what if I break it?

The other night I was communicating with a lady in California through a discussion forum (the internet is so cool), and she was making a statement......or maybe it was a question. She has this fear that when God makes something available for us to use.....what happens if we break it? Will He be upset with us?

I started wondering about the same thing. God has given all of us at least one gift; some maybe more. Our responsibilty is to use our gift in service for Him. If He has given us a gift, then I suspect that He would prefer that we use it, instead of storing it away. I think that sometimes we take what God has given us and we place a label on it. The label may be "precious", "delicate", or "fragile". We treat it like some people would treat an antique. "Be careful with that!" "Please don't drop that! It will break!" Maybe you haven't heard that before, but I grew up hearing it. You know how children can be. They just don't realize how fragile something can be, or how easily it can be broken. We'll just put this away for safe keeping. I guess if we grow up with that in our mind, and then God hands us a gift to use....hmmm. I can see how there could be a sense of fear that God might be upset if we break it.

Then again, why would He give us something and not expect us to use it? If we don't use the gift He has given us, then we will never break it. We might forget that we have it, but we won't break it. It can only be broken if we are actually using it; if we are putting it to use in our lives; if we are......how can I say this?......if we're wearing it out. I believe that if it does break, God will fix it. I believe that if we come to Him with whatever we've broken, He is not upset; He smiles. That smile that says, "Yes!! You're using my gift! That's what I wanted you to do"....

"Well done!"