Today’s society is getting better at realizing everyone in some way has worth. However, many times the pendulum swings way too far and it has become a world of people getting trophies and accolades just for showing up, not for actually doing a great job. Just the other day I drove past a Karate Dojo whose sign read, “Everybody is a Winner, Every kid is special.” I get the sentiment, but couldn’t help hearing Syndrome from the first Incredibles movie, “Everyone can be super, and when everyone’s super, no one will be.”  Though the driving idea behind it is probably good, That idea too far in of itself can be damaging as well because of its lack to prepare people for the realities of life as well as the fact you should be doing everything to the best of your ability. A key truth that was evident in my 15 years of teaching school, you needed to raise expectations for kids and they would meet them, when you lowered the bar, well they just quit trying as hard.  Thus the motivating factor  has more to do with personal integrity than pleasing others.

Nevertheless I digress. Where I am going with these thoughts today starts in the book of Romans, 12:1-8, which reads: 

¹I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ²Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.

³For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. ⁴For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, ⁵so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. ⁶We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ⁷ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; ⁸the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.”

I have really enjoyed the Sister Act movies over the years, going back and maybe not watching the entire movie , though I have, but also through the magic of YouTube re-watching specific clips. The main actress,  Whoopi Goldberg has for many years co-hosted a comedy show called Comic Relief. It is a charity event whose purpose is to help the nation’s homeless and is only one of the many charitable projects in which she is involved. She was asked in a reader’s digest interview why she is so charitable. She answered,  “I fear waking up in the morning and finding out my life was all for nothing. We are here for a reason. I believe a bit of the reason is to throw little torches out to lead people through the dark.”
Though Whoopi Goldberg is far from being a theologian, and I rarely agree with her opinion on many topics. Nevertheless her  comment has truth to it. We are all  driven to search for significance. We Want our lives to count for something. All the attention, all the wealth, all the notoriety the world has to offer really doesn’t satisfy that need. Solomon said, “God has set eternity in the heart.” So ultimate significance is found only in giving one’s self to Jesus Christ because only Jesus Christ can grant eternal life.

Only Jesus Christ can satisfy that spiritual hunger of the soul and only Jesus Christ is really the torch to lead people out of darkness into the light. I pray Whoopi discovers that truth. Jesus said, “Whoever will seek to save his life will lose it but whoever will lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s will find it.”

That is the context we need to remember  as we look at the earlier  scripture in light of God’s provision. This passage talks about a proper evaluation of our strengths, our talents, which are to be used for a purpose,  God’s glory. If we understand and apply four principles from this section, it will really help us to find eternal significance.

God has provided for us what we need, when we need it, from unexpected places and in infinite ways. God has filled the world with people who can each do their own amazing things. No one can do everything, but collectively, we can do anything. Each one of these abilities are their own miracle. The body of Christ is there to help each other and meet needs in the world.  When  you run up against something that you can’t do, and it is going to happen time and time again,  God has provided someone else out there, who can. So why do we see so many needs not being met? Well the first of this verse talks about there being a proper way to use them. This is where the principles come in that I mentioned. 

Number 1: Set the right  priorities.
Verse 1: “Therefore I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. This is your spiritual act of worship.”

God could have disowned us but instead He chose us, He adopted us, He redeemed us, He sealed us as His very own. This love should lead us to desire to please Him, not to impress people. He says, “Don’t conform any longer to the pattern of this world.” In other words, “don’t let the world mold you, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind and then you will prove what God’s will is, his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

You see, the world around us is obsessed with image. What will people say? What will people think? But the active Christian renews the mind. We change our thinking. What becomes important is what God thinks. Is this activity on my calendar pleasing to Him? Is this check I am writing good stewardship of his money? Is this conversation accomplishing His will? Is this thought pattern honoring Him? When we seek the praise of God more than the praise of man, some people in the world will not understand and they will try to squeeze us back into their mold.

Jerome Hines was an extremely gifted singer and as a young man his goal was to sing in the opera. He made all the necessary sacrifices. He took lessons. He learned several different languages until he realized his dream and sang with the Metropolitan Opera. But one day, Jerome Hines heard George Beverly Shea sing in that mellow voice, “I’d rather have Jesus than anything the world affords today.” The Holy Spirit  got to Hines and led him to give his life to Jesus Christ. From that time on, he continued to sing in the opera but he no longer sang for the advancement of Jerome Hines or to please people. He looked for an opportunity to give glory to God.

