As each one has received a special gift
The Second Sphere of Stewardship
In His Presence: As
each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another
as good stewards of the manifold grace of God (1 Peter 4:10).
The
second sphere God has entrusted to us is talent. This area includes the
skills that God has bestowed on us for His purpose. A more specific
word for a Christian's talent would be giftedness. God doesn't give us
talent just so we can benefit from it—it's meant to benefit others.
We
live in the "me" generation. Everyone only wants to be served, not to
serve. There is not an overflow of God's goodness coming out of the
hearts of people. But Romans 12 describes how God has given us gifts for
the purpose of serving others: "Through the grace given to me I say to
everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to
think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to
each a measure of faith. For just as we have many members in one body
and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many,
are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another" (vv.
3-5).
In these verses, Paul said we shouldn't get the wrong idea
about who we are and lose sight of God's grace. We are who we are by
God's grace; therefore, we should be willing to serve Him with all He
has given us. In this way, others will grow in their relationship with
Him. If we are only recipients of God's gifts and not conduits of His
grace, we are abusing the stewardship role.
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