So Many Gifts and Talents

We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. - Romans 12:6

The authors of the New Testament like to make lists of the different gifts that God gives people to serve the world. It’s kind of like kids gathering in someone’s front yard after Christmas morning talking with neighbors about whatever toys they got - it’s fun to recount the good things we’ve received and get to play with and now share.

What’s interesting about the different lists in the New Testament is that they are all different. For example, in Romans, there are 7 gifts mentioned, in 1 Peter 4 it’s just 3, in Ephesians it’s 5 gifts, and in 1 Corinthians 12 it’s 8 gifts. There’s no master list, no exhaustive catalogue of the ways God blessed us with talents and special abilities.

If you look at contemporary research, the VIA Institute on Character (which has a great free tool for identifying your gifts) identifies 24 core gifts while the wildly popular CliftonStrengths (used to be StrengthsFinder) has 34 signature strengths. There’s simply no agreement on the number of gifts, talents or strengths that we have.

That’s because we’re each unique, made in God’s image. But the key is to remember, as God has spoken in Romans 12:6, that gifts are “given to each of us.”

So what are your gifts? Modern science suggests (in alignment with ancient wisdom) that you’ll be happier if you live in alignment with them each day. Do you know them? Do you live them? Scripture thinks they are important? God made you that way - can you embrace that and enjoy that?