How To Multiply Our Abilities

Gifts. Talents. Innate abilities. We all have a few, even if we don’t call them that.

Some of us won’t even call it a special skill. We say things like “I just have a knack for.. x” I think it’s funny we do that. The Creator of the universe, who never makes mistakes, places a unique set of gifts inside of us. Instead of thankfully using them, we often hide them, reject them or jealously eye another person’s gift set. It’s akin to a little child with a pile of presents under the Christmas tree, all unopened, desperately trying to open up his sibling’s gifts instead.

Ever been there? I’d venture a yes. I know I have.

In Christian circles, sometimes it looks like saying “Oh, well, I’m not very good, not like ‘x’ is..”

But, friend, being humble is not the same thing as putting ourselves down.

The other extreme exists. Have you ever been tempted to think you’re really good at something? So much so that when people praise you, it’s tough to be satisfied with God’s praise more than people’s?

Of course being prideful is stupid because we can’t get anywhere without God.

The key is knowing we are simply the steward, not the owner. When we cultivate and share our gifts we’re simply agreeing with God about what he gave us and who we are in relationship to him and others. We were given gifts to cultivate them so we can serve others better. That said, it’s also for our enjoyment because God’s generous and loving. But we often take advantage of that generosity of His. We often keep our gifts to ourselves, refusing to share. Or worse, we waste time wishing we had someone else’s gifts.

For many years, when someone caught me sketching and asked me if I was an artist, I responded sheepishly “yeah.” If they asked me questions about my art, I always feared being found out as a fake - I feared both the false pride and false humility.

Over this year, God’s taught me a lot of those fears. He’s shown me how unhealthy putting ourselves down is.

During the Israelistes journey through the desert, their needed to build a place to worship, God’s Holy Place. God tells Moses he has chosen an artist named Bezalel to design it. He was full of the Spirit of God, wisdom, knowledge and abilities check it all out in Exodus 31.

Basically, he was named the first creative director. He was put in charge of the other artists since it would take many people. This leads me to realize he had to have been confident in the Lord’s gifts to him. Not because he was confident in himself or felt he was talented enough to do it, but because He trusted God had gifted Him. God-based confidence is very different front world-based confidence. God-based confidence reminds you to serve others with your gifts. World-based confidence will try to steal the spotlight.

So while I understand I’m not the best in art making, I can own and cultivate my own garden of gifts from God. Since being able to submit the gifts to God, it’s been incredible what He has done with them!

So what about you? What ability or gift do you hold inside of you that perhaps you keep a secret? Maybe you don’t keep it a secret, but you don’t share it often.

My encouragement is that you share it, whatever it is, with someone this week. Maybe it’s helping a friend with a tech issue. Maybe it’s baking cookies for your neighbor. Maybe it’s showing mercy to the telemarketer. I don’t know your gifts, but I do know God.

Everything we submit to Him and share, he multiplies. My prayer is that this encourages you to try it out!