6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly. ~Romans 12:6-8
Do you ever compare your gift with the gift God has given others? It’s so easy to desire the gifts that other people have rather than recognize the potential the gifts God has given us!
I have found that more often than not, we take our gifts for granted. Because we are naturally good at the things we are gifted at, we don’t recognize the full value and potential of what God has put in us.
For instance, my greatest strength is probably my ability to relate with and get along with people. Can I be honest with you? That often bores me! I often find myself saying, that’s great I am good with people, but I want to be great at ______. I wasted so much time wishing I had what God put in others, that I neglected to value and do something with the gifts He has put in me. Guess where that got me? Nowhere! Guess where comparing your gifts with others will get you? Nowhere!
I am finally starting to value and appreciate the way God made me. I am great with people, I’m a good communicator, I am an encourager, and I am good at networking and building teams. That is the way God has gifted me. If I’m honest, those are gifts a lot of other people probably wish they had. That’s what is funny, often we want other people’s gifts, but they are probably thinking the same thing about ours!
Now, instead of wishing I had other people’s gifts. I have learned to appreciate and value the gifts God has put into others. I realized that if I am going to do what God has called me to do, it’ll be by surrounding myself with people who are gifted in ways I am not gifted. It’s the body of Christ. God gave everyone different gifts and our jobs is to come together, appreciate each others gifts, and work together to do what God has called us to do.
Stop comparing your gifts with others. Appreciate what God has given you.
Thoughts?
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