Listen to the eight minute Gifts and Strengths—Part 1 audio file from Coach’s Corner.
What do you do well that didn’t come from God’s grace? You know, something you worked really hard at and developed on your own without special grace from God?
There must be something, right?
Okay, some of you Christian leaders are saying right now “IT ALL comes from God! Yes, we work at it, but even our efforts are a gift from God.”
Could this really be true?
Well let’s think it through. How did you come to be a person who worked so hard? Were you born with it? If so, I guess it would be a gift from God through no choice or effort of your own.
If not, then you must have learned to work hard along the way, and I bet someone taught it to you—either by modeling it or by outright teaching it to you.
Maybe it was someone who told you you’d never amount to anything, and then God turned what was said into a motivation for you—using what was meant for harm into something for your good.
Romans 8:28 (NIV) says this,
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
I really believe that all of the good things in you and around you are a pure gift from God. You didn’t choose your DNA, your parents, the people who came into your life and invested in you, where you grew up, the good things that helped you, the bad things that God turned for your good.
Everything good comes from God.
Now, the stuff you choose and develop in yourself that isn’t good, well that’s a different story, maybe for a different Coach’s Corner segment. Today, however, I am talking about GIFTS—specific and good things that God put in each of us.
There are many different kinds of gifts that God has given each of us. Of course we Christians are familiar with the concept of spiritual gifts like those described by Paul to the Corinthians and Ephesians. These are gifts like wisdom, knowledge, faith, and healing. And Paul goes on to share that some are gifted as apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. These are spiritual gifts.
But God also gives us physical gifts. Let me share an example that stuck with me twenty years ago. My company brought an impressive Olympic swimmer by the name of John Naber in to share inspirational insights about what it takes to be a gold medal performer.
John, who is six foot six, won four gold metals in the ’76 Summer Olympics. In his speech he raised his humongous hands and referred to them saying,
These are a gift from God. These gave me an unfair advantage in the pool.
He then mentioned that he also had a matching pair of huge feet, and then claimed they were webbed. We laughed.
Large hands and feet are an example of physical gifts from God. Of course if he was trying to be a tailor or a jockey his body would be anything but a gift. Aligning what we’ve been given with what we choose to do is what determines if we will glorify God with our gifts.
In addition to spiritual gifts and physical gifts God also gives out intellectual gifts. Some of us learned in our early teens that we had gifts in math. Others learned about gifts in reading and writing. And still others learned about gifts in art.
We can all learn to do math and read and do art, but you have to admit that some of us learned these things much quicker and easier than others did. Rapid learning is a clue to a gift. What did you learn quicker and easier than others?
God also gives mental-toughness gifts. I’ve heard several athletes say that the game they play, whether golf, basketball, baseball, or whatever, is played between their ears. Once their physical skills have been honed, they believe they are basically equal to the others who are the best in the world.
Top athletes say the real difference between being a champion and just another competitor comes down to mental toughness. Those who can hit the big shot at the biggest of times win the biggest games. While many wilt under pressure, some seem to thrive on it.
There are other kinds of gifts too, but I’m going to stop there. I think you get my point that there are many kinds of gifts.
Marcus Buckingham, when he worked with Curt Coffman at the Gallup Organization, called gifts “talents” and defined talents this way:
A recurring pattern of thought, feeling or behavior that can be productively applied.
Their contention was that every normal human being has at least one of these gifts. Every person has at least one thing that they can do better than most. They may not be a one in a million, but each person is at least a one in ten thousand. And these natural talents are nothing other than gifts—Gifts from God.
This all sounds great! It’s really good news—except for one thing. Many of us never come to fully realize what talents we have been given.
Marcus Buckingham is one of the leading experts in this area of study. I heard him tell a fictional story about a man who loved to study military generals. This man died and went to heaven. When he arrived at the pearly gates he told St. Peter he was dying to ask who God created as the greatest general of all time. St. Peter quickly said, “Oh that’s easy. It’s Carlisle Van Rempen Stadt.
“Wait a minute!” the man said, “I know Carlisle Van Rempen Stadt… he’s the cobbler in our little town. You can’t mean him.”
St. Peter said, “Yep, that’s the guy. God created him to be the best general of all time, but Carl never realized it and therefore never pursued it.”
I heard that story over ten years ago and it obviously left an imprint on me. It makes me wonder if God created me to be one of the best at something and I’m failing to find out what it is and then pursue it.
Interesting stuff right? But what does it have to do with leadership?
It’s our job as leaders to figure out our own gifts and use them—to be great stewards of our gifts, just like in the parable of the talents.
It’s also our job as leaders to develop our people—to help those on our team to figure their gifts and work at developing them.
Neither of these is an easy task, and both can be a lot of fun!
In the next post in this series, I’ll talk about how to discover and develop your gifts and the gifts in those who work for you. Until then I pray that you experience God’s rich blessings.
Post by Rodger.
Image by Jayhem.