In my life, there are a lot of people that I look up to and admire. I admire the gifts that they have and what they are doing with their lives. It’s easy to put these people on a pedestal and expect them to be superhuman when I spend time with them.
However, I have discovered that, regardless of how gifted someone is and what they may be doing with their lives, they are just people! Over time, you will discover that what you admire in others are the gifts that God gave them. In fact, if you asked the people you look up to about who they are and what they do, they would tell you that they are just doing what they were created do and are who they were created to be.
What should impress you about the people you look up to isn’t the person, but the God who gave them their gifts. They may have developed the gift, but they aren’t responsible for being born with the gift. This should cause them to be humble and grateful for what God has given them. Fred Smith was right when he said that, “The gift is greater than the person.”
I Corinthians 12:6-7 says, “God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us. A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.”
God has given the people you look up to gifts, but He has also given you gifts! Whether you are aware of them or not, God has given you incredible gifts to make a difference in this world. Your job is to discover, develop, and be a good steward of those gifts to the best of your ability and to be grateful for the gifts God has given you.
When you’ve developed your gifts, they will cause you to look better than you actually are. When people start looking up to you because of the gifts God has given you, recognize it’s not you they are looking up to, but the God who created you and the gifts He gave you, so remember to give all the credit and glory to the One who gave you the gifts in the first place.
The lessons:
1.) When someone is gifted in a way that causes us to look up to them, recognize that it is God who gave them those gifts, so don’t compare, try to compete, or become envious. Thank God for the gifts He put in them!
2.) Discover the gifts that God has put in you to make a difference in the world and do everything you can to develop those gifts and be grateful for the gifts He put in you!
3.) Give God all the credit and glory for the admiration your gift brings you.
Thoughts?
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