“In His grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. ” – Romans 12:6-8 (NLT)
Years ago I became interested in learning how to play the guitar. So after doing some research to find a good beginner guitar, I bought one and signed up for guitar lessons at a local guitar shop.
Each week I would go for a 1-hour lesson. During the first couple of lessons, the instructor focused on the basics of the guitar. He showed me the proper way to hold it, how the six strings each had different tones, how to hold the pick to strum the strings, and some basic chords to learn. As I watched him demonstrate what to do, I was amazed at how effortlessly the fingers on his left hand traversed the fretboard, while the fingers on his right strummed the strings in rhythmic, melodic patterns.
Although I would spend the next year taking lessons, it eventually dawned on me that learning to play the guitar the way I wanted to play it would require much more practice and patience than I was willing to give. Just simply holding the guitar the right way seemed awkward and unnatural to me, even after several months of lessons. I thanked my instructor but told him, “I’ve given it an honest try. But I’m afraid I’m just not cut out for this.”
There are things that I do well. I’m pretty decent in the kitchen and I enjoy cooking. My wife, bless her heart… she has no talent to cook and she readily admits it. So if we’re eating at home, I’m doing the cooking. She, on the other hand, is great about remembering birthdays and sending out cards to friends and family. And I am horrible at this. So although we have different gifts, we use them to serve one another.
Where I attend church, I see the same things playing out. We have extremely gifted musicians and singers who know nothing about operating the computerized graphic technology used in some of the Sunday teaching sermons. We have some extremely kind and patient volunteers who babysit the young children while their parents are in the auditorium enjoying the service. We have greeters at the entrances who are pleasant and welcoming to the members and visitors who arrive, but have no idea how to make coffee at the coffee bar. I could go on and on about the various service roles our church members provide, but you get the point.
God has blessed each of us with a certain gift, something that we do better than someone else. While we should never consider our individual gifts any more or less important than someone else’s, we should understand the importance of using them together in service to Christ.
And not just for an hour each Sunday at church, but outside of church too. God gave us these gifts to use every single day, no matter what day it is, to serve others.
We had a frigid weather system move through several weeks back, it was like 25 degrees below freezing that Sunday morning. And yet there he was, all bundled up, directing traffic in the parking lot. I asked him how he was doing. “I’m great, bro! I’m right where God wants me to be this morning!”
My friend’s example was a good reminder to me, not only about the importance of showing up regardless of the circumstances, but something just as important:
Serve one another with gladness.
Today’s To Do’s:
- Make a list of things I’m good at.
- Determine if the things I’m good at can help someone else.
- Identify the person who needs my gift.
- Connect with them and make it happen.
Question for Today:
- Am I using the gift(s) that God has given me?
Former Blackout Artist 