Romans 12:4-6 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.
Today I want to give you a chuckle. An expression my husband uses when we talk about two families living in one house, ‘it’s like putting 2 feet in one shoe.’ Now if you get a vision of that like I do, not only is it uncomfortable, but it is quite inefficient. For example; two cooks living in one household decide to each make their favorite dish for the family. When each begin the cooking process, the kitchen becomes alive with aprons and bowls and ingredients and recipes. I know when my husband and I try this, it’s a disaster! He gets out 3 eggs to use in his recipe. I only need 1 and take one of the eggs on the counter. I get out our large mixing bowl to make my recipe, he needs it for his, and leaves me without. I need to use every burner for the different parts of my masterpiece. He needs…one, but there are none for him. You can imagine the tension in that kitchen!
This would quickly become a comedy of errors, if we thought it was funny! Now, if we talked to each other before we started we could have split up the tasks. Today you cook, I’ll set the table and clean up. Tomorrow, we will reverse that process. This is what we do now after trying it (once) the other way!
Imagine in a larger organization if everyone was talented in the hiring position. All day these job recruiters interviewed and hired people to do, well, the job they themselves were already doing. When Monday rolled around and the work needed to be done, no one was prepared to do it. Oh, they were doing their job, they were hiring more people to hire people! Or, in a hospital setting. Everyone is a surgeon. Well, we can see how that won’t work. The surgeon suits up for surgery, but where is the patient? Since everyone was trained to be the doctor, no one brought the patient to the OR on a gurney, no one prepped the patient, anesthetized the patient, or even checked the patient’s vitals. The doctor(s) just wanted to perform the surgery!
It’s no different in a church. If all the people wanted to be in the worship team to sing and play an instrument, who would preach? Who would they preach to? If all we wanted to do was sit in the congregation and listen, who would we listen to? We can clearly see that a division of jobs and responsibilities is necessary, in fact-essential. And each one of the divisions of labor, is essential.
I wish I knew this a long time ago. As a teen I had a talent for sewing, crafting and writing. I did not view these as ‘gifts from God’. As a result, I did not try to perfect these talents and just saw them as hobbies.
When the Lord gives us our gift, calling or talent, it is ours to keep. He will not take it back, but, what we do with it is our responsibility. Investing time and treasure into honing it into something God can use for His glory is worth the effort. Let us ask God what gift(s) He has given us, then do our best to work at making them the best we can for Him.
Question for today; What are your gifts? How are you using them?
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