1 Corinthians 14: 5 I would like for all of
you to speak in strange tongues; but I would rather that you had the gift of
proclaiming God's message. For the person who proclaims God's message is of
greater value than the one who speaks in strange tongues—unless there is
someone present who can explain what is said, so that the whole church may be
helped. 6 So when I come to you, my
friends, what use will I be to you if I speak in strange tongues? Not a bit,
unless I bring you some revelation from God or some knowledge or some inspired
message or some teaching.
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After being assigned
to a group, I quickly felt inadequate. It seemed that each person was smarter
than me and knew what they were doing. Meanwhile, I didn’t know what I was
doing so I sat quietly waiting for the time to pass by. I dreaded the next time
we would get together again.
- There have been times when I felt useless.
- There have been times when I felt I was not talented.
- There have been times when I felt like I was on the outside of usefulness.
Paul implores the
people to focus the use of their GOD given gifts to proclaim GOD’s message. In
his example, he mentions the gift of speaking in strange tongues. He compared
this gift to proclaiming GOD’s message and said one had “greater” value than
another. But Paul used the word “unless” to bring equilibrium to both talents.
My Observation
- GOD wants me to know HE gave me a gift that is special.
- GOD wants me to use my gift to “Proclaim HIS message.”
- GOD wants me to value the gifts other people have so they too can “Proclaim GOD’s message.”
Moving the spotlight
on “me” is the problem. I mean when I can’t do something well or I feel
inadequate, I want to shrink away and be silent. BUT GOD doesn’t want me to
feel inadequate. HE wants me and everyone HE made to feel useful.
This requires me to
move the spotlight on HIM. When I focus everyone’s attention on CHRIST,
everything else falls in place. My gift then becomes useful.
Challenge
- What do you observe about the comparison of the two gifts mentioned?
- What do you notice about Paul’s preference versus the opening desire?
- How does this apply to your GOD given gift?
- Will you seek to proclaim GOD’s message more and more and know your gift is useful to HIM?
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