Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. All that you do must be done in love- 1st Corinthians 16:13-14 NASB

Every believer in Jesus is literally bursting with all sorts of spiritual potential.  

It’s true.

Even those who don’t think they have it, have it. Spiritual potential is a fundamental component of the salvation starter package all Christian receive (Romans 10:9-11, Ephesians 1:13-14).  Therefore, anyone who yields their life to the Lordship of Jesus is blessed with gifts, talents and opportunities to use their gifts and talents to glorify God. We glorify God and maximize our spiritual potential by building the Kingdom of God and becoming more like Jesus in word and deed (Romans 12:2-8, 1st Corinthians 12:4-31, Hebrews 2:4). 

However. 

Spiritual potential can be squandered (Matthew 25:14-30). There are those who make the most of their potential for a season and get tripped up by sin or selfishness or just garden-variety idiocy (Matthew 13:3-9, Mark 7:21-23, Galatians 5:7, Ephesians 4:26-28). Others use their giftedness for their own gain. Some lack the moral discipline necessary to become spiritually stable and never really grow enough to maximize their potential (Judges 13-16).

Mercifully, all those outcomes are completely preventable. 

The Holy Spirit is our helper and guide (John 14:26). Therefore, we have everything we need to make a positive difference in this world. Maximizing our spiritual potential means always keeping a healthy fear of the Lord in mind all the time (Psalm 25:14, Proverbs 1:7, Philippians 2:12). We work out our salvation by being intentional about what we do and don’t do (Ephesians 5:14-16). If we live prudently, we will successfully squeeze out every drop of spiritual potential and be greeted with “well done good and faithful servant” when we see Jesus for the first time (Matthew 25:21). Spiritual success begins with:

Making Jesus our center-

Jesus cannot just be an accessory or an addon if we want to maximize our potential. Jesus must be central to everything we do (Psalm 22:23, Matthew 5:16, Romans 15:5-7). He must be the truth that we declare everywhere we go and the one that we ultimately aim to please. God has given us all a mission field. Therefore, if you’re a stay-at-home mom, make God known to the other stay at home moms. If you’re a doctor or a dentist or a whatever God called you to be, make sure the people in your sphere of influence know who you serve and why.  

Refuse to circle the temptation- 

Nothing wastes spiritual potential faster than foolishly allowing a temptation to morph into a sin. Everyone has a sin that is uniquely appealing to them. These inclinations used to be called “besetting sins” or “ruling passions”. Besetting sins are the behaviors and attitudes we tend to go back to and struggle to let go of. For some it’s a longing to numb out with alcohol, food or drugs (Ephesians 5:18). For others it’s an unhealthy desire to be admired that results in conforming to the world system to make friends and keep the peace (Romans 12:2, Proverbs 29:25, John 12:43). For still others, it’s greed, self-centeredness (Ephesians 5:5) or lying (Colossians 3:9, James 3:13-15). For many the temptation is sexual in nature (1st Corinthians 6:9-11). One key to dealing with a besetting sin is to stay as far away from the sin or temptation as possible. Unfortunately, if we are not walking in the fear of the Lord, we will do the exact opposite (Galatians 5:16). We will try to get as close to the sin as we can without actually committing the sin. We will circle the temptation. We will look at it, touch it and think about how good it would feel to indulge ourselves. Circling the temptation inevitably leads to sin. The answer is to NEVER circle the sin. 

Crucify your pride- 

Pride is more than just a really gross sin (Mark 7:21-23). Embracing it is the simplest way to shrink our spiritual potential and ensure we fail at everything that matters in life (Proverbs 16:18, Proverbs 11:2). Most who are sidelined spiritually owe their failure to pride.  Pride makes us too conceited to admit wrong, apologize for our errors and repent (Acts 3:19). Pride has a blinding effect; it makes us both unable to see our sin and unwilling to humble ourselves enough to own it.  Everybody fails. It just happens, having the humility to own our failure (Proverbs 29:23) ensures our missteps become steppingstones to growth and maturity. 

And finally,

Integrity is key-

Integrity is about more than simply doing the right thing. Integrity is also about owning our junk.  A few years back I found myself entangled in a situation with a spiritual leader and his wife. Both were blessed with an abundance of spiritual potential. Sadly, this couple got caught up in sin and refused to come clean or repent. It was an opportunity for growth everyone involved missed out on. The “spiritual accountability” (elder board) declined to deal with the issue appropriately. Instead, they went to great lengths to hide the whole messy muddle. No one involved is better off today (Galatians 6:7). The couple has regressed spiritually, their once flourishing church is flailing and the elder board that covered their sin has lost all moral authority due to issues unrelated to this one.  Sadly, this stuff happens all the time, but it is always one-hundred-percent preventable. All it really takes to prevent a spiritual calamity is a rock-solid commitment to making Jesus our center of everything and a commitment to live a life of integrity, humility and holiness.  With that in place, our spiritual potential is maximized, and we become spiritually unstoppable.