Singing it. Playing it. Arranging it.
And because he also had a hunger for Jesus, he wanted to give his music gift to Him.
But instead, he was told by the elders at his conservative church that his gift wasn’t welcome there.
“It looks like you got a bum gift.”
A bum gift?
So Chris left, wondering if he really had been given a bum gift, one unusable for God’s glory.
Thankfully, he later realized otherwise. And he used his gift singing with AVB and Watershed and now leading worship in Rochester Hills, Michigan.
But the “bum gift” comment stuck.
So now he spreads this word,
“God gave you gifts.
There are no bum gifts in his kingdom.”
Be open to available opportunities to use your gift, whatever it is.
Make elbow room to exercise it.
Shine light on God with it, not on you.
That’s a healthy hunger.
A holy hunger.
Whatever gift you’ve got, if you hunger to use it for His glory, it’s the real thing.
God gives no bum gifts.
* * *
Ann asks; read more answers @ Holy Experience.
4 comments:
This is SOOOOO true...God doesn't give bum gifts, just as he does not make useless human beings. I love this!!! Thank you for sharing.
The word "gift" is used and abused in the Christian community so much that it has lost all definition; there seems no reasonable way to use the word in its Biblical definition and context without people saying you're limiting, being legalistic, Pharisaical, etc. While the elders' response is incredibly insensitive, the other extreme of thinking we can do any and everything we want to if we stick a "that's my gift" label on it. It's kinda like rappers thanking God for some award either right before or right after they just had their teenage daughter gyrating in the background while the censors bleep entire phrases from their lyrics. God may very well have blessed them to be able to craft words well (perhaps talent is a better word than gift) but clearly God didn't intend that, so did God bless them or not? There's a duality there if you care to catch it: God can give us gifts that we use wrongfully AND we can claim things as "gifts" or God-given that He didn't necessarily have anything to do with. Now I'm not saying that I've got all the answers on this matter, but I don't think we need to be loose and free with the word "gifted" dubbing the things we like / agree with as gifted as tho we are the arbiter of such qualifications, and if you think about it: that's what the aforementioned elder's judgment of "bum" did and we're guilty of the same thing just with a supposedly positive slant so that makes it all okay... And I haven't gotten into discussing charis, charismata, dorea, etc.
and you're talking about Chris Lindsey?...
G:
Yes, Chris Lindsey.
And yes, "gifts" is often abused. The key test for me is: Is God honored with it? If that's really considered, it eliminates a lot of the abuse that we often see.
Someday do get into discussing charis, etc... I'd like to hear it.
Mary B:
"No useless human beings"--exactly!
What a wonderful reminder that we each have gifts. Our job is to give glory to God with our gifts. To be open and willing to be used by Him.
Lovely post and great reminder to hunger after Him with our gifts.
blessings
~a
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