I have an amazing life because I am surrounded by gifted people all the time; my daily interactions bring me into contact with a tremendous variety of people who do things I could only dream of. Some work at my church and some work in businesses and non-profits all over Pennsylvania. Some are members of my family, and some are close friends. Some are strangers I meet, and some are people I have known for a long time who, all of a sudden, show me a skill they have that I was unaware of. I see you on social media; some of you bake, some of you build things, others create art. You are all displaying what my theology says are gifts from God. Some of those gifts are spiritual; some of those gifts are performative. A spiritual gift is, for example, someone who can sit for hours with a person who is dying, giving them support and comfort. A performative gift is like we saw yesterday; amazing athletes doing things many of us only dream of. I believe that all of these gifts come from God, and they are varied and unique. None of them come without work; none are realized without sacrifice.
I have known too many gifted people who either didn’t want to work at their gifts or felt they didn’t have them. I have known athletes who tried to get by on talent alone, refusing to listen to a coach. I have heard singers with amazing raw talent who became so full of themselves that they thought they would be big stars without sacrifice, and they ended up going nowhere with their gifts. It is easy to think we are truly God’s gift to the world, but there are no overnight successes. People who seem to come out of nowhere have their own stories of struggle and loss and victories to tell; if they don’t, they are lying, at least to themselves. Then there are those who don’t believe in themselves, which may be the saddest thing of all. Every person has at least one gift they can share with the world, and it is our loss if they don’t. What they need is encouragement, because it is too easy to get trapped in self-doubt and imposter’s syndrome. God’s generosity should not be wasted.
I will never play football like Patrick Mahomes or sing like Michael Bublé; I will never be able to spend long hours in meditation or memorize the Gettysburg Address. I have gifts, though, and so do you. The purpose of these gifts is not to lift the gifted person up; the purpose is to bring light into the darkness. This is why I love when people post things they have created on social media; they enrich my life and make me happy. Gifts are meant to be shared with others; in churchy language, they are meant to lift up and enhance and enrich the community. No gift is small or unnecessary – no gift is inferior or meaningless. Use your gifts to make people happy. The world will be better for it. I know I am.
Prayer – Thank You, God, for every gift You give. May we be bold enough to work at them and share them with each other. Amen.
Today’s art is by Andrea Stephens.