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I was recently a part of a discussion where I heard some disturbing comments. This person struggles with their belief in God for various reasons, one of which is the gifts that God gives to each one of us. Basically, they felt shafted because their gift wasn't good enough in their opinion. They didn't understand why God would give one person a better set of gifts than someone else. The problem is that his understanding of spiritual gifts was way off.
The Bible talks about many types of gifts... usually referred to as spiritual gifts. The main areas of the New Testament that list and talk about such gifts are:
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Romans 12:6-8 - gifts of prophecy, serving, teaching, encouragement (exhortation), giving, leadership, and mercy (compassion).
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Ephesians 4:11 - gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher.
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1 Corinthians 12-14 - gifts of wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, working of miracles, prophecy, discernment, speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues, helps, and administration.
There are other gifts seen in the Bible that are not usually listed in your regular spiritual gifts inventory such as: craftsmanship, worship (gift of music), and interpretation of dreams.
As you look at all of these various gifts, you are probably evaluating yourself at the same time... thinking "I am good at that", "That comes very naturally to me" or "I DEFINITELY don't have THAT gift"! We can't all have every possible gift. God has made each of us unique for a purpose. The beautiful thing is when we all work together, each playing the role God intended us to, then watching His plan unfold. We can't all be teachers... we can't all be administrators... we can't all be overflowing with wisdom... that is not what God intended. Some lead, others follow. Some plan, others make it happen. Some make music, others listen and are ministered to by it. Some build things, others use it to accomplish the task at hand. Some have an extra measure of faith needed to take those big steps God puts in front of them. Some are used to give a message in tongues in a corporate worship service, others are used to give the interpretation. Some are up front, others are behind the scenes making sure what happens up front is effective. Get the picture?
Sometimes people get discouraged because they don't think they have any gifts to use in the church. Often times, those are the people that only see true gifts as preaching, singing, teaching, etc... the "platform ministry" gifts. What some don't realize is that what takes place on the platform would likely fall flat without the support of the other gifts, which are being used by various members in the church... often unseen to those in the congregation. Someone is back behind a sound board making sure that the technical elements are working correctly. Someone has prepared and organized materials that are being used in classes to teach both adults and children. Someone has made schedules to make sure that people are in place to work in the nursery, setup equipment, greet people as they walk into the church doors, etc.
There are so many pieces to the puzzle and they are all equally important, because we all need each other. I need you and your gift to help me effectively use my gift... and you may need my gift to help you fulfill what you need to do.
Now, I'm not going to get into a deep study on spiritual gifts here, but instead look at the result of our gifts. At the end of the day, did you effectively use your gifts? Were you successful? Unfortunately, the world around us has skewed our perception of what is successful and effective. Successful is usually the label given when someone becomes famous or wealthy because their work and gifts. Is that really success?
This person I was in a discussion with happened to be gifted artistically. People would often confirm that to him as he grew up... telling him how God had given him those gifts. His problem is that he didn't see how he was supposed to be successful drawing nice pictures. Why couldn't he be gifted with more intelligence? or a better physical build and appearance? or anything that would make him "successful"?
That was disturbing for me to process. As a musician, I'm in the same boat. Those that are gifted in areas of fine arts have an extremely small chance of ever "making it" and achieving success in the world's eyes due to their artsy gifts. Do I have dreams and goals related to my music? Sure I do. Will I ever be rich and famous because of my musical gifts? Probably not. Does that matter? Not a bit. My job is to take the gifts that God has given me and use them to the very best of my ability to be a blessing to His church and to point others to Christ. The rest is up to God. I just need to focus on exalting Him through my gifts... not myself.
One of my favorite verses has become Psalm 73:24 "You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny" (NLT). I know that God has a plan for me... a glorious destiny. I can't see it all yet... I don't know what it's all going to look like... but I know that I can do what He leads me to do TODAY. Then I can do my best to do it again tomorrow. I can utilize whatever gifts that He has entrusted me with, and do my best to use them to their fullest. He will continue to lead me through the process and I believe that the end result will be seeing God's plan for my life fulfilled. Will it equal success in the eyes of man? I don't know, but when my life is over, I just want to hear God say "well done, my good and faithful servant". THAT is the sign of success that I'm shooting for.
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perry meade
