For the past few years I have picked a verse or phrase as my motto for that year. I guess it’s my attempt at a New Year’s Resolution. Last year I took my inspiration from the movie Wonder and the Dr. Dyer quote of, “When given the choice between being right or being kind, choose kind.” I based it upon Ephesians 4:32,
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Even though I didn’t always make it, I tried to keep in the forefront of my reactions to “Choose Kind,” and while others may not have noticed, I often did see a difference in my reactions or at least I thought about it later.
Recently during one of our pastor’s sermons I got to thinking about how I was serving God: Am I really using my gifts? Just what are my gifts? How am I serving God? How am I serving others? Those probably weren’t the questions the pastor wanted us to ask ourselves, but they kind of stuck with me.
When I started looking for a verse that spoke to these questions, I came across 1 Peter 4:10.
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.
I love investigating the Greek of New Testament verses. The literal translation of this one says,
Each as has received a gift,
to each other them serving,
as good stewards
of [the] manifold grace of God:
As you can see, for me there were four sections to this verse and four types of words. The first section notes that each believer has received a gift. While teaching, I was always amazed at some of the unusual talents my students were born with or chose to practice. I wish I could say I always appreciated the unique abilities of all my students, but unfortunately too often I was preoccupied with trying to get them to understand and learn something. The point is that we are all born with individual abilities that give us a unique way of viewing the world and working within it. I’m not sure the Apostle Peter was just talking about “gifts” we are born with though. Moses is a great example of someone who was empowered by God to serve the Israelites in ways far beyond what he thought his apparent natural abilities were. I’m thinking that while I am certainly no Moses, neither should I limit the ways in which the Holy Spirit can inspire and enhance my service.
Serve…. Usually when I think of how I should be serving, I’m focused on how I can assist in the work of God’s Kingdom. But is that really what Peter is talking about here? He says each of us should serve others. If you look at the verses around verse ten, you can see that Peter is probably focused on how you should be serving other believers. But I’m not sure it should even be restricted to just other Christians, for he also describes how we should be serving: as faithful stewards of God’s grace. The Greek word (οἰκονόμοι) that is translated here as stewards is often used to describe a situation where someone is managing or administering something, so I’m taking this as indication that I am supposed to be a steward or administering God’s grace to others by using my gifts.
The Apostle Peter uses the word, poikiles (ποικίλης), to describe God’s grace. One translation I saw used “manifold” for this word, but the NIV translates it as “various forms”. Most of the time when I see “manifold” it’s in reference to a fitting in an engine that mixes gases from several cylinders, but isn’t that a cool picture of what administering God’s grace should look like from believers? God’s grace in the many and varied forms of the talents and abilities of His people coming together and bestowed upon those around them?
Lastly, I looked at “God’s grace”. Grace is found both in the Old and New Testaments. My college chaplain used to describe it as “when we get what we don’t deserve.” In the Bible it often refers to favor by a superior to an inferior and is characterized by God’s provision of salvation for us through Jesus, the Christ. The ancient Greek word charitos (χάριτος) that was used to translate the Hebrew word for grace had its own meaning in their world. It was more along the idea of a favor done without expectancy of anything being done in return. Again, an apt correlation to our salvation through Jesus, but how do I use my gift as a steward of this grace?
I don’t know about you, but I struggle with saying I am gifted at anything in particular. It just seems boastful. I’ve also taken those spiritual gift tests to see where my “strengths” lie. But as I have gotten older, I have also learned to be wary of the obvious.
I grew up with two grandmothers who quilted, one was quite prolific. She made thousands of quilts out of discarded clothing and fabric. I rarely slept under a store-bought quilt. I still don’t. My mom and aunts and uncles carried on that grandmother’s legacy by meeting at Grandma’s house and tying quilts after she was gone. Out of all the grandchildren, I was pretty far down on the list of anyone’s guess (including me) on who would carry on the legacy for my generation. Yet here I am, quilting on my own. It is not a gift or talent that I would have thought was there and was only fostered when I looked for a way to comfort our daughter after the loss of our son. My point is, I think there are probably gifts, talents, or abilities in my arsenal that I may not realize but can be fostered and used and developed by the Holy Spirit.
One of the dangers of this situation is to have the mindset that I play only a minor role in God’s work, just a small insignificant “cog in the wheel.” There are others with far greater talents and more powerful gifts than I can ever muster. The reality is that there is never anything insignificant about any cog in any wheel, no matter how small. A giant machine of many parts can be brought to a grinding halt when a small gear does not function. In the physical world, that gear is usually removed and replaced. In the spiritual world, that gear is irreplaceable. The only way to make up for its loss is to find a way to work around it.
I shop at Wally World (Walmart) a lot. My habit has become to bring a stray cart in from the parking lot, whether I am going to need one or not. There is usually no lack of possibilities and I take joy in trying to find one that can potentially pose an inconvenience for another shopper trying to park. The other day as I was pushing my found cart toward the store, I noticed a gentleman in a handicapped spot unloading one of the motorized carts, so I put up my cart and offered to take the motorized one in for him. The sad part was that he seemed surprised that anyone would offer to do that, but he was still kind and took the time to explain how to work the controls. In the grand scheme of things, neither my action nor his probably had a significant effect upon the world, but who else could have helped that gentleman in that instant and perhaps given him a reason to smile for a bit? I was the one and only person available. As for me, his kindness and attention to making sure I knew how to run that machine reminded me to make sure I give others the opportunity to bless and assist me, whether I think I need it or not.
As Christians, we have a responsibility to use our unique abilities, viewpoint, and place in this world to serve others and contribute to the Kingdom of God. The diverse needs of the world are matched only by the manifold grace of God that is often administered by His followers. Peter points out that each of us has gifts that we should use to serve others. Some days our gift may be as simple as taking a shopping cart into the store, but other days we may be the only person who has the opportunity to serve and help heal the brokenness of an “other” who is in our path. It is a rather frightening prospect isn’t it? One though, that we are uniquely equipped to handle with the power of the Holy Spirit.
Here’s to a year of serving with my gifts………