Have you ever seen someone incredibly gifted, talented or smart, but they couldn’t seem to process everything they had going for them?

It is a painful thing to watch – A person who won’t listen and learn.

Every person, regardless of how much talent they have, needs mentoring, instruction, and coaching. They need outside help to funnel it into a direction that will propel them further in life.

Many people are like sports cars on the inside, but living life like a golf cart. They could do so much more, be better, think bigger, dream higher, reach goals they never thought possible, but alas, they can’t listen. They think they’re better than everyone else, or are just too stubborn to listen.

Johnny Manziel

Think Johnny Manziel. You’ve probably heard of him. A quarterback so potentially gifted that he was the first freshman in College Football History to win the Heisman Trophy, Manning Award and Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award. He even got a catchy moniker that flows like honey off the lips and feels good to say – “Johnny Football”.

The downside to this love-joy story is his personal life off the field. It’s a thing of tabloid legend. Internet sensationalism loves him. Even as I write this article, he is going through a domestic violence charge issue. And football? What football? He hasn’t played football in years, except maybe an occasional game in somebody’s backyard, but certainly not in an NFL stadium making millions of dollars. How could the great ‘Johnny Football’ go from being one of the greatest College Football players in history, to being a washed-up, tabloid head-liner in just a couple of years?

He’s not teachable.

He won’t listen to anybody who tries to help him. Coaches, teachers, parents, friends, teammates, nobody. He appears to act standoffish, stand-alonish.

When you take that mentality, it results in a tragedy we can see the world over. Where people with great talent, incredible intelligence, all the gifting they need to succed, can’t fulfill their purpose because they have an unteachable spirit.

An unteachable spirit is based in PRIDE.

Pride won’t listen. Pride won’t learn. Pride exalts itself. Pride causes a person to over-value themselves. Pride repeats over and over – “I’m better than you. I own you. I’m #1. Everyone look at me.” Pride looks down. Humility looks up.

ARE YOU A ‘JOHNNY FOOTBALL’?

Do you struggle with listening to people who give you advice and want to help you? Perhaps you don’t think you need any help. Perhaps your heart won’t let you accept help or criticism. Perhaps you had over-critical parents and it wounded your heart. Perhaps you got made fun of in school and think that any comments directed to you are an attack against you. I don’t know what your issue is, but if you an improvement in your quality of life – I would advise you to seek out counselors, coaches, mentors, and advisors who can help you.

Many people live their lives in frustration and disappointment, and yet won’t do the thing that should be the most obvious. That is to take a deep long look inward. Identify any root issues such as Pride, Self-Righteousness, Anger, Hate, Bitterness, Rejection and so on.

These attitudes (and spirits) prevent people from having a teachable spirit that would allow them to learn and develop. It’s a shame, because it would only help the person become better at whatever they are already talented at.

PERSONAL QUESTIONS:

Let me ask you a few questions before we really get into the article.

1. Does your default mindset operate out of the viewpoint that you are better than everyone else – thus you don’t need anyone to tell you what to do?
2. Do you think you’re smarter, know more, are more gifted, more talented, more persuasive, better looking, more athletic, etc than those around you? (how do you view your peers?)
3. When someone tells you something that you perceive as critical, how do you take it? Constructively? Defensively? Argumentatively? Do you get angry, start to pout and go on a self-pity trip and ignore people?
4. Do you feel that the people over you in authority are only trying to “hold you down” and “suppress” you?
5. Are you struggling even right now, to abide with patience and the grace of God where you are? Are you feeling impatience, urgency, and a need to do something, no matter whether it’s right or wrong?
6. When you ask people a question – do they hesitate to give you an answer? (Hint: they might be afraid of your response if they tell you the truth).

 

Take a moment and really think about your answers to the above questions so you can get a feel for where you are personally. I’m sure we all know people who are more than willing to dish out criticism and tell everyone else what they ought to do, but they never allow anyone to speak into their life. It’s been a personal viewpoint of mine to always be on guard when one of these people are in my presence. You probably are to and may not realize it. It is like a big red-flag waving in the wind.

PAUL: ZEAL IN THE WRONG DIRECTION

The Greek word zelos (#G2205) is translated “excitement of mind, ardor, fervor of spirit”.

