Spiritual Gifts

God is a giver. From the very first book of the Bible, Genesis, God gives good gifts to His children. He gifts Adam with a companion, Eve. He gifts both of them with the Garden of Eden, providing a place to live and work. He gifts them the trees as food. Even after sin enters the world, we see God giving gifts and blessings to His children. So it’s no surprise that the Holy Spirit gives gifts to people as well. God’s gifts are meant to be shared with others. There’s no stinginess in the nature of God.

In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul talks about the spiritual gifts God gives various people to help with the work of the church as a whole. Each gift is important and necessary if God’s church is to do its job in the Kingdom of God. Every person has a spiritual gift. The gifts are given at the discretion of the Holy Spirit. No gift is better than another. There isn’t supposed to be prestige attached to any particular gifting or calling in the church, but how often do we look at ourselves and downplay our spiritual gifts?

Many times in the body of Christ, we feel insignificant and unimportant. I often hear people complain about their lack of talent, envy another’s gifting, or lament that they are “just” a custodian or a nursery worker or a (insert any position outside of leadership here). I think “just” in this context must be on God’s least favorite words list. When we denounce our spiritual gifting as unimportant, we are saying that we know better than God what is good for us. When we envy the gifting of another, we miss the opportunity God has given us to play in His kingdom. Paul addresses this by using the analogy of the physical body to explain the church and its gifts.

He points out that we don’t compare our body parts to each other. We don’t favor one part over another, and in fact, we would miss any of our parts if they didn’t function properly or had something wrong with them. The same is true of the church. If you hold back your spiritual gift, if you refuse to share your talent and gifting with your local church body, the church is hindered. It’s crippled. It doesn’t function the way it was meant to function. Your spiritual gift isn’t there to make you important. It isn’t even there to bring you closer to God. Your spiritual gift is there to bring others closer to God. It’s there to serve your brothers and sisters. All of God’s gifts from salvation to the spiritual gifts mentioned in the New Testament are there to be shared with others.

By using our gifts for the benefit of others, we become more like God. We become a gift-giving people. Perhaps you don’t know what your spiritual gifts are. This online assessment can help you figure it out. There are many gifts listed in the New Testament. Some people have only one gift that they are very strong in. Some people have a mix of gifts. Whatever the case, these gifts are given the way they are given because God knows the needs of the local body. He also knows the plans He has for each person in it. Your spiritual gifts can change over time. I think this is because we all have different seasons in our life where we are asked to play different roles.

Whatever the case may be, your gift is important. Don’t be like the foolish servant who buried their talent in the ground out of fear of their master. Be like God, the Father. Share your gifts with those around you. Build up your local church body. Do your part for the Kingdom. We will miss you if you don’t!