Greater Capacity Means Greater Responsibility


“Potiphar … made Joseph his personal attendant. He put him in charge of his entire household and everything he owned. From the day Joseph was put in charge of his master’s household and property, the LORD began to bless Potiphar’s household for Joseph’s sake.” 
(Genesis 39:4-5a NLT)

What is your potential for growth?

Are you going to read any books in the next year? Are you going to take any seminars? Are you going to grow? Are you going to develop any skills? Are you going to learn any relationship skills? Or are you just going to be the same 10 years from today as you are right now?

Capacity is your potential for growth. It’s important because people who increase in competence are given greater responsibility in their work.

All leaders are learners. The moment you stop learning, you stop leading. Growing businesses require growing people. The moment you stop growing, the business can’t grow.

There are staff members who have been at Saddleback Church for 30 years or more, and their number one characteristic is the ability to keep growing and learning and not insisting on doing the same thing they’ve always done but instead trying new methods and coming up with new ideas.

This is what happened with Joseph. He grew in capacity by stretching himself and learning and growing. Genesis 39:4-5 says, “Potiphar … made Joseph his personal attendant. He put him in charge of his entire household and everything he owned. From the day Joseph was put in charge of his master’s household and property, the LORD began to bless Potiphar’s household for Joseph’s sake” (NLT).

Is God blessing the business you work for? Is that church, that business, that organization prospering because you’re there? Do you have that kind of capacity?

When Joseph was put in charge, the Lord began to bless Potiphar for Joseph’s sake. “All his household affairs ran smoothly, and his crops and livestock flourished” (Genesis 39:5b). Why? Because Joseph had capacity.

When Joseph was taken to Egypt as a slave, he wasn’t able to handle all that stuff. He had to learn how to manage livestock and a household. He had to learn and grow as he was given more responsibility.

If you stop learning new skills and say, “That’s all I need to know,” you’re limiting your capacity. But if you keep learning, you’ll keep growing, and God will keep blessing.

Talk It Over
  • What are some practical steps you can take this week to learn a new skill or gain new knowledge about your job or your field of work?
  • Increasing your capacity often takes initiative and sometimes even sacrifice. Why is it important for an employer to see these traits in your work?
  • Are you considering a career change because you believe you’ve gone as far as you can go in your present job? Spend some time in prayer, asking God to show you how you can increase your capacity in your work and ways to grow personally and professionally.
~ Written by: Rick Warren ~
~ Modified by: Oleg Fabyanchuk ~

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