOURCEFULNESS DEFINED

    Re source ful ness -- The "state of being full of a constant or repeating source", --or a spring that doesn't dry up. When you need it, it's there. A resourceful person is one who has the ability to deal with any problem or condition that "springs up". When problems "spring up"-- so does this person's "spring" of ideas or answers.

    It is resourcefulness that allowed Thomas Edison to invent the electric light bulb. It was resourcefulness that propelled that home product giant, Proctor and Gamble, onto its path to wealth and fame when its founder got too much air into his soap mixture and caused the bar to float. Marketing resourcefulness "kicked in" when Mr. Proctor was pondering a name for his new buoyant bar. As the congregation in church that Sunday morning sang the hymn, "Out of the Ivory Palaces", his resourceful mind strayed from the sublime to soap, --and he thought, "That's it! We'll call our white floating soap, Ivory." Ivory became the vehicle on which P & G would ride to the heights of the stock market.

  3. THE BIBLE IS FULL OF RESOURCEFULNESS

    And the Bible is full of "Resourcefulness".

    1. What about Moses' mother, who set him afloat in the first "infant seat" right down the Nile straight into the heart of Pharaoh's daughter who was bathing that afternoon? (Too bad she didn't have some Ivory soap!). Maybe it was the resourcefulness of one of the Hebrew mothers that caught and played on her heart strings.

    2. And one of my favorites: --the four men who were carrying their palsied friend to be healed by Jesus. They came to the house of meeting and found it packed--and no one would give up their space. No problem! Up on the housetop with their shaking friend, tear a hole in the roof just above Jesus and let the friend down right in front of Him. I can imagine Jesus laughing as the debris started falling on the mesmerized crowd and His looking up into the eyes of the four determined friends and saying to Himself, "Now that's resourcefulness".

  4. FOUR TRAITS OF RESOURCEFUL PEOPLE

    Can only creative people be resourceful? Not necessarily. While it is harder for pragmatic people to think "outside the box", it can still be done. Here are four traits of resourceful people:

    1. They refuse to quit. They are doggedly determined. They know where they want to go and they are determined to get there, by George! But it's more than dogged determination. Someone said, "Practice makes perfect." But another and wiser added, " Perfect practice makes perfect." Right!
    2. They believe that "there's always a way"! And they will search until they find it.
    3. They are willing to ask for help! Resourceful people know that right results are more important than their stubborn pride when it is senseless.
    4. They know how to "see the unseen"! They refuse to give in to those seven fatal words, "We never did it that way before."

  5. CONCLUSION

    And finally, God has put a "spring", a source, in each of us that only He can fully activate. It's right there in the book of James in plain English: "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, Who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him." That's the Source. Let us have the condition of going to Him again and again! Amen!
 

 

This material is published by the Faith Committee of the Character Council of Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. Reproduction and Adaptation is encouraged.