The Story of the Humble Knife

Chef Chong is famous in Singapore as one of the leading cooks in Cantonese cuisines. To assist him keep his impeccable reputation is an entire array of cooking equipments. His kitchen is full of captivating equipment to be able to make most homemakers drool. Chef Chong shares these types of equipments with his eight helpers. The simplest gear that he does no longer percentage are his knives. He has a hard and fast of seven very sharp knives that no one is permitted to touch, except him.

One day, one of the vintage knives, having been sharpened until it's miles a shadow of its former glory, broke. Chef Chong is sad that he has to update it with a brand new knife. He calls his provider who right away sends him every other knife of the same make and type.

Chef Chong is very thrilled with his new knife. Its weight is simply great; it balances well in his professional fingers and by way of searching at the shade, he knows that the steel is solid in the ideal tensile strength. With exquisite expectation, he places his new knife at the sprucing stone and begins to work at the blade. After one hour of hard paintings, he expects the blade to be sharp. To his unhappiness, the blade remains blunt. In frustration, he put down the brand new knife and sighs, "What is incorrect with you?"

The new knife replies, "Master, there's not anything incorrect with me. I just want to be humble. You see, I am now not like several your other knives which might be proud and arrogant. I am a humble knife!"

Recovering from his surprise, Chef Chong cannot agree with what he is listening to. In disgust, he says, "What is the use of being humble whilst you stay blunt?"

The humble knife replies, "You see, my Master, I do not need to component-take of your glory. If I were to be like all of the different pompous knives, then all of the glory which you deserve will be given to us, knives. Imagine, if you have been with a purpose to reduce or carve out all of the meats with a blunt knife, then all people may be praising you on your superb skill."

Chef Chong protests, "My top notch skill is in sprucing desirable knives and then in the use of them in something approaches I like!"

The humble knife fast retorts, "But then I will get the respect. No, my Master! I shall remain blunt so that you can get all of the glory!"

The chef is simply too disillusioned to even talk. He maintains to work at the blade for another hour. Putting his thumb to blade, he throws the knife down in anger, "You are unwilling to be sharpened".

The angry knife replies, "No, I ought to be humble and stay blunt!"

In frustration, Chef Chong nearly tears out the few strands of hair that he has on his balding head. The humble knife refuses to grow to be sharp irrespective of what its master does. Finally, the best alternative for the depressing chef is to put this humble knife aside. He buys another knife, sharpens it and adds that into his series. Now, he is glad because his recognition and enterprise continue to grow because of his abilities in the use of his seven sharp knives.

The humble knife thinks to itself, "One day, my Master will use me because I am the humblest of all his knives. There it sits on the shelf, every day, month after month, yr after yr. Then one day, it appears at itself and unearths its lovable blunt blade has lost its shine. A coat of rust soon covers it.

One Chinese New Year, in the course of spring cleansing, one of the helpers unceremoniously tosses the common-or-garden however rusty knife into the rubbish bin. As the lid covers the rubbish bin, there's a deep darkness surrounding the humble knife. It is confused and still questioning, "Why failed to the chef use me?"

The humble knife has by no means served at some point within the kitchen of the master chef. It dies unfulfilled.

This is the same with many human beings. They refuse to use their competencies and items for God. How many capability singers and worship leaders die unfulfilled? How many ability pastors and preachers visit their graves with out gracing the pulpits? How many very talented humans due to false humility aren't being used by God in His country? What are your capabilities and competencies that God has given you? Are you maximizing them for the honour of God?