Train up a child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent], and when he is old he will not depart from it. – Proverbs 22:6, Amplified Bible (AMP)

Whether you are a sports fan or not, you have to admire the great coaches that are always behind great teams. Great coaches do so many things well, including setting goals, inspiring their players, teaching their players what to do and what not to do to win, and re-directing their players when things aren’t going according to plan. But even good coaches do these things. Great coaches have a crucial talent that good coaches lack. Great coaches recognize the gifts of their players and then enable their players to use those gifts to the fullest.

Take New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, for example. Regardless of what you think about Belichick, he produces winning teams. The Patriots acquired Christian quarterback Tim Tebow earlier this year (2013). ESPN detailed Belichick’s use of Tebow in a pre-season game in August 2013:

Quarterback Tom Brady played the first 16 offensive snaps and the offense looked pretty similar to what we’ve seen in recent years… When No. 2 signal-caller Ryan Mallett came on for the next 25 offensive snaps, the majority of plays looked the same…Then there was Tim Tebow. After running a few conventional plays in the two-minute offense with little success, the Patriots reshaped their attack for Tebow.

When asked why the Patriots reshaped their offense for Tebow, Belichik explained:

…you want to try to be prepared for, and take advantage of, some of the players’ skills that you have…We’re just trying to take advantage of a particular player’s skill, and that’s no different than something we would do with a tight end, or a receiver, or running back who has a skill set that we want to try to take advantage of.

When a coach tries to force a player to fit into a system that does not match up with his or her skills, either mediocrity or disaster is the result. When a coach changes the program to take advantage of a player’s talents, excellence is the result.

As parents, teachers, employers, and/or leaders in any realm of life, we ought to cultivate this same skill of recognizing and enabling the talents of those we lead. This is exactly what God is telling us to do in Proverbs 22:6. Although there are standards of holiness and behavior God would have all of us to adhere to, He has created us all with a bent towards certain forms of service that He would have us to engage in. As leaders, we are to guide others in keeping with the talents, skills, and passions that God has given the people we lead, and when we do so, we enable them to flourish in God’s service. However, when we try to force others into a form of service that is contrary to their God-given bent, we force them into a life of mediocrity at best or disaster at worst.

As a leader, quit trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. Guide your players in accordance with their God-given gifts and bents. By doing so, you’ll help them to enjoy a life of personal fulfillment in whatever kind of work God has created them for.

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