1 Corinthians 14:12 So it is with you. Since you are eager to have spiritual gifts, try to excel in gifts that build up the church.

Having been involved with the Charismatic Movement since the 1970s, I find I empathize and agree with this whole chapter to a very high degree. As I wrote in relation to chapter 12 just two days ago, I was privileged to work with Don and Katie Fortune in their teaching on Motivational Gifts from Romans 12:6-8, which gifts are analogous to personality types and are present in every human being. The gifts Paul is talking about here and in chapter 12 are what most people think about when they say, spiritual gifts. You could say they are the “flashier” gifts, and that is why people tend to seek them. However, the principle Paul mentions here must be remembered: gifts have a purpose, and that purpose is to build up the Body of Christ, not to inflate egos. We’ve all seen people who, on discovering that they had a spiritual gift, thought that made them an “instant apostle,” or something of the sort. If they really understood apostleship, they wouldn’t want it. Paul’s description of his experiences that he gives in 2 Corinthians 11 isn’t something that any sane person would aspire to! However, being used by God to build up the Body of Christ is a worthy goal for any believer. When it comes to spiritual gifts, our focus should be on the Giver and what He loves best, which is His Body.

Recently I have been realizing the high number of parallels between me and Paul, which is in a sense ironic, since my wife has never really cared for Paul as a person! I could see myself writing this chapter verbatim, since I agree completely with every word in it. Even this morning I almost wrote on verses 18-19, since they express my position on the gift of tongues so accurately. My own experience of spiritual gifts has shaped my life in many ways, not the least of which being keeping me out of a major missionary-sending organization. That deprived me of financial support, but it also freed me to do what I felt the Lord was saying, and not what an organizational bureaucracy was demanding. Today as I lead others, I would love to see more gifts actively displayed, both for the sake of the individual believers and for the sake of the church, and the Church, as a whole, but I am not the one dispensing the gifts. I am to seek to recognize and encourage gifts for the purpose mentioned in this verse, and give the glory to God.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the gifts that are manifested here, and for the increasing level of spiritual health, as I see it. May we indeed be healthy in Your eyes, being and doing what You desire, so that Your will may truly be done right here as it is in heaven, for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!