The Invisible WarSample

Faithful People Serve Others God uses my talents to test my unselfishness. You have to decide in life for whom or what you’re going to live. You’re either going to live a self-centered, miserly life or you’re going to live for something greater than yourself — the kingdom of God. Faithful people don’t live for themselves. They realize that the talents God gave them are not for their own benefit; they’re to make the world a better place. When God made you, he gave you all kinds of gifts, talents, and abilities. We call it your S.H.A.P.E.: your spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, personality, and experiences. These five things make you you. And God made you you. There’s nobody like you in the whole world, and he wants you to be you for his glory. God shaped you to serve him, and there’s only one way to do that: by serving other people. Faithful people realize that their talents are not for their benefit. You may have a talent for art and say that you do it “just because you love to do it.” That’s nice, but that’s not a good enough motive. God didn’t give you artistic ability just so you can love to do it. He gave it to you so you can use your art in some way to help other people. Some of you have an ability to fix things. Some of you are good at math. Some of you are good at closing deals. Some of you are good at music. Some of you are good at organizing. And some of you are good at trimming and gardening. God made us all different so that everything in the world gets done. If we all liked to do the same thing, there would be a whole lot left undone. You are the steward of your talents, and God is watching to see if you use what he gave you effectively on Earth. If you use them effectively on Earth, he’s going to give you more responsibility in Heaven. Have you ever thought about why didn’t God just create us and take us to Heaven? Why does he put us here on a broken planet for 80 or 90 years? He put you here because life is a test and a trust and a temporary assignment. He’s watching to see if you are faithful to use what he gave you here on Earth to bless other people. The Bible says in 1 Peter 4:10, “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another” (NLT). God gave you talents, and he’s watching to see if you’re faithful with them. This devotional © 2014 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.