Sorry, That’s Not My Gift

Now concerning spiritual gifts, [siblings], I do not want you to be uninformed. – 1 Corinthians 12:1 (NIV)

I’m having second thoughts on spiritual gifts.

For a time now, we’ve been saying—I’ve been saying—that folks need to discern their particular gifts and be supported in exercising those rights. We have done gift discernment inventories. We have offered gift discernment workshops.

And sometimes that’s terrific. Some people have named a gift they hadn’t recognized and claimed a ministry that had their name written all over it. Hallelujah!

But sometimes this has gone sideways. As in, the dishes need to be washed. The trash wants taking out. The notes for the meeting need to be taken and distributed. And people say, “Sorry—not my gift.”

Sometimes there’s stuff that just needs to be done. Sometimes—well, really, all the time—there are mundane things that need to happen so a group, family, church, etc. can function. Someone has to show up to unlock the door. Someone has to take the food donations to the food bank. Someone has to count the offering.  

Sometimes, in fact, it may even be good for us to do stuff—service—that has no glory in it, that isn’t really fulfilling for us. We do it because it needs to be done. We serve, whether the task at hand is exactly our thing or not. And maybe we even forget about ourselves while we’re doing it—which may, in the end, be at least part of the point of service in the first place. 

Prayer
God, grant me grace so to lose myself in service to you that I may be truly found. Amen.

About the Author
This devotional by Tony Robinson is adapted from his reflection in This Is How We Begin: Devotionals and Prayers to Start Meetings, a collection of devotionals intended to center church meetings in God’s wisdom. Order This Is How We Begin here.