Friday, March 11, 2011

Gifts and Talents


Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms. I Peter 4:10 (NIV)

Sometimes we forget that the gifts and talents we've been given by the Lord are not so much for our benefit as they are for others.

As a writer I can get all caught up in writing "my" book or posting on "my" blog. I can stress about whether or not my writing will be accepted by a publisher, whether I can find an agent to represent me and whether I can write a book that will bring me recognition and validate my calling, but in reality, none of that matters.

What matters is - Am I using the writing talents God has given me to help others? Do I write with the reader in mind? Do I allow God to influence what I write, because He knows who will be reading it and only He knows what they might need at that moment.  Will the words I write encourage and uplift? Will they point the way to Christ?

These are questions I need to ask myself so that I will be able to evaluate whether or not I am using the gift I've received to serve others, whether I am being a faithful steward of the talent I've been given, because it's not all about me!

Prayer:
Father, thank you for the gifts and talents you've give each one of us.  Help us to use them to serve others just the way you intended us to do. Amen

--------------------------------------------------------
(Copyright© 2011 Jan Christiansen. All rights reserved.)

2 comments:

Debbie Petras said...

I've been blogging on Heart Choices for about four years now. Prior to blogging, I always kept a journal. But blogging has been such a blessing as I've been able to share lessons I've learned with others. I've also been able to 'meet' other women who have become my new friends.

I'm so glad you began this blog and I don't want to lose you so I am now following. Btw, I am your neighbor. My husband and I are temporarily living in Sun City, AZ. And with a last name like Christiansen, you must have some Norwegian in your or is it your husband? My family is 100% Norwegian!

Good to meet you,
Debbie

Jan Christiansen said...

Hey, thanks for stopping by and following me and "HOWDY, NEIGHBOR!" We must do coffee/tea/anything sometime and get to know each other a little.

My husband's family is Danish. I grew up in Ohio. Our only daughter lives here in AZ, so that's why we're here - spoiling the grandsons.