Once we begin to understand that God calls people to Himself and that our lives are not accidental, what do we do with the gifts, abilities, experiences, and opportunities we have been given?
That question feels particularly relevant as part of this June Tune-Up.
Back on Day 1, we spent some time discussing the idea of S.H.A.P.E.—the unique combination of gifts, experiences, personality, abilities, and passions that God uses in our lives. Most of us have spent at least some time trying to figure out what we are good at. We think about strengths and weaknesses. We wonder where we fit. We look for areas where our abilities and opportunities intersect.
But I am not sure that is the hardest question.
The harder question may be: "Why were those gifts given to us in the first place?"
Guinness argues that God normally calls us along the lines of our giftedness, but he is careful to remind us that giftedness exists for stewardship and service rather than self-interest. That distinction may be one of the most counter-cultural ideas in the entire book.
For most of my life, I have been fascinated by people who seemed exceptionally gifted. Great coaches. Great teachers. Great leaders. I often found myself wondering what separated them from everyone else.
The older I get, however, the more I think the better question is not "What gifts do they possess?" but "What did they do with those gifts?"
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn once wrote:
"I drifted into literature unthinkingly, and I hate to think what sort of writer I would have become."
That quote has stayed with me for years.
When I first encountered it, I thought it was a statement about career choice. Now I think it is a statement about providence.
Solzhenitsyn understood that gifts by themselves are not enough. Had his life been easier, had he avoided suffering, had he never experienced imprisonment, oppression, hardship, and reflection, he may have become an entirely different writer. The gift was there, but the shaping of that gift mattered just as much.
I think something similar is true for all of us.
Very few of us arrive at our calling in a straight line. Our gifts are shaped by experiences, disappointments, successes, failures, mentors, closed doors, and unexpected opportunities. Looking backward, it is often easier to see how God was developing both the gift and the person who would eventually use it.
Which brings us back to stewardship.
One of the themes that keeps emerging throughout The Call is that God rarely blesses people merely for their own benefit. The biblical pattern is almost always the same. God blesses people so they can become a blessing to others.
That was true for Abraham - Joseph - Esther - Paul.
And it remains true for us.
Perhaps that is why the most fulfilled people I know are rarely the most self-focused people I know. The teachers who make the greatest impact are usually thinking about students. The best coaches are thinking about players. The best leaders are thinking about those they serve.
At some point, giftedness stops being about self-discovery and starts becoming about stewardship.
And maybe that is where this chapter of The Call is leading us.
The question is no longer simply:
"What am I good at?"
The deeper question becomes:
"How can I use what God has entrusted to me for the good of others and the glory of God?"
As part of your June reflection, it may be worth spending a little time thinking about the gifts, experiences, and opportunities God has placed in your life. Not simply where they came from, but where they are going.
Because perhaps one of the clearest signs that we are understanding our calling correctly is that the blessings God has given us do not stop with us. And that leads us to a true form of humility which also cultivates gratitude!
I am the most happy when I have made someone else very happy.
I am the most satisfied when I have spent time lifting up someone else - it is my favorite part of coaching.
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