This is the word that the apostle Paul used in describing how he persecuted the church of the living God (Phil 3:6). He was zealous for sure, but his zeal was misguided, destructive, and actually working against the very God he was trying to serve! Paul was doing what he THOUGHT was right; however, everything he was doing was actually dead wrong!

No doubt he was praying, fasting, pouring over scriptures, reading letters, and hanging out with people who were religious. All of those things combined did not change the fact that he was actually working in opposition to the God he thought he served. He was praying to him, reading about him, keeping his mind on him – yet everything he was doing was dead wrong. Literally. Like Paul was going around killing men and women of the church. He consented to the stoning to death of the disciple Stephen. Sounds crazy huh? How could all this passionate devotion be wrong?

Paul was so caught up in himself, that I don’t believe there was a single person who could get ahold of Paul. He recounts of himself in Phil 3:5-6,

“circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee, concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.”

In other words, as far as devotion and religion was concerned, Paul had it going on.

It took a divine encounter from Jesus to literally knock him off his high horse! Paul was struck with blindness for 3 days, led by the hand of those with him, and taken to a house in Damascus to await further instructions. If anyone understood the dangers of zeal gone wrong, it was Paul. He said in Romans 10:1-2 (NIV),

“…my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I CAN TESTIFY about them that they are zealous for God, but their ZEAL is NOT based on knowledge.”

Zeal is NOT a bad thing in and of itself, but it’s ironic that often, the most talented, gifted, and intelligent people struggle the most with harnessing it. They do not want to listen or learn. “ya, ya, I got this.” They figure out they can just get by. They do not want to give control of their lives to anyone else.

“Average” operates from the mindset that they know it all. Nobody can tell them what to do. They got it figured out. Their talents and gifts make room for them, and quick success and instant gratification lead them to believe they can make it on their own, do their own thing, or go their own way.

People who know they need help are usually quick and willing to seek out council and get help instead of relying on themselves. And when they get it – they analyze it and see how to incorporate it into their life so they can enhance their quality of life. Solomon said in Prov 24:6b,

“…in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.”

My grandad graduated from Texas A&M in the top of his class and ended up teaching in High School for over 40 years. As he watched the lives of the people he taught grow up and go through life, he noticed something profound. It appeared that the kids who had average grades in school often fared better in life than the ones who were super smart and made wonderful grades. What was the difference? I believe it was that the people who made average grades were more willing to receive help because they knew they needed it. They were willing to seek out someone to help them. They just got things done.

Preachers, teachers, coaches, and parents are not trying to shut down people’s emotions, zeal, enthusiasm, encouragement, and love for whatever people are trying to do – we are only trying to harness it so that all the energy, zeal, desire, and passion can be funneled in a correct manner and way.

SPORTING EXAMPLES

GOLF

Imagine this scenario. Picture Tiger Woods or Jordan Spieth in the final round of a golf tournament. The match is tied, the championship is at stake, it’s the last hole and millions of dollars are at stake. Now, do you imagine that they would try to hit the golf ball like Adam Sandler did in the movie “Happy Gilmore”? You’ve probably seen the swing. He would start about 10 feet behind the ball, lower his head, start running to the ball, give a huge windup and then powerfully swing the club in a modified baseball/hockey swing. It was awesome. It looked like it should work. In fact, I’ve tried it myself before.

How come nobody on the PGA tour does that? You never see a PGA pro do that. Happy Gilmore’s swing was made for the movies but not for real life. If that swing worked, all the pros would be doing it because they want to win and they like money. That’s why they play the game. What is dramatic and funny in the movie does not translate to real life.

Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth seem to have all the talent in the world, and yet they each have a golf coach. Why? Because they know that no matter how much talent they have – it has to be harnessed to be effective.

Each of them have spent years training under the instruction of a coach on the driving range. It didn’t matter if it was good weather, bad weather, sunny days or cloudy skies. They had to learn how to groove their swing until it became natural and fluid. They have learned to control their energy, zeal and passion, and to funnel into a proven golf swing that works time and time again. The more predictable and repeatable, the better. The swing may not look as powerful and awesome as Happy Gilmore’s, but theirs golf swing wins championships, green jackets, and builds legacies.

