Don’t You Want to Be Prepared?
Lists are a way to get organized. Some people like lists more than others. Anyone who knows me knows that I like my lists. Heck, I even have lists of lists. Regardless of where you are on the list of list-liking…
Lists give things value.

In the Bible, Paul gave us lists of the gifts we’ve been given. In I Corinthians 12:3-11, we have a list of Spiritual gifts. We’re told that there are different kinds of gifts, but they all come from the same place. These gifts include wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, working miracles, prophesying, speaking in different languages and understanding these languages.
In Romans 12:4-8, he tells us that the church is made up of a lot of different parts and then he gives us a list. “God has also given each of us different gifts to use. If we can prophesy, we should do it according to the amount of faith we have. If we can serve others, we should serve. If we can teach, we should teach. If we can encourage others, we should encourage them. If we can give, we should be generous. If we are leaders, we should do our best. If we are good to others, we should do it cheerfully.”
In Ephesians 4:11-13, we get another list of gifts we’re given. “Christ chose some of us to be apostles, prophets, missionaries, pastors, and teachers, so his people would learn to serve and his body would grow strong. This will continue until we are united by our faith and by our understanding of the Son of God. Then we will be mature, just as Christ is, and we will be completely like him.”
Using our gifts, brings us closer to Christ.
How do we figure out what our gifts are?
1st – Pray, ask God for His direction. 2nd – Consider where are my strengths? 3rd – Ask someone you trust for their thoughts. 4th – Try something. This will lead to learning and growing
Gifts and talents are often used synonymously. This led to quite a discussion in Sunday School class.
With a little research, here’s what I’ve come up with:
A gift is something we are given without any expectation of payment, it’s a present. A gift may be the present you receive on your birthday, or it may be a natural gift or talent you possess — like your gift for reading lips.
A talent on the other hand is a natural skill or ability to be good at something, without being taught.
These things are both different and similar and we could argue this forever without coming to a consensus. Ultimately, we don’t want to get to caught up on semantics and miss the point.
Paul is telling us that God has given us gifts and talents. It’s up to us to figure out what ours are and use them.
It’s up to us to be aware that we have been given gifts and that we have talents. Understand them and be intentional about putting them to use.
So, here’s what I propose. Figure out and list what your gifts and talents are and get to work using them.