Jan 12
16
“While confined here in the Birmingham city jail, I came across your recent statement calling my present activities ‘unwise and untimely.’” From Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail.
“When a man appears in society who is not controlled by motives which usually govern the conduct of other men he becomes at first an object of pity, then of contempt, and, lastly, of hate.”[i]
“What are your gifts? How can you use them to build up the body? (See Romans 12:6-8; 1 Cor. 12:4-11, 27-31).”[ii]
Often, the first question asked, as it was yesterday, is, “So, how do I know what my gift is?”
And the answer is most often, “Ask those around you.” There are even some web-sites with a questionnaire. Answer the questions and they will send back a list of your gifts with instructions on how to use them. Better, in context of “church,” is to ask your minister/pastor/priest. He/she will guide you in ways that your gifts will most efficiently benefit their “vision” for the church.
But a couple of problems: Paul did not ask the Romans or Corinthians what his gift was. Nor did he ask the clergy in Jerusalem. Rather, his letters to the Corinthians indicate that they questioned his gift (to be an apostle) and his activities.
Your zeal,” said Dr. Beecher to him [William Lloyd Garrison[iii]] with unlimited condescension of tone [?]”your zeal is commendable, but you are misguided . If you will give up your fanatical notions and be guided by us (the clergy) we will make you the Wilberforce of America.?[iv]
Questions:
- Do we confuse finding our gift with using our gifts?
- Whose permission do you need to do the right thing?
- When is seeking God’s will an excuse for failing to do God’s will?
[i] Archibald Henry Grimke, William Lloyd Garrison: The Abolitionist, p. 37. Reprint of the 1891 ed. Published by Funk and Wagnalls, New York.
[ii] Promise Keepers, Men of Integrity, January/February 2012.
[iii] From Wikipedia, Garrison was “one of the most articulate, as well as most radical, opponents of slavery. His approach to emancipation stressed nonviolence and passive resistance, and he attracted a vocal following.” Henry Ward Beecher (June 24, 1813 – March 8, 1887) was a prominent Congregationalist clergyman.
[iv] Grimke, p. 48.