Gifts employed for common good

So, we looked at the gifts which are exemplified in Scripture, empowered by the Spirit, embodied in people and lastly, we will see how they are employed in service. As Paul says in this text, to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good (1 Corinthians 12:7).

Our gifts are to be used. They are not ornaments, they are tools. I had an uncle who lived in Korea for many years. He was not noted for his love of gardening. But someone who knew him saw him one day walking out of a shop in Korea with a spade. The person then said, That spade is going to a good home. Well, that was true—it was not going to be used very much. But that is not true in the body of Christ. In a sense the gifts do not really exist unless they are used. A book can be on your study shelves for years, but it might as well have never been there if it was never used. In a sense it does not exist, because it was never consulted. Gifts are for use. They are not to help us feel proud. They are not for us to put up on the mantelpiece of our lives and admire. They are not for us to promote ourselves and say how wonderful we are. They are to serve other people. Whatever gift you have, that is what it is for. It is for using. It is for service in God’s glory.

That is also a good way of assessing if you have a particular gift. Are people being helped by it? If people are not being helped by it, then I am not sure that you have the gift at all. There may be gifts that I think I have, that I would like to have, that I imagine I have, but if people are not being served or helped by my gift, then I do not have it.

I think of a man who wanted to be a teacher in the church; that was his longing, but it became clear to his minister that he just did not have the gift. He was not able to explain things clearly. He was not able to command people’s attention. I think of a woman who very much wanted to be an encourager, but she did not have that effect on people. She annoyed them. She discouraged them. When she left, they felt irritated, burdened, and weighed down. She desperately wanted to be an encourager, but she did not have the gift and the ability.

One way of discovering if you have a gift is to answer the question: are you using it and are people being helped by it? Remember the simplest definition I ever heard of a leader. Are you a leader? Who is following you? If nobody is following you, you are not a leader. Are you using your gifts? Are you using them to serve others? Are you seeing God blessing you in the use of your gifts?¹

Edward Donnelly