By
Allen White
“Again, it will be like a man going on a
journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he
gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each
according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received
five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags
more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who
had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
“After a long time the master of those
servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received five
bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with
five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’
“His
master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful
with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your
master’s happiness!’
“The
man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with
two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’
“His
master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful
with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your
master’s happiness!’
“Then
the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that
you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you
have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the
ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’
“His
master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I
have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should
have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would
have received it back with interest.
“’So take the bag of gold from him and give
it to the one who has ten bags. For whoever has will be given more, and they
will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be
taken from them. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness,
where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Matthew 25:14-30
Over the years, I’ve met a number of highly gifted people who
never considered themselves “talented.” They were good at making money or good
at making acquaintances; good at organizing things or people, yet their gifts
were so natural to them, they didn’t realize they were gifted. They just
thought they did the same things everyone else did.
None of these folks were hiding their talents. They were simply
unaware of them.
For about 10 years at our church in California, I oversaw the
SHAPE process. We taught a class, then interviewed each person in the class to
see how they were “SHAPEd” for ministry.
We would talk about spiritual gifts (Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12;
Ephesians 4), heart or passion, abilities, personality and experiences. To help
someone find the intersection of their gifts and passion was truly an amazing
find. We launched many new ministries solely based on what our people felt
gifted and called to do. It was far more than just filling holes in existing
ministries.
Many churches offer programs like SHAPE, PLACE, Network or
similar. If you’re not sure about where your gifts and temperament might fit in
ministry, I would recommend a book by Bruce Bugbee called What
You Do Best in the Body of Christ .This will take you through the gift
identification process in a nutshell. If your church offers a course like the
ones described above, sign up for it ASAP.
While some people are unaware of their gifts, similar to the folks
in this parable, some are using what God has given them and others are not.
What do you have? How could God use it for ministry?
All of us have three God-given assets: our time, our talent, and
our treasure. How can we use these gifts to serve God and others?
Let me ask you a few questions: What needs in the community
concern you? What are you passionate about? What are the things that just get
under your skin, and like Popeye, “You can’t stanz it no more”? Maybe it’s your
turn to do something about it?
Pray about this. Offer God what you have. He probably won’t send
you to some other place. In fact, God wants to use you right here where you
are. As you make yourself available to God, He will use you.
More from Allen
White: allenwhite.org
Facebook: Galatians419 Group
Twitter: @galatians419 @allenwhite
good stuff. stay awesome.
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