When they step on the tee box, it doesn’t matter to them how much they want to outdrive the person next to them. They stick to the same disciplined swing they’ve practiced all along. They’ve grooved it until it’s natural. They spent hours upon hours of listening to someone tell them how to line up, where to put their feet, how to hold the club, and what their stance should be like. It doesn’t seem like that’s how it should be, after all, their the ones with all the talent right?

The coach is the unsung hero of their story. The mentors that never got the spotlight, never got the recognition, the trophies, the pictures, the money, or a green jacket. Yet without these individuals, the great players may never have been what they’ve become. The mentor reached down into a willing vessel and pulled the greatness they had to offer out of them.

Pro golfers will take their coach with them to their tournament, or at least talk them on a daily basis. The coach is constantly watching their swing and giving them feedback so they can adjust the swing as necessary. What if the golfer didn’t want to listen? What if they thought they knew more than the coach? Why do they need a coach in the first place? Aren’t they like the best golfers in the world? Can the coach play as well as they can? Probably not. But the golfer knows that a coach is needed and they’re willing to pay them big money to teach them. Why? Because they know they need someone to direct their energy for their own success. They want to win. The battle for the pro becomes, who is the best TEACHER!

FOOTBALL

When it comes game time, most football players are jacked up and ready to roll. They’re full of passion. They’re ready to hit somebody. Ready to release some pent-up anger and frustration. This is gameday. I mean, who doesn’t football?

When I think of great football, it’s hard not to think of Nick Saban who coaches the Alabama Crimson Tide. He turns good players into great players by teaching them to harness their zeal and passion. He does NOT just let his players run all over the field doing whatever they want, when they want. He teaches them to stay in their zone and play their position to the best of their ability. The entire team needs each other to harness their individual zeal and stay true to the system that is in place.

For example, picture a defensive player, like a linebacker or safety. They may see the play is going the other side of the field. Everyone and everything is moving AWAY FROM them, not TO them. This person feels left out. Missing out on the action. Where’s the lights, camera, and action? I wanna hit somebody! This is NOT my plan! Everyone else is getting the spotlight.

The player feels terrible. The team needs him. He should be over there helping them tackle that guy. Look at them, they need help. They’ve been getting beat up, and his buddies need all his strength and passion! “Let me at em!” he says. However, IF he runs to the other side of the field for action – he WILL be OUT OF POSITION. What he wants to do sounds great, and probably feels great – but it is absolutely the wrong thing to do!

Why?

Because if the other team runs a REVERSE or END AROUND, then all the action is going to swing BACK to his side of the field and he will be OUT of position. It will be his MOMENT, but instead of being a hero, he’s going to be a fool. Instead of making headlines of heroics, he’ll make headlines of humor. The gag is on him. He’s the dunce of the party.

His undisciplined, uncontrolled passion actually backfired and let the entire team down.

Zeal is NOT squashed, suppressed pushed-down or denied — It is only harnessed and funneled for the benefit of the player, and everyone else on the team.

MUSICIAN

There are probably millions upon millions of musicians throughout the world. Of course, there are many different instruments, musical styles, and perceptions of what sounds good.

They have lots of zeal/passion. You’re probably seen a funny video on YouTube or similar, where a person has lots of zeal but no talent and plays a horrible musical piece. It’s funny for a few seconds, then grates on the nerves. What’s wrong with this picture? (or video ) They have passion. They have zeal. They may get mad if you try to help them. One thing none of us will do – is listen to them very long!

Why?

We can’t bear it. It’s terrible.

It’s zeal and passion out of control!

A talented musician will spend hours upon hours directing and funneling their zeal and passion into controlled movements. They are learning how to APPLY, and how to CONTROL their talent and funnel it into something beautiful. It separates the quality of musicians.

The quality musician takes the time to learn scales, chords, progressions, and theory. They do NOT erupt into spasm of uncontrolled passion just because it feels good. It would destroy the musical piece and what they were building up to. Their fingers gain dexterity. Their ears learn to pick out the notes they couldn’t hear before. They gain understanding of musical theory. They add more songs to their repertoire. They get an instructor who will help them harness their talents because they know it will only benefit them in the long run.

Doing SOMETHING is NOT a great release. Doing something GREAT IS a great release.

