[This is my first post of eight in my “Vintage Wednesday” series on “The Great Initiator,” re-written/updated from a blogpost back in April of 2011.]

The Scriptures tells us that God is the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). Two Old Testament authors propose that He also sustains us in the middle (Psalm 55:22, Isaiah 46:4). And according to 1 Peter 2:9, God calls us out of darkness into His wonderful light. You could say that God is the “Great Initiator.”

Over the next few weeks, I will be looking at a number of Bible characters and show how their leadership was initiated and sustained by God for their success. Too often we adopt the concept—whether stated explicitly or not—that we have pulled ourselves up by our own bootstraps. “I worked for this…I earned it…I deserve what I have.” 

First of all, no one can pull themselves up by their own bootstraps. And secondly, almost everyone's success—especially for those of us from North America—is due to number of factors. Many of us were:

1. Born into a stable family where love was the operating software, good nutrition and health were normative, and a solid education was a given.
2. Trained in disciplines (think “chores”) from an early age and taught how to work, hence having a work ethic.
3. Raised in a country that protects individual rights, religious freedoms, and gives ample opportunities for economic flourishing.

So practice gratitude. Be ever grateful for your opportunities in life and never take them for granted. And secondly, practice generosity. Share freely and sacrificially what you have been given. It's both a responsibility and an occasion for joy.