Good morning! When I was a youth leader, we used to play this game called two truths and a lie. It’s pretty self explanatory, but each person would take turns telling three things about themselves – two things would be true and one would be a lie. The other people would try to guess which one is the lie. This was meant to be an ice breaker game to help people get to know each other and have a little bit of fun.
I would say something like:
- I have driven a boat underneath the Verrazano Bridge
- One time I caught a foul ball at a Mets game
- I can say the alphabet backwards
Now, you would try to guess which one is a lie. It normally ends up with a lot of great conversation between the people who try to guess as they attempt to unravel what they know about me.
It may take a moment to think about it, but each one of us has something that other people would not know or even believe. Each time we played this game it peeled back another layer of our lives to get to know each other better.
The lie I told in the list above is number two. I have never caught a foul ball (or any other ball) at a Mets game. I’ve always wanted to catch a home run ball or foul ball at a Major League game, but never have! The closest we came was last summer at an Orioles game in Baltimore – a guy near us caught the ball and gave it to my nephew who was with us at the time.
That means that I did drive a boat underneath the Verrazano Bridge – one of the coolest moments ever; and I can say the alphabet backwards. Those facts would lead into other conversations to explain further the truths that were uncovered; resulting in deeper relationships with one another!
Take a moment to think about the relationships you have with others – how much do they really know about you? I often think about how every need (spiritual and practical) can be found in the church – not the building, but the body of believers. There are so many occupations, skills, and hidden talents represented within the church – people just don’t know about them. The same goes for spiritual gifts – God has given each person a gift to be used for the benefit of others, but so often we keep them to ourselves.
“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”
1 Peter 4:10
What causes us to keep these gifts and talents to ourselves? These are my thoughts and experiences: we don’t think our gifts or talents are very valuable, we don’t want to let others in, we are afraid people will take advantage of us for the gift or talent if we share it with them. I’m sure there are other reasons, but the Bible is clear when it says to use our gifts to serve others.
To debunk of few of those reasons for not sharing our gifts with others, let’s take a deeper look.
- Downplay the Value of the Gift
- I know in my life I have looked in comparison to other people and shy away from sharing my gift with others because someone else can do it better. This is absolutely untrue! When God gives us a gift, no one else can use it like you! Our job is to share the gift and let God worry about the outcome.
- We don’t want to open up to others
- Sometimes we shy away from sharing our gifts because it will force us to get close to others and we may have to let others in. The thing that makes my relationship with Mer so strong is that she knows everything there is to know about me and vice versa. It’s the closeness that brings unity. Of course each relationship will look different, but as we use the gifts that God has given us they will provide opportunities for us to grow in unity with one another!
- We don’t want to be taken advantage of
- When people find out that I work for a cable company, I tend to become their best friend when they experience problems. Now don’t misunderstand, I love helping the people who are close to me, but when someone hasn’t talked to me in a month and they call me for cable help, it can be annoying. But when it comes to the body of Christ, we should be willing to put it out there to support one another. That is why God has given us gifts – to help others! And in my experience, if someone takes advantage, there are so many more who don’t!
No matter what you have been gifted with – it can be used to support the body of Christ. It doesn’t matter how unique it is, you don’t have to preach, or sing on the worship team, or teach kids ministry to be used by God. If you are friendly, good at math, good at construction, good at cleaning, good at anything – God will find a place for us to use our gift if we are willing! What are we waiting for?
Heavenly Father, thank You for the many talents that You have given to us, Your people! Thank You for how others have poured into me to help me grow in how I use the gifts You have given! Help us to willingly lay our gifts before You to be used in Your church and among the body of Christ! The world needs to see a church that operates in unity! In Jesus Name – AMEN!
Be Transformed 