Using the Gift
Read Time: 2 min
A British crypto investor, James Howells, spent a week in 2009 mining bitcoins—a type of digital currency—and earned over 7,500 of them. He stored the long, complex keys to each coin on a hard drive and put it in his desk. Unfortunately, when he cleaned out the desk a few years later, he accidentally threw away the hard drive. Though the bitcoins weren’t worth a great deal when he first accumulated them, their value had skyrocketed. His lost bitcoins may have been worth as much as $9.9 million dollars.
We have all mourned a lost opportunity. But when it comes to using our spiritual gifts, we can’t afford to let opportunities slip through our fingers. Unused spiritual gifts tend to wither away, so we have a responsibility to use them wisely.
Jesus told a story to illustrate the importance of using our talents and gifts. “The kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability” (Matthew 25:14, 15).
The servants who diligently used their gifts found that they were multiplied, while the one servant who hid his gift made no profit at all and eventually lost that gift—earning him the title of “wicked and lazy servant” (verse 26).
Our responsibility in utilizing our gifts is not to ourselves but to God. We need to persist in putting our spiritual gifts to good use in bringing others to Jesus. Then, by His grace, we will one day hear the words: “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord” (v. 21).
Apply It:
Are you using all of the spiritual gifts you’ve been given? Which gifts has God been multiplying in your life?
Dig Deeper:
1 Peter 4:10; Ephesians 2:10; Galatians 6:9
Key Bible Texts
His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord. (Matthew 25:23 KJV)