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Serving From and In Our Weaknesses

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As a young believer, I was taught the importance of discovering my spiritual gifts and/or natural talents and then finding a way to use them to help others. However, during the past few years, I have wondered if the instruction I received (and have passed along as a church leader) regarding serving others in the church and in the world may have been incomplete at best…and misleading at worst. 

Where Might This Advice Come From?
This idea seems to find some roots in the fact that the Bible states there are a variety of spiritual gifts that God gives His people, as Ephesians 4:11-16, Romans 12:3-8, 1 Corinthians 12:8-31, and 1 Peter 4:10-11 describe 20 gifts (*listed at the end of the post). These gifts are all different, indicating the list is illustrative rather than exhaustive; there might be even more gifts given by God to His people than those found in these passages. In addition, the nature of the gifts on the list might point to some gifts as natural abilities being enhanced by the Holy Spirit after we come to faith in Christ and others being qualities that we only discover are birthed when we have the Spirit dwelling in us. As I have written before, I’m not sure if the Bible differentiates between spiritual gifts and talents abilities as much as we do today.

But what I have found interesting is that the New Testament writers never tell the churches to which they wrote (and us – by implication) to discover and find their gifts. Maybe those Christians already understood the gifts they had so such a commandment wasn’t needed, or maybe it’s just a logical implication that did not need to be named. The focus in these discussions is less about finding your gift and using it and more about recognizing that no one gift is given to all and no one has all the gifts (1 Corinthians 12:29-30), not having pride (Romans 12:3) or pity based upon your gifts because all are needed (1 Corinthians 12:14-26), and using them for the common good (1 Corinthians 12:7; 14:12, 26) in the spirit of love (1 Corinthians 13) to glorify Christ (1 Peter 4:11) through the power of Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:11). There is less emphasis on finding and more emphasis on serving! 

Part of me wonders if the advice to find your gift and then use it comes more from the advice we receive in everyday life rather than from a biblical commandment. For example, a common strategy in business is to “discover your strengths” and then live into your strengths. Could this idea about finding and then using your gifts be more prominent in the Harvest Business Review than in the New Testament? Now, I should mention that just because something is not found in the Bible but is found in the wisdom of this world does not render it bad; we believe in what is called “General Revelation” – that God has designed this world and us in a way that we can discover truths from the phenomenon we see in this word. Thus, a truth we see – such as that things work better when people play to their strengths – could be true and right, even if it’s not in the Bible. But we also must make sure to compare the principles we see in this world to see if there might be a different model given in Scripture. 

What Do We Find in Scripture?
Having recently examined the account of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples in John 13 [sermon link?], I was once again struck by the fact that Jesus’s example and instruction seems to be less “find your gift and use it” and more “see a need and address it.” While there is a sense in which Jesus is probably the greatest footwasher there ever was, it does not seem that he took the towel and basin because that was his “gift” or he was better at it than the disciples, but because it needed to be done. It doesn’t show us finding our gifts and then serving from our gifts, it shows us that we think no task is beneath us and no person unworthy of our service!

This thought seems to match the overarching thread of Jesus’s teaching – that greatness is found in serving, and specifically, being a servant of all (Mark 9:35; 10:43-44). A servant doesn’t necessarily get to pick and choose what they do – a servant doesn’t just “play to their strengths” but does whatever the master needs to get done in the moment. When Jesus teaches about separating the sheep and goats in Matthew 25:31-46, it is not whether one used his or her gifts as much as how one responded to the needs in front of them, with the goats not recognizing the connection between serving the needs of others and serving Jesus himself.

In addition, we see a common thread in the Bible that God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). When we use our gifts and strengths, we are in danger of boasting about what we have done (needing to remember that God is the one who gives us all gifts, as Paul makes clear in 1 Corinthians 4:7). But when we serve in areas that we aren’t strong in, we must rely upon His strength and help (both directly from Him, and at times, indirectly through others). I can say that in times when I serve in my strengths and giftedness, I can fall into the trap of pride, but when I serve in areas that I am NOT strong in, I discover God’s grace in a new way and lean wholly dependent upon Him.

Therefore, rather than teaching us to find our gifts and use them, the Bible instructs us to use our gifts in the right way and to serve the needs that we see around us, even when we might feel inadequate to the task. When we hear about needs to serve, we should not dismiss those that are out of our “giftedness” (or comfort zone), but maybe should find ourselves compelled to step into places that will stretch us so that God may grow us and be glorified through us!

Serving With Your Gifts and In Your Weaknesses
There is a sense in which I don’t think these two thoughts are either/or but rather both/and. The Bible does teach us that we should use the gifts and talents that God has given us; this is being a good steward of God’s grace and recognizing that we are blessed to be a blessing. However, we should not wait to serve because we are not gifted; we should see needs and step into them, even when it will require us to be humble in what we do or in how we do it! 

Questions about the Bible or theology? Email them to Pastor Brian at Theology@WeAreFaith.org. You can also request to receive weekly emails with our blog posts by filling out the information on the right side.


* Here are the 20 gifts found in those passage: Administration (1 Corinthians 12:28); Apostleship (1 Corinthians 12:28, 29; Ephesians 4:11); Discernment (1 Corinthians 12:10); Encouragement (Romans 12:8); Evangelism (Ephesians 4:11); Faith (1 Corinthians 12:9); Giving (Romans 12:8; Healing (1 Corinthians 12:9, 28, 30); Helping (1 Corinthians12:29); Interpretation (of tongues) (1 Corinthians 12:10, 30); Knowledge (1 Corinthians 12:8); Leadership (Romans 12:8); Mercy (Romans 12:8); Miracles (1 Corinthians 12:10, 28); Prophecy (1 Corinthians 12:10; 12:28, 29; Romans 12:6; Ephesians 4:11); Service/Hospitality (Roman 12:7); Shepherding (Epheasians4:11); Teaching (1 Corinthians 12:28, 29; Romans 12:8; maybe Ephesians 4:11); Tongues (1 Corinthians 12:10, 29, 30); and Wisdom (1 Corinthians 12:8).

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