TURNING AVERAGE INTO EXCELLENT

Controlled zeal turns potentially great players from average INTO people like Tiger Woods, Sergio Garcia, Michael Jordan, Dan Mario, John Elway, Tom Brady, etc.

Everyone must HARNESS their potential to be successful.
Picture the following activities and think about them in the context of controlled vs uncontrolled zeal:

– Archer
– Marksman
– Ballet dancer
– Drummer
– Doctor
– Accountant
– Scientist
– PREACHER

If you were going to have brain surgery – wouldn’t you want to know they had learned to harness all their ZEAL/PASSION to help you. Of course, you would. You would probably seek out a specialist. The best in the world. You know why? You want the person who has demonstrated discipline and training when it comes to putting your life into their hands, how much more your soul?

Picture a bull. A wild bull running up and down the road is dangerous – it’s called “Running of the bulls” and lots of people usually get hurt, but hey, they think it’s fun.

Take the bull out of that uncontrolled environment, put a yoke on him and you can plow a field or pull a tree stump out of the ground. One picture is destructive – the other is constructive.

How about electricity? Don’t you love the fact the power of your home stays where it is, doing what it’s supposed to? You go to the fridge and it works. You can jump in the shower and have hot water. It’s dark outside, but you hit the light switch and light comes on. You know why? Because the electrical current is staying in position and doing what it’s supposed to do. When electricity gets OUT of control – it burns houses down!

I could go on and on with more examples, but I think you get the point.

IS GOD TRYING TO ‘SUPPRESS’ AND ‘BREAK’ ME?

I would probably answer that with another question. Are you teachable?

God is NOT trying to tear you down, destroy you, beat you up, hinder you, or hurt you. God is the one who gave you the very gifts, talents, and intelligence that you have.

He wants to help you harness it so that YOU can be even MORE successful than you already are! He wants to turn you from average into excellent! He wants to make what you are passionate about into a delight to you. He wants you to have joy in what he’s blessed you with. He gets glory when you are successful in living for him.

When you do what you can, and he does what you can’t – his kingdom and everyone in it gets blessed!

God delights and desires in you getting the limelight. He wants you to hit a beautiful drive 300 yards down the middle of the fairway. You look good and bring him glory with the power, zeal, and ability to do that. God looks good as your creator, coach, teacher, and guide. He wants you to be able to hit shot after shot, and make progress in your life with as few mistakes as possible. He has no pleasure in you constantly making shot after shot from the rough, from behind trees, from out of the sand, taking penalty strokes everywhere you go and looking like a fool.

If you think YOU’RE frustrated about things, how do you think HE feels watching you struggle, hitting the wrong notes, playing off key, making bad choices, and getting your life in a mess? You are his son or daughter. Do you think that makes him feel good as your father? As your friend, mentor and helper?

God is NOT trying to keep you OUT of the game when he teaches you to stay in your position. You’re actually helping yourself and those around you. Your desire and zeal may tell and compel you to fly across the field and let everyone know how awesome you are. Sure, you want to be in the action, but your team, coach and fans are all depending on you to stay in position and do what you’ve been taught.

The enemy loves to turn shooting stars into falling stars.

Don’t get burned by the enemy. Stay in your position so you don’t get burned time after time when they fool you and run and end-around on you. The enemy can make your ZEAL, DESIRE, and PASSION become YOUR biggest ENEMY. He can turn what should be a great strength into a terrible weakness. Ask the biblical Samson. His passion was uncontrolled and he found a woman named Delilah. You know the story. He got his eyes cut out and ended up committing suicide. He learned what uncontrolled zeal can do for you.

The devil loves to set people up.

The devil will run play after play in the other direction to get you anxious and over-zealous. He gets you impatient. Then he’s got you. When you can’t handle it anymore and get out of position but running all over – he’ll run it around behind you. Too late you realize, YOU’VE been PLAYED! SET UP! You will got burned.

How does it feel when you ran across the field to get in on the action, thinking you were going to be a hero and do great things, only to realize you were OUT of position? The enemy ran behind you with the ball, and the whole stadium is looking at you wondering why you aren’t in position and how pathetic you are?

Oh, and the enemy?

Laughing in your face, jumping up and down, celebrating, spiking the ball in the end zone as you let your team down by NOT staying in position.

