Now I know we all have different gifts and abilities, and I want to get this straight right off the bat…I’m not saying you should try to be someone you aren’t.
Not at all.
But what I am saying is that just because a certain fruit of the Spirit doesn’t come easily to you, and isn’t your primary ‘gift’, that you can somehow access your get out of responsibility free card.
Here’s a little mom nugget I used to use with my young kids when behavior became an issue and excuses freely flowed:
You may have a reason, but you don’t have an excuse.
In other words, just because something is harder for you, that doesn’t give you an excuse to not do the right thing and act the right way.
Have you ever heard someone (maybe yourself) saying something that goes like this:
“Well, you know I’m just not built that way.”
“That’s just the way I am.”
“She can’t help it, she’s just like that.”
How does this apply and what are everyday examples?
I’m glad you asked.
Buckle up and hopefully you’re not too sensitive because I might step on some toes.
Shhh…this revelation stepped all over mine, so if your footsies get sore, you’re not alone.
Because my goal is for Jesus to always be my center, everything I look at tends to have a spiritual focus.
Therefore, I’m gonna start with my own self-aware weaknesses. You’re welcome.
Money: Some people have the gift of giving. They are always ready to share what they have and caring for those around them is natural and easy. My husband is definitely that guy. He would meet a stranger in a restaurant needing a meal or a guy on a street corner with a sign and hand out whatever cash he might have in his pocket.
Me? Not so much.
I can point to history that formed my thoughts and opinions.
I grew up poor, I grew up as the youngest of four. I never quite lost the toddler attitude of what’s mine is mine forever.
I admit it.
I have reasons. We work hard and save hard, and I respect those who are like me. Now, this is not to say I don’t want to help those who clearly need a hand. But…I’m kind of judgy when it comes to someone who may not prioritize a healthy work ethic yet seems to consistently stand with a hand extended.
I know, it’s not always so clear-cut.
Another reason – I was the baby of the family, and if I wanted the last brownie, I better put a rush on my order. We didn’t have a lot of money. I know what it’s like to be without. I don’t want to be foolish and need to depend on others. Life forms our thoughts and feelings in ways we don’t always recognize.
I have reasons, and they are decently good reasons.
But NONE of these good reasons allow me the freedom to not be generous. In fact, from a spiritual point of view, to follow my feelings in this case is total disobedience.
Might I remind you the Word of God speaks to this quite frankly:
“The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it?”
Jeremiah 17:9
Feelings are just that…feelings. They are neither wrong nor right. But, what we do in response to those feelings, that is the key.
We can’t be led by feelings when we know good and well what is right.
How do we know what is right?
For those of us who follow the Lord, the answer is clear.
The Word of God is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.
So back to my conundrum. I’m not naturally generous in a material sense of the word. What to do?
I can’t honestly look at my Light and my Lamp without seeing the truth of the matter.
“1 John 3:17 – “If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?”
Woah! That’s on point. I don’t think I need to explain the depth of that statement, so I’ll leave it there for the Holy Spirit to work. And I promise, if you are a Believer, He will.
He has. He continues to do so in me. (And as an aside, this Teacher of my soul is not a one and done kind of instructor, it’s a lifetime assignment.)
And therein lies a choice – obedience or disobedience.
I could give you more, but I won’t belabor the point.
Just because I don’t have a natural tendency towards generosity, that is NO excuse to not be generous.
Don’t overcomplicate it, to be generous…you just be generous.
Now that I’ve covered my embarrassing lacking gift, I can wipe the sweat off my brow and move on to other subjects!
How about a gift I do have??
That will be easier to talk about.
Actually, no.
You’ll see why soon.
I absolutely love people. I am overflowing with mercy and compassion for people (except for money, I know there’s a disconnect. It’s complicated, okay?)
Let’s cover the easy part first: Not to sound like a broken record, but here it is: You may not have the gift of mercy, but that is not an excuse to not be merciful.
Matthew 5:7: “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.”
I don’t know about you, but I desperately need mercy!
James 2:13: “For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”
Mercy may not come naturally to some folks, but that absolutely does not negate the responsibility God has given us to be merciful.
Remember when I mentioned this being easier to talk about from my point of view? Seeing as how mercy is my default setting (most of the time)…
Here is the hard: I can sometimes blur the lines between mercy and standing between God and His loving correction for His wayward kids.
How do you know the difference? Walk closely enough to Him, and you will see where He is working and know how to respond accordingly.
I mess this up all the time!
Mercy and truth are a united front.
They must walk together to be an honest application of God’s Word.
Again, I have to walk in the light of His Word. And to walk in the light, I have to stand in the warm glow by consistently studying my Father’s love letter to me and listening to His voice on the daily.
So what is the purpose of ‘gifts’ anyway, if we are called to exhibit all of them (to some degree)?
Well, I believe we are given gifts for several reasons. The obvious reason is to honor the Lord with all He has given us and created us to be. Then, the use of our gifts blesses the Body of Christ. The exhorter exhorts, the singers sing, the teachers teach, the givers give.
A huge purpose of our gifts is that we are sharing the love of God with a lost world as we freely give of ourselves to our brothers and sisters in Christ and to those who need Jesus and are watching.
But here is what I have recently begun to see:
We are ALL a work in progress.
This Christian walk doesn’t reach retirement age!
Until we reach the perfection of Glory, God isn’t done molding and shaping us for Home.
If we aren’t improving, we are regressing.
I can learn from you, and you can learn from me.
And so, as you use your gifts, I can, and should, be learning how to better honor my God in obedience to His Word, even when it doesn’t come naturally to me.
And I have seen this in my own life. I mentioned my husband is a generous giver. He genuinely loves it. As I watch him use that gift, I see God’s blessings in his life and by extension in mine. I see the joy and the peace he holds closer than his wallet.
And I learn.
I learn I can trust God with my first fruits. I learn He is faithful to provide what I need.
Did you hear that? Need…sometimes my wants but always my needs.
And I hope that as I steward my gift of mercy, that perhaps, someone might see and desire to experience the absolute joy I feel when I’m walking in His center.
May my gifts bless you and yours bless me.
May my mercy inspire and your generosity instruct.
And here is a lesson I continue to be taught: We all have reasons the right thing can be difficult, but we have no excuses when it comes to following hard after Christ.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”
Hebrews 12:1-2