Oh, if the chairs in my study could talk! It amazes me how the same chair can hold people with such different views from one day to the next. One week a man whom I was recruiting to teach Sunday school sat in a chair in my study and declared, "Pastor, I would love to help, but I just don’t think I have the gifts." He was selling himself short. I had seen him in action; he had the gift of teaching.

But then the next day a zealous woman, who struggledin leading one of our Sunday school classes, sat in that very same chair and bubbled out the words, "Pastor, I have a passion to teach. Would you help me advertise a small group Bible study that I can hold in my home?" I was amazed. She was biting off way more than she could chew. All in the same chair!

What did those two people have in common? They didn’t have a balanced view of their gifts. A mature Christian works at that. God gives different gifts to different saints, and he intends that we use them powerfully and properly for the good of his church. To help us improve the way we use our gifts, let’s study these words from Romans 12 and work through the questions that follow.

ROMANS 12:3-8
3For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. 4Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

POINTS TO PONDER
1. Look at verse 3. When you fully understand the grace of God, how does that lead you not to think too highly of yourself?

Answer: When we fully understand that we are not only saved by grace but that also every spiritual gift and earthly talent is ours as a gift of God's grace then we do not see ourselves as a superior person who has honed his or her gifts better than others. Instead we humbly see ourselves as a recipient of a gift, and we feel obligated to use that gift to serve others and not ourselves.

2. How do verses 4 and 5 give all of us a proper perspective of ourselves?