That's Not for You!

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another,

As good stewards of God’s varied grace.”

1 Peter 4:10

I was young.  We were sitting in Church.  It was time for the offering.  As the ushers drew near my dad handed me a one dollar bill.  I remember taking it, and then sticking it my pocket.  My dad laughed,  and said, “Wayne that’s not for you.”  “But you gave it to me!”   “I gave it to you,” he said, “so that you would have something to put in the offering plate.”

That was a big lesson for me.  It’s one  I have had to continue to relearn throughout my life.  God does the same thing.   He gives us many, generous gifts.  In fact as we have seen in the last couple of blogs – Everything we have is a gift from Him – every euro or Dollar,  all of our possessions, each moment of every day of our lives, all the people who are a part of our lives, each experience, every talent and skill, - .  Everything is gift, just like that dollar my dad gave me in church.  And as He gives those gifts our God would remind us, “That’s not for you.”  “Then why did you give it to me?”  His answer is the same as my dad’s, “ I gave each gift to you so that you would have something to offer Me!  I gave each gift to you so that you could share my gifts with others.  That’s what Peter tells us isn’t it?  “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.”

When God gives you a talent for learning and teaching, He doesn’t give that gift so that you can feel good about yourself and how smart you are.  He gives you that gift so that you can teach and share that knowledge with others.  He gives some a talent for business not simply so that they can earn money but so that they can establish good companies that provide good jobs and good products that other people need. I remember another conversation I had with my dad.  I wanted some toy I had seen in a store window but dad said, “No we can’t afford that toy right now.”   “Well then why do you work so much?”  Dad answered me, “Do you like having a home to live in?   Clothes to wear?  Food to eat?”   Dad was teaching me that God had given his job to him, his skills in that job so that he could provide, care for and serve us, his family. 

I want you to notice that none of the examples I just gave are about people using God’s gifts to serve at Church.  I did that because too often when people hear the word |”stewardship” they think only in terms of what we give and how we serve at Church.  That is so limiting!  Everything God gives us is given so that we can serve Him and others in every area of life.  With each gift God gives He would say to us, “That’s not for you.”    In every place where we use His gifts we have the opportunity to serve Him and others.  Yes that includes what we do at Church,  but it also includes so much more.

Each gift He gives is an opportunity to show His love – to family, friends, co-workers, strangers, neighbors and more.  Recently a members of Trinity was talking to me about her work with some of the refugee families who have come to Germany.  Someone recently said to her, “Don’t get your hopes up that you will convert these people.”  She answered, “I’m not.  I just want to show them that Christian love extends to everyone, not just other Christians. And you know what Pastor? Now those refugees are starting ask me questions about why I am doing this.  Then I get to tell them about Jesus. “   There you have the reason for all the gifts God gives us.  These gifts aren’t for you and me.  Everything God gives to us He gives so that we can use those gifts to show and tell others about His love.