You?

Your head is hanging because you wouldn’t listen.

SUMMARY – EXCELLENCE PERSONIFIED

So, what am I trying to say?

To have your zeal, passion and desire harnessed, funneled and controlled is a GOOD thing! It’s not only good for the Kingdom of God, but it’s also good for you, your church, and your family.

Stay in position! Learn to control yourself. Control your talents, gifts, and ability. Harness it!

Controlled Zeal turns a power-yielding, fire-breathing preacher into the very hand and breath of God in the Earth and atmosphere. Uncontrolled, it would have great destruction upon the world, but harnessed, it turns a murdering Moses into a Red Sea-splitting Man of God.

It turns a coward, inferiority-complex driven Gideon into a man who with only 300 men could destroy an army almost 5 times its size.

It turns an unsure and hesitant Joshua into a Promised land conquering general.

It turned a brash, arrogant Joseph, who bragged about his dreams, into a loving, forgiving man, who saved not only the nation of Egypt, but also the very people who had betrayed him and sold him into slavery.

It turned zealous, often-out-of-control, Peter into a man who would stand on the day of Pentecost and declare the gospel saving message to everyone gathered there. Peter who denied Christ three times, ended up giving the message of salvation to the Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles.

Controlled ZEAL takes a religious murdering fanatic named Saul, and turned him into a kind, loving man who laid his life on the line and never fought back nor resisted persecution. He would operate in great signs, wonder, miracles, healings and end up writing 2/3 of the New Testament! What a change controlled zeal brought!

I could go on and on with more examples of this, but the moral of the story is God brings correction, time-delay, and many other things to purge the branch of the vine that it may bring forth even more fruit to his glory.

There’s good news! If he is still working on you, and you still have breath to breathe, you can let the potter mold you into the image he wants you to be.

WHAT TO DO

1. All things work together for Good (Rom 8:28)

You may feel like the world is passing you buy right now and all your talents are being wasted. You may feel that nobody can help you or enhance you in any way.

I think it’s interesting that Jesus spent 30 years preparing for a 3 year ministry, and many preachers spend 3 years preparing for a 30 year ministry.

Jesus didn’t think 30 years was a waste. He knew all things, yet he sat in the temple asking questions (Luke 2:46).

Joseph was betrayed by his family, sold into slavery, forced to work in Potiphar’s house, falsely-accused and put in prison. There he served day after day. Did he do nothing? No. He worked interpreting other people’s dreams. He was still doing what God had empowered him to do. In ONE day, he was elevated from the prison house to the Palace. He became 2nd in command of all of Egypt. The only person more powerful than him was Pharaoh himself. The 13 years of misery were over! I’m sure Joseph didn’t feel like everything was wasted when he was sitting on a throne enjoying the good life. Joseph ended up forgiving his brothers and told them this,

“But as for you, ye thought evil against me, but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.” (Gen 50:20)

It all worked out for GOOD! That God he endured it or he wouldn’t have saved his family in the end!

2.There’s no new thing under the sun.

Somebody already knows how to do what you want, and how to do it well. Seek out mentors. It will save you time, money, frustration, and a ton of mistakes. The wise man Solomon said,

“...the thing that hath been, it is that which shall be…and there is no new thing under the sun.”

Finding a good mentor and learning all you can, will exponentially speed up your own career. If you went to a doctor, would you want to go to the doctor who is figuring out things while he’s working on people? Of course not.

3.Be teachable

Nobody likes being around a know-it-all, or someone who won’t listen. You know what I’m talking about. There’s always that one person in every conversation who’s always been everywhere, done everything, and knows all about it. Don’t be that person. Just…don’t.

If you don’t like being around that kind of person, why do you want to BE that person? James said,

“…let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak…” (James 1:19).

You know what he was saying? If you open your ears instead of your mouth, you’ll learn something. If you’ll listen to others, then you’ll know what you know, plus what they know. Winning combination.

Be willing to receive what others have to say.

4.God wants the best for you

God is NOT your enemy. You are being transformed into his image. You are his friend. You must base your relationship with him in love and know that no matter what comes along in life, God is trying to make you like him, and that’s ultimately the best gift anyone could have – to be like him.