Sunday, February 16, 2003
Sunday, February 16, 2003
We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion
to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in
generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.
That's what genius is. When we say that someone is a genius, all we are saying is that they
gave maximum effort in the area of their lives where they have natural ability. That's it. That's the
secret of success--find what we're naturally good at and give it our best. A person who can't
carry a tune will never sing with the Met no matter how hard they work. On the other hand, there
are many performers who as young people had quite ordinary voices, but through hard
work--thousands and thousands of hours of practice--have become accomplished singers. It
was not that they had extraordinary talent to begin with. It was that they took what they had and
used it to the utmost of their ability.
(Romans 12.6-8
NRSV)
You and I have differing gifts. Some of us have nice singing voices. Some have graceful bodies.
Some have high IQ's. Some are artists. Some are good with numbers; others are good with
people. All of us have some natural ability, though. My ability will be different from yours, each of
us has some natural ability. The secret is to find our natural abilities and give them all we've got.
Loving God, show me how I can best use my gifts for you. Amen.
