Your gift isn’t enough

Your gift alone isn’t enough. In the same way that an appleseed by itself isn’t an apple…therefore it won’t provide much nurishment, your gift by itself is only a seed and you’ll never be the person you want to be trying to use only the seed of the gift you’ve been given.

If you’re like me, you’ve known people like this…trying to get by on only the seed of their gift. I know this because I was that guy. I’ve known for decades that God has given me the gift of being able to write. I could arrange words into sentences that made sense and that were able to communicate what I was thinking or feeling. I could do this easily. It was’t work for me-it came naturally. I could be serious or funny or spiritual or meaningful when I wrote, but I only pulled this gift out and used it when I was inspired to do so.

But here’s the thing; God didn’t give me that seed of a gift to be used only when I felt like using it. He gave it to me to develop and practice and hone so I could make a difference in my world. Yeah, I regret the years I’ve wasted. But I’m done living with that regret. I’m a writer. And I’m committed to spending the rest of my days learning the discipline of writing well.

So, how do you grow your seed of a gift into a real life-changing skill? I think there are at least three ways to turn your seed into skill:

1. Allow it to mature. Some things just take time. And practice. Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers believes that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to truly become an expert. I think it’s time to get started. The clock is ticking. You may have a gift, but you have a ways to go before you’re an expert.
2. Invest it. This is one of those mystifying principles of God’s kingdom; if you want something, you must give it away. Do you remember the parable of the talents that Jesus told? A master went away on a journey but before he left he gave money to three different servants and told them to hold on to it while he was away. Two of the servants immediately invested the money and quickly doubled it. The third servant buried his money in the ground so he wouldn’t lose it. It’s telling to know that he was the only servant punished upon the master’s return. He was punished because he didn’t try. Begin now to invest your gift. Give it away. Use it. Donate it. The worst thing you can do it bury your gift in the ground or squander it on yourself-only pulling it out when you’re inspired.
3. Kill it. Yeah, I know that sounds a bit harsh. But before a seed can become a seedling, it has to stop being a seed! It has to put off it’s husk and begin the business of growing into something else. The way I see it, before your seed can truly become skill you have to humble yourself. You have to admit that although you may be gifted, you are not skilled and you’re certainly no expert. Go in low. It’s not about you, it’s about the world you’ve been called to influence, to help, to serve. This is too important to mess up. Stop holding on to the idea of your gift. It’ll never be anything more until you start using it. That’s the only way it’ll become a skill.

Yes, God has given you an incredible gift. It’s unique and like a custom-made suit, it fits only you. But before that gift has any hope of changing your world you’ve got to do these three things. Turn the seed into a skill and make your world a better place.

Oh, by the way, this won’t be easy. Nothing worthwhile ever is. In fact, this will be the hardest thing you’ve ever done in your life. Why? Because this touches the core of who you are and why you were created. You’ll have to defeat the dragon of resistance and endure the pain of rejection and probably a lot more. But you can do it. You were created for this.

What plans can you put into place right now, today, that will help you practice, invest and humble your gift? Start.