Several years later, Jerome Hines was offered a role he had always wanted. He signed the contract. He practiced for months. But when he went to the opera house for the first rehearsal, he was surprised to witness a lewd dance in the performance. When he inquired about it, he was informed that they had modernized the opera and that dance was a part of the new choreography. Hines said, “I won’t sing if they have that dance.”

The general manager of the Metropolitan Opera informed him if he did not participate he was breaking his contract and he would be ostracized by management and blackballed from the opera but Hines stood his ground and he withdrew. He said, “I won’t use my talent to draw people in to see something like that.” His stance cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars and the role of a lifetime. He had decided that he really would rather have Jesus than anything the world affords today.

Does God have this kind of priority in your life? If you put God first in the use of your talent, you will be in  God’s will but the world may not understand. So when it comes to the use of your talent, remember your priorities. You use your gift to please God, not to impress people.

Number 2: Evaluate your gifts realistically.

Verse 3 says: “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought. But rather think of yourself with sober judgment in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.”

Oftentimes people think more highly of themselves than they ought. We have all been around these kinds of people, seen them on TV, or even acted that way at times. When you think too highly of your talent, it can actually be detrimental.  Proverbs 16:18 warns pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.

It’s important to have a balance in this area, False humility, or even actually  thinking too low of yourself can be a detriment to the gift as well. Do you remember when God challenged Moses to go before Pharaoh and demand the release of the Israelite slaves? Moses felt inadequate and he said, “Oh no, God, they won’t believe me. I am not a very good speaker. Would you send somebody else.” The Bible does not say that God was pleased with Moses because of his humility. It says the wrath of God was kindled against Moses because of his lack of faith. An inferiority complex is not humility. Humility is finding out what God has gifted you to do and doing it with abandonment for His glory and not your own.

I read a great anecdote that made me laugh so I want to share. David Stephens of the Dallas Morning News tells a story about Frank Samansky, a Notre Dame center back in the 40s. Samansky had been called in as a witness in a civil suit at South Bend. The judge asked him, “Are you on the Notre Dame football team?” And Samansky said, “Yes, your Honor, I am.” The judge said, “What position do you play.” He said, “I am a center.” The judge asked, “Are you any good?” And Samansky squirmed and finally he said, “Your Honor, I am the best center Notre Dame has ever had.”

Coach Frank Leahey was really surprised. He said Samansky had always been modest and unassuming. So when the proceedings were over, Leahey took Samansky aside and said “Why would you say you are the best center that Notre Dame ever had?” Samansky, blushing, said, “I hated to do it, coach, but after all I was under oath.”

In order to perform well there has to be some degree of confidence and belief in one’s self. Sir Lawrence Olivier, the actor, was asked what it took to be a good actor and he said, “Humility enough to prepare and confidence enough to pull it off.” So we have a responsibility as God’s people not to think too highly of ourselves or too lowly of ourselves but we are to think of ourselves objectively. Think of yourself with sober judgment in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. If  you are not sure what your gifts and talents are, there are a variety of different aptitude tests such as Myers-Briggs Personality Assessment, Spiritual gift inventories, and other things if you are interested I can point you toward. The main thing is realizing you have gifts, and god wants you to use them. 

Number 3 : Don’t  compare yourself with other people.

Just as each of us has one body with many members and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts according to the grace given us. One of the primary reasons people  feel insignificant is due to comparing ourselves to others.

I can be guilty of this. Looking at preachers like Billy Graham, John Maxwell,  TD Jakes, .

even ones closer to home like  Jeff Collins, Bill Byers, or Danny Rodriguez I can easily feel like I don’t measure up.

Now when I compare myself to other preachers I often  get down on myself. Wonder why my ministry isn’t like this? Why is my path harder and no ( insert whatever here). We all have a tendency to compare ourselves with those in our field who have more influence or more popularity or a bigger title or somebody who is making more money. As a result, we are never satisfied. We are jealous. Never quite feeling as significant as we would like. But this passage urges us not to fall into that trap of comparing and competing with one another because just as a body has different members with different functions, so we have different gifts but one body. 

When God created this physical body He knew exactly what He was doing. He gave us two eyes so we would have peripheral vision. He gave us two ears so we could hear in stereo. He gave us two nostrils so that even in the midst of allergy season  we would have a 50/50 chance of breathing out of one of them. He knew  what he was doing when he created this physical body and He knew what He was doing when He created His church. Like members of the body we all have different gifts. I can’t minister to all the people in all the places that you can. You have areas of influence and connections no one else could ever reach.


