One of the more frequent comments I hear is “I don’t have any special gifts or talents.” People often feel like they don’t have much to offer if the gift or talent is not something big. I’m sure you know how that goes: “I can’t do what so-and-so does, so what do I have to offer?” The comparison game is an unwinnable game to play or at least it seems to go on forever like Monopoly or Risk or some other seemingly forever game. We will never measure up (in our eyes) to that other person.
The Bible tells us that God has given each of us a gift or gifts to use to build up the Body of Christ, the church. Some of those gifts stand out; some are behind the scenes. Just FYI: a gift and a talent are different. A talent is something the seemingly comes fairly natural or can be developed, whereas a gift is something given by God to be used for a specific reason. But whether we are talking gift or talent it is to be used not kept to oneself.
I was struck by this as I read Exodus 36-38. Yes, it was sort of tedious because it involved the building of the Tabernacle and furniture for the Tabernacle according to God’s design. But what struck me were the opening words to chapter 36: “The Lord has gifted Bezalel, Oholiab, and the other skilled craftsmen with wisdom and ability to perform any task involved in building the sanctuary. Let them construct and furnish the Tabernacle, just as the Lord has commanded. So Moses summoned Bezalel and Oholiab and all the others who were specially gifted by the Lord and were eager to get to work.” (Verses 1-2)
I’d like to echo Paul David Tripp (January 30 from Everyday Gospel Devotional) as he makes two important points:
- We are told that God put skill in these men’s minds. What an incredible statement of the power and presence of God.
- It tells us that God not only gives gifts, but stirs up our hearts to use the gifts He has given.
Those two thoughts tell us that we have been given our creative ability by God, and two, we need to be thankful for the One who gave them. They have been given to us for a reason. Use them. Don’t hoard them.
{Note Scripture used is from the New Living Translation}
Today is Jo’s birthday. It would be bad form to tell you what number. 🙂 I am taking her to Ohio to see our grandson (and our daughter). 🙂 Please feel free to post a comment. I will approve it when I have a chance to do so. And please pray for a safe trip. We are both driving there and giving Jo’s car as an early graduation present to our grandson. It is an 8 year old car with 42k miles on it. It should serve him well as he graduates and heads off to college (which I am not allowed to reveal yet).