How many times have you heard someone say “It’s not my
job” not jokingly but totally serious?
Over the years at work I heard this countless times. Being the ‘take charge of the situation and
I’ll do it myself then I will know it is done correctly’ person that I am – I
would do whatever needed to be done and we won’t talk about what I was
thinking.
I have also heard “It’s not my job, we have people paid
to do that” or “It’s someone else’s turn I have done my time” at church. This is disturbing to me because the Bible
tells us in Romans 12:3-5 that a church is all the members working together as
one. “For
by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly that you
ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the
measure of faith God has given you. Just
as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have
the same function so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member
belongs to all the others.”
Each of has a job to do in the church. We all have spiritual gifts that were
manifested in us when we received Jesus Christ as our personal savior. These are found in Romans 12:6-8, “We have different gifts according to the grace given
us. If a man’s gift is prophesying,
let him use it in proportion to his faith.
If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let
him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing
to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership,
let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let me do it
cheerfully.”
It is easy to ignore things that we need to be doing and
we can come up with all kinds of excuses.
My personal favorite happened several years ago. I called a young lady and asked her if she
would pray about teaching a two year old Sunday School class. She immediately said – “No, I might get
pregnant”. I was completely taken aback
by this quick response. I wanted to say
that I had never known of anyone getting pregnant teaching two years olds. This job was usually more of a visual aid for
birth control. But all I said was “okay
and thank you for your honesty”. How
often do we give an ‘off the cuff’ answer instead of giving someone the time in
prayer they requested? In hind sight, I
am glad she said no to teaching pre-school because it was not her spiritual
gift.
Do you know what your spiritual gifts are? God gives us spiritual gifts so we can build
up His church. Notice I said us and we
and them and they. We don’t all have the
same gifts but we must all dedicate our gifts to God’s service and not our own
personal agenda, success or ego. We must
be willing to utilize our gifts and not hold anything back from God’s
service. If you are stepping out in
faith to use your gift for the first time, rest assured that our gracious God
will give you the faith and power you need to complete the assignment.
These are some of the things you can do in your church to
best use your spiritual gifts:
1. Gift of prophesying – this doesn’t mean predicting
the future but more interpreting the past by preaching God’s message to all
people. If God called you to preach –
don’t miss your call by arguing with Him.
2. Gift
of service – there are countless areas within the church where you can serve;
hold a baby in extended session, Wednesday night kitchen duty, sing in the
choir or play in the orchestra, be a greeter, work with local missions and the
list is endless.
3. Gift
of teaching – teachers with a heart for God are always needed whether it is in
bed babies to senior adults, discipleship training or children’s church, you
are needed.
4. Gift
of encouragement – people blessed with the gift of encouragement often prefer
to work in the background, they place value on others and want to be used but
not out on the front lines. Our church
has a small group of ladies who meet every week and send cards to people who
are ill, having birthdays, are homebound and some who just need a touch and to
know that someone cares.
5. Gift
of contributing – the first thing we think of with this gift is ‘money’. Some are blessed financially and give freely
to help others in need. Others pray
diligently for God to bless the 90% left after writing the tithe check. God
needs your time. The time you can devote
to caring for others by preparing a meal for someone who is ill, or using your
talents to help a family whose home is need of repair. The list is endless of how you can give of
your time. We don’t all have the same
amount of money but we do have the same amount of time and we need to share it
with others.
6. Gift
of leadership – churches need good leaders for committee work, for their
organizational skills and most of all for their ability to lead a team in the
right direction. A true leader knows God
is in control and He places people under the leaders who will benefit and learn
from the leaders skills. A good team
leader plus a good leadership team equals a successful ministry.
7. Gift
of mercy – people with the gift of mercy are very special. Everyone wants mercy to be shown toward them
but many of us do not have this precious gift.
On the spiritual gifts test I score the lowest on mercy. But, I am learning with the help of the Lord
to extend myself into this uncharted territory.
People with the gift of mercy are always smiling, ready with a hug and
an open heart. I personally believe they
will have extra jewels in their heavenly crowns.
We all have something to do in our churches and in our
communities. Matthew West has a new song
entitled “Do Something”. Please read the
words and then ask God what He wants you to do for Him.
I woke up this morning
Saw a world full of trouble now
Thought, how'd we ever get so far down
How's it ever gonna turn around
So I turned my eyes to
Heaven
I thought, "God, why don't You do something?"
Well, I just couldn't bear the thought of
People living in poverty
Children sold into
slavery
The thought disgusted me
So, I shook my fist at Heaven
Said, "God, why don't You do something?"
He said, "I did, I
created you"
I’m so
tired of talking
About how we are God's hands and feet
But it's easier to say than to be
Live like angels of apathy who tell ourselves
It's alright, "somebody else will do something"
Well, I don't know about
you
But I'm sick and tired of life with no desire
I don't want a flame, I want a fire
I wanna be the one who stands up and says,
"I'm gonna do something"
If not us, then who
If not me and you
Right now, it's time for us to do something
If not now, then when
Will we see an end
To all this pain
It's not enough to do nothing
It's time for us to do something
Until next time, I am living for Him,
Betty
