Your Gifts Were Never Just for You

Every man has been given something specific. A gift, a skill, a calling. Most of us spend a lot of energy figuring out what to do with it. Scripture asks a different question: who is it for?

One Body, Many Gifts

1 Corinthians 12
“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.”

We are all part of one body: the bride, the Church of Christ. Every man has been given something specific, and those gifts are not for us. They are distributed on purpose, for the common good.

Whatever your gift, skill, or calling, it was given to you for worship and for the service of others. Not just to make you profitable or free. To worship God and serve people.

Seek First His Kingdom

Matthew 6:33
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

This comes from the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus paints the picture of the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. God provides for what he loves and cares for, and you are part of that creation.

God’s provision arrives for those who seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. Our skills and gifts are meant for the service of others. The provision to live freely enough to use those gifts comes when we seek his kingdom first.

The opposite is where most of us get stuck. We take our gifts and seek first our own kingdom, then invite God into it. When we carry that self-view as Christian leaders, there is always dissonance and always anxiety about the future. Most of the time we get in trouble because we are seeking first our kingdom and inviting God into it, rather than seeking first his kingdom and abandoning our own.

Bezalel: Called by Name

Exodus 31:1-6
“Then the Lord said to Moses, See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills — to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts. Moreover I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamak of the tribe of Dan to help him.”

The tabernacle is being set up. In the middle of altar instructions and worship practices, God stops and calls one specific man by name.

He was called by name. God did not make a general announcement. He looked at one specific man and said you. As our self-awareness rises and we become more aware of our natural giftings, our story looks more and more like Bezalel’s. We can say with confidence: God has placed this in my life, and I am going to develop it and aim it at others.

He worked in the shadow of God. His name means under the protection of God, or in his shadow. He was not building to get out from under God’s vision. He was building from within it, underneath God’s vision for his life and not trying to build his own.

He was raised in slavery. Bezalel did not go to art school. He was not formally trained. He was very likely a slave building for Pharaoh. God did not give him new gifts. He redirected the ones already there toward something sacred. Whatever season of life you are in, have been in, or will be in, what is developing in you has two purposes: worship and service. Paul’s skills for persecuting Christians were redirected into service and worship. We see this pattern all over Scripture.

He was not alone. God specifically appointed Oholiab to work alongside him, just like Adam in the garden, Jesus with his disciples, and Paul and Barnabas. The most gifted man still needed a partner. God built collaboration into the calling from the beginning. He wants us not just to worship and serve, but to be surrounded by strong helpers.