The Lutheran Hour
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"Gifted"
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Text: 1 Cor. 13:1-7
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Grace, mercy, and peace be yours through God our Father, through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
There’s a murmur about the concert hall as you and your spouse or friend walk through a set of ornamental double doors to gaze upon a grand theatre. As you walk down the stairs you are enchanted by the elegant ambiance of the lights and the rows of chairs on the stage that seem to number in the thousands. And as you take your seat, the murmur dulls as musician after musician files out to take their place in this force for musical delight. And then the conductor, walking to the podium as if his mind is somewhere else, finds his position, motions his musicians to sit, and raises his baton all in one swift motion. And moving that baton as if to pierce the air the orchestra begins to play… each their own tune. There is no distinguishable melody, nor any defined rhythm, it’s this wall of sound that makes your head feel as if someone threw it in a paint shaker. And as you cover your ears in an attempt to retain whatever is left of your eardrums, you think to yourself, “How? How does a musical ensemble with this caliber of talent produce a sound like this?” But is that the right question?
See, the issue here is not their talent, to even be a member of a professional orchestra they must surely possess that. Rather, the problem is how they are using it. An orchestra is a collaborative work, each instrument having a specific tone and a specific role in the larger unit. While these parts by themselves may seem totally different, when put together, they produce a unified sound that can bring a grown man to tears. I’ve seen it. Not me, of course, there was dust in the air that day. But when each member of that musical body decides to “go it alone” what you end up with is a bunch of soloists fighting for the spotlight. And it is here that the Apostle Paul has something important to say to this sad symphony.
The Christian church in Corinth was just as, if not more than, divided and out of sync as our orchestra. Being an epicenter of trade and commerce, Corinth was the place to be for all things trendy. There were lots of people, there was lots of diversity, and there was no shortage of people trying to stand out. So when the Christians there got a hold of the idea of spiritual gifts, it didn’t take long before they were pushing each other out of the way to stand in the spotlight. And it is with this in mind that Paul writes chapter 13, explaining to them that their misunderstanding and misuse of spiritual gifts are evidence of a larger problem regarding two important parts of Christian living.
The first thing the Christians in Corinth lack is an understanding of spiritual gifts. Or to be more specific, how to use them. A spiritual gift, as Paul explains it one chapter previous, is a talent, skill, or a personality trait that God bestows upon each Christian through the Holy Spirit. These gifts, then, are used in an effort to speak the message of salvation through Jesus Christ and to build the kingdom through that message. But while each gift is after the same gospel goal, they each use a unique method to get there. Some were good preachers, some were good teachers, some could heal, and others were, well, walking Rosetta Stones. And here is where Corinth had a problem. With all these different gifts and abilities, the people of Corinth became too focused on the spiritual gifts, that is, the method, and began to neglect the spreading of Jesus and His salvation, the goal. To clarify, let’s go back to our orchestra. Again the problem wasn’t their skill, but how they used it. So when each member of the orchestra became too focused upon their abilities and wanting to showcase them, what they lost sight of was the larger goal of producing one unified sound that clearly expressed the music they so dearly loved. And unfortunately, this song is all too familiar.
God has blessed you and me with a unique set of gifts so that we would use them in concert with others to love those around us, and speak the love and salvation of Jesus. But in a world rampant with individualism and in a society that down-plays the benefit of real community, we, like our talented musicians, have a tendency to turn spiritual gifts into a sort of competition to see who has the best gift. Don’t believe me? Take a look around. We live in a world where gifts and abilities have become more like trophies than a means to love and care for others. For example, how many times have you heard someone else say, or even said yourself, that we have no problem finding the money to pay athletes millions of dollars, but struggle to keep good teachers in a job. Or we will pay actors and actresses millions to make a movie, but will pay firemen or police officers a fraction of that for saving a life. Now don’t misunderstand, there is nothing wrong with being wealthy, but I do think that where we put our money shows where our priorities lie. And do we prioritize our spiritual gifts and make some better than others? It certainly seems that way. And in the midst of all of this spiritual gift grandstanding and social positioning we forget the one thing that sits at the heart of all of these gifts. And that is the second and most important misunderstanding the church in Corinth faced. They disconnected spiritual gifts with love.
Let’s return to our orchestra. Aside from the fact that each member of the ensemble is showing off, you know, first trumpet better than the second and so on, the larger problem is that they have forgotten one crucial piece of the puzzle when it comes to any performance, that is, the audience. Of what benefit is music if no one hears it? Sure it may be delightful to you, but is that enough? Is that why you have that gift, to please yourself? And here is where we find the most critical and important question of chapter 13. For what purpose has God given you a gift?
