Are you a gift card spender or keeper? Scott and I view gift cards very differently. I can promise you, if you gave me a gift card for Christmas, I used it by the end of January. It was given to me as a gift and given to me to be used. Scott on the other hand, saves every gift card for that magic moment when he may really need something. He saves them up like they are earning interest. I use them like they might expire in a week.
I think of this compared to the gifts God has given us. 1 Peter 4:10 tells us, “God has given each of you a gift from His great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.” Think of this like God has given each of us a “gift card.” The question is, “What are you doing with it?” Are you using it as we are directed to do or are you saving it up? Peter goes on in verses 11 telling us, “Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies.” Spiritual gifts are given to us to be used.
It is so easy to get distracted and find other tasks to do rather than using the gifts we have been given. I know every time I sit down to write, I see something that needs to be done. Just tonight, I swept the porch, filled bird feeders, watered flowers and completed an order on Amazon all while intending to sit down to work on a post. It is easy to put our gifts aside and save them for later because of distractors.
Another reason it is easy to hold onto that gift God has given you instead of using it is because we don’t feel adequate enough or deserving of the gift that is given to us. I struggle with this as well. I see so many who are beautifully gifted, that I struggle to put myself out there because I don’t feel my gift compares to theirs. A gift from God is great and not to be compared to others. It is to be used.
You have a gift. I Corinthians 7:7, “Yet each person has a special gift from God.” Spiritual gifts include wisdom, healing, prophecy, teachers, leaders, helpers, givers, and many more. Take a look at the scriptures below, pray about your gift, and then get busy using it.
1 Corinthians 12:8-10
1 Corinthians 12:27 & 28
Romans 12: 6-8
View From My Shoes 