Spiritual Gifts

Your spiritual gifts were not given for your own benefit but for the benefit of others, just as other people were given gifts for your benefit.  Rick Warren

Looking back on my life I wish I knew then what I know now.  If I had really studied about spiritual gifts I would have done a lot of things differently in my past.  God has a plan for each of us but sometimes we derail ourselves so to speak.  By that I mean we are either influenced by someone around us to become something God never called us to be or we bulldoze ahead because our motivation is money or fame or whatever else catches our attention.  The thing is I know I can learn to be anything I want to be adequately or less than adequately.  The question I have to ask myself is “What has God given me the gifts to be?”

A good analogy of this would be if I decided to be a doctor.  I could go to school and study hard and pass all the exams but if my spiritual gift has not called me to be a doctor I will be mediocre at best.  You probably wouldn’t want me to operate on you.  Some people say they have a passion for a certain type of work.  I think what they may not realize is that the very thing they have passion for is most likely one of their spiritual gifts. 

Sadly enough, in today’s society, more education dollars are spent on teaching young people the pursuit of occupations that pay more than the pursuit of what God has called them to be.  Let me give you an example.  For many years I worked in accounting.  There were parts of it that I liked, but the majority of it I didn’t enjoy.  So for 15 years or so I worked at doing what I didn’t really enjoy.  This is not to say that you should work only for the purpose of enjoyment but I do think that when you are doing what God has called you to do, joy becomes a by-product of your work. 

Several years ago I took several tests to help me determine my spiritual gifts.  I took the same test again this week and my spiritual gifts have not changed. If I want to live up to God’s plan for my life, my focus should be on the gifts He gave me.  I wish more schools placed more emphasis on spiritual gifts instead of worldly gifts.  I think we would have fewer job changes because we would be using the talents that God gave us instead of the ones we pursue that are of this world.  . 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, You blessed me with spiritual gifts when I was born.  Unfortunately it took me many years to see and understand what those gifts are and how to use them.  I pray that You will help me to utilize the gifts You gave me to influence those around me for Your purposes.  I was slow in finding and understanding them, but I want to use them to the best of my ability for Your glory.   

Scripture:  For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.  For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one  another.   Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching;  he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.  Romans 12:3-8