“Guess what?! I just got an email! The book I submitted is going to be published!”

Hey! I have great news! I’ve just been asked to speak on a Christian women’s cruise to the Bahamas! I sail January 15th!”

Have you ever been jealous of a brother or sister in Christ? I have too. When I’ve  seen all the fabulous things others have accomplished, I have felt less. I used to think God wouldn’t use a person like me; He’d only use super Christians. You know, those people who got saved at three, baptized at four and went on their first mission trip at five. I was too messed up. Too broken. Too unlovely. I believed in Jesus, but I thought I could never change. Wrong.

What about you?

Do you think you’re too messed up, trapped in your addiction/codependent relationship/shopping habit/food problem/embarrassing sin to ever be transformed?  Do you think you will always be stuck right where you are, battling the same old stuff? Then you are suffering from a Spiritual Fixed Mindset.

Spiritual Fixed Mindset: a belief that basic qualities like intelligence, flaws, sin and talent are fixed traits, therefore a person can never change, grow or overcome challenges or sins. This is the way I was born, This is the way I am, are the mantras of people trapped in a spiritual fixed mindset.

People trapped in a fixed mindset believe God gifted some people and not others.

They spend their time documenting their failures and sins. They believe talent alone creates success—without effort. They believe there is something wrong with them that can never be fixed. They are stuck. People with a fixed spiritual mindset constantly try to prove their worth. They are very sensitive to criticism, always anxious and prone to self doubt.

Spiritual Fixed Mindset is marked by:

• negative self-talk
• second guessing decisions (and third and fourth guessing)
• focusing on self
• seeing only failures and replaying them in living color over and over
• condemning self
• hiding gifts
• keeping head down and playing it safe
• walking by sight

The poster child for the fixed spiritual-mindset is the man with one talent.

¹⁴ “… a man going on a journey, who called his servants  and entrusted to them his property.¹⁵ To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. ¹⁶ He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. ¹⁷ So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. ¹⁸ But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. ¹⁹ Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ ²¹ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ [ …] He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, ²⁵ so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ ²⁶ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? ²⁷ Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. ²⁸ So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. ²⁹ For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” Matthew 25: 14-21, 24-29

What did the One-Talent Servant do?

He was afraid and he hid his gifts. He did not use them for the benefit of his master or anyone else. The One-Talent Servant was not punished because he tried and failed—but because he did not try. I believe pride was at the bottom of his failure to launch. He didn’t want to look bad in the eyes of the world. He was walking by sight and not by faith.

How about you (and me)? We’ve got gifts. We’ve got talent. We’ve got treasure. We’ve also got calling. Go forth. Make disciples. Whatever your gifts, serving, loving, mercy, cooking, cleaning, fixing, babysitting, acting, blogging, gaming, sewing, doing hair and make-up, fishing, hunting, turning a wrench, there is a need for it in your church/community/housing project/town. Get going!

Action Steps:

1. Think: What do you love to do? Where is your passion? As long as it isn’t against God’s word, there is a way to use it for His kingdom.
2. Pray: Ask God to show you how He wants you to be involved and to open doors for you.
3. Start: Do something today to start using your gifts. Make a call, share your vision, take a class, or join another group.

Tip: You won’t find the will of God apart from the word of God. When I got serious about following Jesus, new giftings and interests seemed to pop up from no where, so did new opportunities.

Let me know your thoughts about Spiritual Fixed Mindset, how you plan to use your gifts and how I can pray for you, by leaving a comment in the comment section below!

God is good!

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One of my constant prayer requests is for God to expand my gifts.

I continually ask Him to gift me greatly so He can use me deeply. Recently I discovered we have a responsibility in growing our gifts—it’s not all up to God. There are two things we can to do to help grow our gifts.

1. Use them.
2. Give them.

While both methods closely related,  they have subtle differences. Using your gifts requires planning and training,  while giving your gifts requires responsiveness and obedience.

Use your gifts.

What happened when the two servants used their gifts?

They were doubled. Wow! Who wouldn’t want to double gifts? I know I do. Imagine being twice as good  teacher/speaker/writer/principal/secretary/designer/builder than you are now.  We can grow our gifts by using them. Saving or burying our gifts and talents keeps us small, dark and cold. Only dead things are buried.

Use or lose.

What about the last servant? He lost what he would not give.

As modern Christians we neglect our gifts when we  bury ourselves in fear, busyness, apathy and laziness.  Don’t wait until you feel ready and don’t give up when the going gets tough. God wants us to push through negative emotions. The start of a new project is very exciting! But bumps in the road are bound to come and discouragement can set in. Set backs do not mean God’s calling has been revoked—quite the opposite is true. When passion and motivation dwindle,  disregard the lassitude  and continue working. Take a step of faith and get busy.

People need what you have to give.

Give and gain!

Feast or Famine.

.

1. Keep gift for self.  Small. Safe. Unfufilled. One person benefits.
2. Give gift to others. Big. Scary. Amazing. Everyone is filled. Leftovers!

If we keep our gifts, others will go hungry.

Give your gifts large or small, no matter the size and watch them grow. Your gifts may be small, but you Savior is huge. Give what you have and watch your gifts grow! Use and give.

Action Points:

1. Risk! Admit it. There is something you’ve been waiting to give, but you think it’s too small. Walk by faith and give it today.
2. Look! See it. Ask God to make you hyper-aware of opportunities to give today. A kind word, $2.00, a single flower, a short note. They are not too small. Do it.
3. Unbury! Face it. You have some buried gifts, dreams, skills that need exhuming. Take a step today to dig them up and use them for God’s glory.

Pray

Father, we give You our talents (Matt. 25),  our widow’s mites (Luke 21), out last drop of oil (1 Kings 17), and our brown-bag lunch (John 6). Please help us to use what You have given us and give what you have entrusted to us so we me greatly impact our world for Christ.

Amen.

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Copyright 2016

Nourishment and refreshment for the soul.

“Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days.” James 5:3

On my earring rack hangs one lonely silver hoop earring.  I lost it’s partner three years ago during Christmas play practice. It fell out of my ear, rolled across the floor, and was crushed beyond recognition underneath the size 12 tennis shoe of a 6th grade boy. Since they were sterling silver, I couldn’t bring myself to throw the remaining earring away. I hung the lone hoop back on the rack and forgot about it … until the other day.

I was searching my rack for a fresh pair of spring-like earrings (yes, the snow has finally melted in Michigan), when I spotted a dull black earring, hanging by itself in a dark corner of the rack. What is this? I asked myself as I picked up the dingy earring. As I turned the earring over in my hand, I recognized my long-ago favorite hoop earring, now corroded from neglect and disuse.

All of my other silver earrings gleamed on the rack. What kept them shiny? Not polish, but daily use. Slowly my mind made a connection to a Bible verse from the book of James. If we do not use our gifts and our resources, but let them sit idly on a shelf, they will corrode. They’ll turn black and dingy from disuse, and will eventually disintegrate. Ultimately, no one will benefit from our gifts; they will be a complete loss.

God gives us gifts to bless others, and we reap blessings in return. Let’s dust off our gifts and use them today.

Action Points:

1. Are your gifts corroded or shiny from daily use?
2. What do you love to do, and how can you use that gift to serve others?
3. Find a way  to use your gifts to bless someone today.
4. Ask God to show you your gifts and how to use them for His kingdom.