So some are gifted to preach, some to serve, some to teach, some to encourage, some to make money and give, some to lead, some to show mercy. Once you understand that, you are more likely to quit competing with others.

But we not only have different gifts — we have different measures of the same gift. He says in verse 6, if a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. Some have the gift of preaching with five talents and some the gift of preaching with one talent. Some people are so gifted in singing they ought to sing on national television and some people are gifted enough to sing in the choir while others just make a joyful noise and should keep the loud songs to the shower.

We need to evaluate not only where our strengths are but to have a realistic assessment of the degree of our gift. The one Talent person should not be comparing himself with a five talent person or else he is always going to feel jealous. The five Talent person should not be comparing herself with the one Talent person or she is going to get lazy or have a condescending spirit. We have different measures of the same gift.

Final One (Number 4) : Remain focused in the area of your strength.

Romans 12:6 does it say the following? “If a man’s gift is prophesying then let him learn to serve. If a man’s gift is teaching, let him go on to encourage. If a woman is good with giving encouragement then let her learn to contribute to the needs of others.” 

That is not what it says, is it? It says if your gift is prophesying, that is what you are supposed to do. Prophesy. If your gift is teaching, you stay with teaching.
It goes on to say you do it generously. You do it diligently. You do it cheerfully. That sounds so basic but it is amazing how many people get off focus. When you have discovered your primary area of giftedness, stay focused in your area of strength and your area of passion and you will be fulfilled.

I saw school teachers who are excellent in the classroom so they get bumped up to counseling and then to administration. They don’t feel quite as comfortable in that role but they get paid more money so they stay with it. It reminds me of in the Original Star Trek movies,

Kirk is promoted to Admiral. He has definitely earned it. HE hates it. The best thing that happens to him is he gets demoted to Captain and put back on a Starship where his talents  shine, even if the actors were a bit over the top. 

Whatever God has gifted you to do and whatever is your passion in life, you focus on that and develop that to the best of your ability. Find your gift and your passion in life and give yourself diligently and cheerfully to it. It may not be what others want for you. It may not be what you dreamed about when you were a child but if it is what God ordained and gifted you to do you will find significance and be energized by it. I read an interesting phrase this week, “We can’t be anything we want to be. But we must be what God ordained us to be.”

I think we do our children a real disservice when we tell them “you can be anything you want to be and you can do anything you want to do” because that is not true. They may not be intellectually gifted enough to be a doctor, hands not steady enough to be a surgeon.  They may not be talented enough to be the artist that they dream of being. They may not be big enough or agile enough physically to be the professional athlete that they would like to be. I had a student one time who told me she was going to be a nurse and maybe go on to be a doctor. I told her I doubt it, especially the current  way she was going. She got so mad and said, Who are you to tell me that? “I said I am the teacher who grades your assignments, or should I say lack thereof? Unless you make major changes in your work and study ethic, you won’t become a nurse or doctor because it requires too much.

Hard work only carries us so far if there is a lack of talent. I loved basketball, wanted to play, was even on a team for a while, granted it was a grocery store league, but I was not that good regardless of how much I wanted to be good. 

We can’t be just anything we want to be. We must be what God has gifted us and ordained us to be. The flip side is we shouldn’t ignore and squander the gifts we are given by not using them,

In addition, we should not be a hindrance to other people using their gift because it is a gift you don’t understand.

Let me tell you another Story. It is about buying a vintage Volkswagen Beetle. It was a great deal and I  really wanted it. It would have been the perfect first car for our daughter.  My wife had a dream about it and said the purchase did not sit easy with her.  I was upset. I really wanted the vehicle. However, I  acknowledged her concern and honored her wishes as we are a family together. I  later got a call saying that the entire oil pan dropped off the vehicle and other issues happened that messed it up. Honoring and recognizing my wife’s gift saved us a lot of trouble. 

God has provided for us in infinite ways through the body of Christ, each of us are a part of the infinite provision through  — the gifts God has given — and then giving ourselves fully in that area for the glory of God and not self.

I want to close with a thought from Rick Warren. Regardless of your thoughts on him, this was solid advice. He said, God gave me the gift to preach not for my benefit but for yours. If I don’t use my gift, I will cheat you. God gave you a gift, not for your benefit but for other people. If you don’t use your gift, you cheat others.

God has given different gifts to the body for the building up of the body. When you use your gift fully for the glory of God, you begin to light little torches along the way to show people through the darkness to the light of Jesus Christ and become part of how he provides what we need, when we need it, from unexpected places, in infinite ways.