Having worked with thousands of people, it isn’t too difficult to see their gifts and talents. It doesn’t take long to recognize that some are not salespeople but they may be great in accounting type areas. However, it may be harder for individuals to recognize their own God given talents or gifts.

To help me understand talents and gifts in others, I read where Hippocrates over 2400 years ago divided people into four basic categories which he named Sanguine, Choleric, Melancholy and Phlegmatic. Each temperament has both strengths and weaknesses. They become a part of our nature throughout life. Even though each individual temperament includes both strengths and weaknesses they are not always evenly balanced. It is quite possible for two people with identical temperaments to be as dissimilar as a banana and an onion if one of them possesses the strengths of this temperament and the other has its weaknesses. Negative or positive traits are often developed in childhood where one child grows up in a positive environment where parents are encouragers and another child grows up in a negative environment where parents are criticizers.

The Bible tells us that God created us with certain gifts and talents, physically and mentally. It also states that once God gives you a gift He doesn’t change His mind and take it away. Yet, most waste and squander what has been given to them. Do you have special gifts that you never use? Do you have temperaments that stress your weaknesses more than their strengths?

How many of us have gifts that we have never used because we didn’t know we had them? I have seen people with gifts and talents that they were unwilling to take the risk in using them. Could you have the gifts, talents and temperaments to become a millionaire and yet have financial problems throughout life?

I never had the slightest thought that I had the ability to write. In school when term papers and essays were required, I was close to being a total failure. A few years ago, a close friend suggested that I write a book on things I learned as a Christian in managing people. He helped me write and we put a book together. Our publisher stated that I needed to write Christian blogs. Five years ago, I started writing two blogs a week and have written 620 that have been read over 61,000 times. Most of them will show up on Google, BING or Yahoo. Had someone not encouraged me, I would never have realized that God had given me that gift, that was dormant for years, and that the Holy Spirit would inspire and show me where to find the material to write.

Remember, when God gives you a spiritual gift, He also gives you the power of the Holy Spirit as you use that gift for His ministry. Regardless, evil spirits will continually try to deceive you: you really don’t have that gift; you don’t have the knowledge or the ability to use that gift. To whose voice do we listen? This is why it is so important to be knowledgeable of God’s promises. Every time we use our God given gift for Him, He will bless us. How? Possibly: good feelings, satisfaction, a passion and excitement, sensing the Holy Spirit is helping us know God is pleased, feeling a part of God’s family, etc. This I had to learn!

Some of us need to be challenged and encouraged to do things we do not believe we can do. We will never know what our gifts and talents are if we are unwilling to risk doing different things. We often let our environment determine what we can or cannot do. We struggle with all kinds of emotional hang-ups. Determine what some of the obstacles are that keep you from trying new things? Most of us see ourselves as just average people. That doesn’t mean that in some things we may be extremely capable.

We must realize that God has a plan for our lives. This plan can be determined through heavenly wisdom. We are to live wisely lives according to Scripture. We must see things through God’s perspective. My experience was that I continually prayed that God would give me wisdom and guide me to fulfill the plan I believed He created me to do. I was offered jobs to become a high school coach, to be a production foreman and then a store manager. Due to circumstances; I believe I was called to become a financial advisor. Some 27 years ago, I started my own business and have been able to help a number of people financially. I thought of it as my ministry to serve and help others.

Proverbs 2:1 – 7 – “My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding—indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds success in store for the upright; he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless,”

The Bible continually tells us the importance of faith and confidence to fulfill our life’s purpose by using the gifts and talents we have been given. If we have a passion for doing something, chances are we can do it exceedingly well. Have you ever done something that you wanted to do continually? Ask yourself: “Are you doing what God designed you to do?” If you are, there will be a feeling of achievement and success. Money is not what determines success. Millionaires can sometimes be the most unhappy people.

I Peter 4:10 – “ Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”
God had given us gifts often to serve others. Every Christian has been given a spiritual gift. Some more than one, but everyone has a gift. The gift is not to make us better than others or to draw attention to ourselves. God has given us a gift that we might use it to serve the body of believers. The gifts that God gives, does not give us the right to use them as we please. When we use our gifts helping others, they will see Jesus in us and praise Him for the help they have received. (Matthew 5:16) “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

Romans 14:12 – “So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.”

When I meet God to give an account of my life on earth I do not want to hear: “Don, why didn’t you use the gifts that I gave you?” I don’t want to hear that I could have done so-and-so or could have been someone else. Wouldn’t it be nice just to hear that we were a good faithful servant?