JOB 1:1-3:26
1 CORINTHIANS 14:1-17
PSALM 37:12-29
PROVERBS 21:25-26
1Corinthians 14:12 So it is with you. Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church.
We are all given spiritual gifts. These are not skills and talents. These are things that we can only do with the power of the Spirit of God which allows you to function beyond what we normally would do in our humanness. I believe that spiritual gifts should not be evaluated from just the perspective of what are you good at or what do you like to do. There needs to be an examination of the heart. What is the motivation for what you strive to do well at. For example, you can be a generous person of your own will, but it can be motivated and limited by how it affects you. Do you think it makes you look good to others and that it builds you up in someone else's eyes. Does it make you feel like you are helping out someone who is less fortunate than you therefore building yourself up in your own eyes. Does it give you benefit like a tax write off? Or do you not need a motivation other than you feel in your spirit that you should give. If you have the gift of giving you will do it without concern for your own situation, comfort or benefit. You will be able give beyond what someone else does because you are giving in the Spirit with a heart to build up the church without concern for your own provision. It won't matter who is looking or if you get any benefit from it. Another example would be someone who is a skilled in leadership but may not have the spiritual gift of leadership. You can be a good leader because you need your team to succeed so that you will benefit from the outcome. It could be that you are a good leader because you are not a good follower or have a personal need to be in control of a situation. But leadership in the church that is motivated by a desire to see the church excel and grow with a heart to connect people for the edification of the church can only be done with the guidance of the Spirit of God. There are gifts like tongues that are about your relationship with God. It's not bad to speak in tongues, but Paul's encouragement is to seek to develop your gifts that will edify the church.
1Corinthians 14:15 So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding. 16 Otherwise when you are praising God in the Spirit, how can someone else, who is now put in the position of an inquirer, say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since they do not know what you are saying? 17 You are giving thanks well enough, but no one else is edified.
In all our gifts we need to follow the Spirit but we must also seek to understand what is being accomplished for the Kingdom. When you pray it is good to pray and sing in the Spirit but you must also understand the words and the reason behind the prayer and song. If your prayer and song is in tongues that those around you cannot understand it does nothing for the church. So if you pray and sing in tongues you should also pray for understanding so that you might interpret the tongues. Let's think about the two examples I gave above. If you give in the Spirit but don't seek understanding as to why you are to give you may miss opportunity to share the truth and love of Jesus with someone. If your spiritual gift is leadership you need to not only lead but seek clear understanding of what God is doing in your church so that you can help others to see it and understand it.
If you have never looked into what your spiritual gifts are and decide to start looking at some of the resources out there to try to determine them, be sure to answer based on your motivations not just your abilities. It can be difficult to honestly evaluate your motives but it will be worth it to get to your true Spiritual gifting.
Then let me know what you find out.
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