When I first got saved, the Lord re-wrote my entire mental construct in every area of my life, much like He does with every believer. One such construct was the biblical concept of stewardship that he injected into my new thinking. As the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to help understand that none of my gifts belonged to me, it forever changed how I used them and removed former pride from my spirit.
Each person has their talents, gifts, and abilities. In my born-again new spirit, I was led to understand by the Holy Spirit that these are all borrowed from God while we are on earth, for the bible makes it clear that we can do nothing apart from God (John 15:5). God gives each one of us unique abilities and the most important thing that we need understand is that He wants us to appropriate them to serve others throughout our lifespan.
When you give your life to Jesus, it is no longer belongs to you. My life is no longer mine, and I am accountable to Jesus for everything I do and everything I don’t do. So how do we serve others with our talents? There are a few biblical answers. Serving those who don’t have what we have with generosity, assisting your colleagues and employees with humility, lending a helping hand in the community, and of course offering tithes could be a few. Offering your gifts for free is another indispensable example; every believer should be positioned in a volunteer post either at church or in ministry.
Previously, I used my gifts to promote profit, compete with others, and get ahead; and my soul didn’t have peace. Today, I am thankful that Jesus Christ cleansed my soul from this impurity and is leading on the path of how He wants me to use my talents to glorify His kingdom and serve His people. In Matthew 25, if read closely, the parable of the talents makes it clear that our work should improve the life of others. Let us do an accountability check today to see where our motives truly are!