When was the last time you volunteered at church? Was the experience enjoyable, or did you merely serve out of a sense of obligation? Perhaps your church responsibility left you feeling so drained that you never signed up for another commitment, and now you feel guilty for not contributing.
We are all uniquely created to do certain jobs well---some of us are musical, others are athletes, and still others are gifted mechanically. The Lord gives each new believer a spiritual gift in order to edify the body of Christ.
Romans 12:6-8 lists seven “motivational” gifts: prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, giving, administration, and mercy. Every believer has one of these primary gifts, which motivates his or her service to God. In order to understand how this works, picture eight people having dinner together, and someone knocks over a glass of juice.
The person with the gift of administration starts giving orders for one person to get a mop and someone else to find cleaning supplies. The one gifted in teaching says, “The reason it spilled is that you reached over the plate with the wrong hand.” The person with the gift of mercy says, “ I’m so sorry you spilled it. You must feel embarrassed.” The believer with the gift of giving adds, “Don’t worry about it. I’ll buy a new glass.” The gift of prophecy motivates a person to correct the situation; this believer says, “You should have put your glass on the other side of the plate. Then it wouldn’t have tipped.” The exhorter says, “We have all knocked over a glass at some point. It will make you more careful next time.” And the person with the gift of service has already gone to get the mop, even before the administrator’s first instruction.
Serving the Lord is not an option. It is your responsibility to put your spiritual gift to work in serving one another. 1Peter 4:10: “Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it…” (The Message) Then you will be a valuable servant whom God blesses.
Charles F. Stanley
We are all uniquely created to do certain jobs well---some of us are musical, others are athletes, and still others are gifted mechanically. The Lord gives each new believer a spiritual gift in order to edify the body of Christ.
Romans 12:6-8 lists seven “motivational” gifts: prophecy, service, teaching, exhortation, giving, administration, and mercy. Every believer has one of these primary gifts, which motivates his or her service to God. In order to understand how this works, picture eight people having dinner together, and someone knocks over a glass of juice.
The person with the gift of administration starts giving orders for one person to get a mop and someone else to find cleaning supplies. The one gifted in teaching says, “The reason it spilled is that you reached over the plate with the wrong hand.” The person with the gift of mercy says, “ I’m so sorry you spilled it. You must feel embarrassed.” The believer with the gift of giving adds, “Don’t worry about it. I’ll buy a new glass.” The gift of prophecy motivates a person to correct the situation; this believer says, “You should have put your glass on the other side of the plate. Then it wouldn’t have tipped.” The exhorter says, “We have all knocked over a glass at some point. It will make you more careful next time.” And the person with the gift of service has already gone to get the mop, even before the administrator’s first instruction.
Serving the Lord is not an option. It is your responsibility to put your spiritual gift to work in serving one another. 1Peter 4:10: “Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it…” (The Message) Then you will be a valuable servant whom God blesses.
Charles F. Stanley
