University of Kentucky basketball player Stacey Poole recently fumbled away a ball while trying to execute a flashy dunk rather than simply shooting a layup. When head coach John Calipari asked Poole why he didn’t just lay the ball in the basket, he replied, “Because you don’t understand my game.” To which Calipari responded, “I do. That’s why I’m not playing you much.”

Jesus teaches that those who want to do great things for the Lord will first have to prove themselves faithful in what might seem to be small matters. Matt.25:21 says, “His master replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”

I fear that many players on the Lord’s team feel that their Coach is keeping them on the sidelines for no good reason. They are ready to plant a new church, go to a foreign mission field, write the next top song on the Christian charts, start a nationwide revival or perform some other great feat for the kingdom.

Perhaps God has something like this in mind for you to do. But maybe he is just waiting to see if you can make a layup.