Be Aware of Your Gifts
Too often, we go through life oblivious to our gifts. This can lead to a mundane, routine kind of life that isn’t very fulfilling. We just see things from the perspective of, “This mess I’m living is just the life I’ve been given.”
Life doesn’t have to be this way.
The world sees gifts differently than God does.
When I was in school, there were gifted programs for students. I don’t know if these programs are still in place or not, but they were designed to teach additional, deeper material. Being gifted usually meant being able to score in the top percentile on IQ exams. The percentage of students selected varied, with generally 10% or fewer being selected for gifted education programs.
These programs were focused on intelligence. But there is so much more to being gifted than just IQ.
In 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, Paul explained this to the people of Corinth.
“I don’t want you to be ignorant about spiritual gifts. There are different spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; and there are different ministries and the same Lord; and there are different activities but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. A demonstration of the Spirit is given to each person for the common good. A word of wisdom is given by the Spirit to one person, a word of knowledge to another according to the same Spirit, faith to still another by the same Spirit, gifts of healing to another in the one Spirit, performance of miracles to another, prophecy to another, the ability to tell spirits apart to another, different kinds of tongues to another, and the interpretation of the tongues to another.
“All these things are produced by the one and same Spirit who gives what he wants to each person.”
These are nine of the gifts Paul lists in Corinthians, but this isn’t every gift. We are talking about God here, and He has no limit.
There are three different kinds of gifts:
- Natural – These gifts we are born with. You may not think that you are particularly talented, but if you take a closer look at yourself, you’ll discover there are some abilities you possess in more abundance than others. Maybe you’re a better athlete than musician, or maybe you’re a better artist than a mathematician.
- Learned – These gifts are acquired through education, training, work experience, or practice. They’re not something you were born with. They can be developed over time and applied in personal, professional, and community contexts, often involving deliberate study, mentorship, or repeated practice.
- Spiritual – These gifts come directly from the Spirit of God. That’s why they are called “gifts” in the first place! The “Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.”
The question isn’t if you have gifts, but what are they?
Knowing our gifts gives us direction and helps us to know what to say yes to and what to say no to. Gifts are not always what we want, but they are what God has given us.
These gifts are like the gifts we get for Christmas or a birthday. As a kid, the first thing you want to do is to unwrap the gift to see what it is. Once it’s unwrapped, you want to start using it.
Gifts from God should be the same. We should be excited to unwrap them and start using them.
Gifts are no good if they aren’t used.
If you would like help figuring out your gifts, here is a questionnaire from International Leadership Institute that can help you discover them.