What would sports be without the talents of Lebron James, Jordan Spieth, or the William’s sisters? What would iTunes be like without the abilities of Justin Timberlake, Selena Gomez or Carrie Underwood? Thank goodness for gifted writers like J.K. Rowling, Stephen King and Nicholas Sparks. And what would the movies be like without brilliant actors such as Chadwick Boseman, Tom Hanks and Jennifer Lawrence?
What would the world be without you?
God has gifted you! He wired you to make a contribution. God did not give you your talents and abilities for your benefit. They are for the benefit of other people, and their talents are for the benefit of you. When you use your abilities to help others, God is glorified.
“God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another” (1 Peter 4:10, NLT).
I am so grateful for people who are talented in areas that I’m not good at. For instance, I’m so glad there are people who have mechanical ability. I don’t know how to fix a carburetor. I don’t even know where it is! And I’m grateful for accountants. Because I stink at accounting!
God has given me some talents. One of my gifts is taking the truths of the Bible and presenting them in a way that is conversational, applicable and challenging. When I use that ability, you get blessed. My talent is used to help you.
But here’s the point: You’ve got talent, too. When are you going to start blessing others? When are you going to start helping others? If you don’t use your talent that God gave you, other people get cheated. The way you bring glory to God is by using your talent.
There’s no feeling in the world like doing something for God’s glory, knowing that you’re doing what He made you to do. It is the greatest thrill in the world! If you haven’t ever felt that, discover and develop the spiritual gifts that are in you so you can enjoy your life and bring glory to God.
Ryan Smallwood