To answer this question, I would like to turn our attention to a classic literary art form that has helped to shape millions of people regarding this very topic. Comic books. See, kids have been reading about this topic for generations. Open any superhero comic book and you will see an epic battle between good and evil waged via the use of gifts and abilities. Some can climb walls, some have lasers coming out of their hands and some are invisible. But each faces the same question of conscience. For what purpose do I have these gifts? For the heroes , the answer is to build up the community around me and to help those in need. For the villains, the answer is to get what I want out of them so that I am happy. And here is where we find a critical difference and distinction., The thing that sets them apart, is not their gifts, but how they use them. Some have decided to use their gifts for their own selfish gain and others have chosen to use their gifts for the benefit of society. Some have chosen to use their gifts in love of self and some have chosen to love others. Sound familiar?
Time and time again we have seen spiritual gifts used in ways that benefit only the one with the gift. We have seen musical artists who write music that tears down society. We have seen gifted politicians who use their persuasion and position for personal gain over and above the needs of the community they serve. We have seen intelligent minds use their gifts in an effort to create ways to destroy life rather than preserve it. And in each circumstance what we see is not a love for others, not a concern about how their use of their gifts will affect others, but we see a love for self that trumps any consequences for their actions. What we see is the opposite of love. But before we get too heavy on all of those people who make it easy for us to stand and point our fingers, let’s also examine ourselves.
If you are listening to this program you are one of two things, Christian or curious. In either case, I am sure that you have some talent or ability that you have been given. And I am not talking about just the big ones like artistic ability, athletic ability, or intelligence; I am talking about the lesser-promoted gifts as well, like organization, compassion, or patience. But I want you to take an honest look at yourself and your talents and abilities and ask yourself this: Do you believe that they are for you or someone else? Have you used your gifts to benefit others or manipulate them? Because I am sure at one point, like me, you have been tempted. Tempted to use your gifts for your own selfish idea of love. And it is here where Paul once again inserts himself into the conversation.
In the beginning of 1 Corinthians 13, Paul says that love is of absolute importance for all spiritual gifts, even going so far as to say that having faith without love, makes you nothing. And while these are certainly strong statements about love, Paul is far from finished. See Paul realizes, that love at that time and even today, can quickly become confused with all sorts of other ideas. So he takes a moment to clarify, to be very specific that not any kind of love will do, but a specific kind of love: Godly, Christ-like love. Christian love that is not selfish or self absorbed, but focuses totally upon the other. Christian love is patient with others, it seeks the best for them, and it doesn’t portray itself as better than others. Christian love doesn’t seek its own interests nor does it throw a fit when it doesn’t go their way. And Christian love never gets satisfaction from another’s struggles or mistakes, but always, ALWAYS seeks the truth. Love is steadfast. And that is why we have these gifts, to give this kind of love. So go and love others in this way.
If it were only that easy, right? Look, let’s be honest, on my best day, my love doesn’t look like that. Not that I don’t try, but this sinful side of me, this selfish, prideful man always seems to sneak his foot in the door and mess everything up. And what’s left, is someone who needs that kind love more than they can give it. And that, my friends, is exactly where Paul wants you to be.
See, in verses 1-3, Paul explains to the Corinthians and to you, that your gifts are meant for loving others, and at first we are to think that these gifts are to spread our love, but as Paul so brilliantly points out in verses 4-7, the love we are to be giving through these gifts isn’t the kind of love we are capable of. So where does that leave us? With a love that never ends, one that survives spiritual gifts, a love that isn’t clouded by our misdirected human understandings. It leaves us with a love that isn’t muddied by sin, but perfect in its giving. For it isn’t our love that we give through these gifts, but the love of Jesus Christ, His salvation, His kindness, and patience, and truth. It is Christ Himself that we give through these gifts we are first given. And that is the interesting thing about God’s gifts.
We are used to a system where gifts are ours. For instance, a little over a month ago we celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ in Christmas. And my assumption is that we all got gifts that were for us. But what if your gift was a beautiful box wrapped tight with ribbon that upon opening, revealed a gift for you and another beautifully wrapped box with someone else’s name on it. Seem a bit strange? But that is exactly how God’s gifts work. See, God gives gifts for giving. His gifts aren’t meant to be kept all to yourself, but to be given freely as God freely gives. And so as Christ gives love and forgiveness, He gives an abundance for you to give to others as it was given to you. And it is with the giving of this wonderful gift that we now can clearly hear the sweet song of salvation.
This orchestra now comes into harmony as every beautiful note jumps off the page and into the ears of all who would hear. That no matter how difficult it has been, no matter how bad you have messed up, there is a love that is everlasting that brings life everlasting and it is yours. It’s yours. And as Paul points out so clearly in Romans 8, nothing can separate you from that love of Christ. And that is why you have been given your gift. Because a love like that is too much for any human being to keep inside, but it bursts out of you and into your community, and your spiritual gift is the means through which it flows. It is God loving others through loving you.
So may His love, which never ends, be our song, sung through the words of Scripture now and forever. In Jesus name, Amen.