Make the Most of Your Talents
By Rick Warren

“Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms” (1 Peter 4:10 NIV).

God has given you unique abilities, talents, and gifts. At Saddleback Church, we say they represent a person’s SHAPE: Spiritual gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, and Experiences. This bundle of talents is the thing God has given you that makes you who you are and sets you apart from other people.

If you think your talents are simply for you to make a lot of money, retire, and die, you’ve missed the point of your life. God gave you talents to benefit others, not yourself. And God gave other people talents that benefit you.

In the body of Christ, each part matters. There are no insignificant people in the family of God. You are shaped to serve God, and he wants to see how you are going to use the talents he gave you.

Whether you’re a musician or an accountant, a teacher or a cook, God gave you those abilities to serve others. The Bible tells us, “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms” (1 Peter 4:10 NIV).

You are a manager of the gifts God has given to you. They may be great or small in your eyes, but they matter to God. “It is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2 NIV). When God created you, he made an investment in you, and he expects a return on that investment.

Are you using what he’s given you for the benefit of others to make the world a better place? Or are you just using those talents to benefit yourself?

If God has given you a talent, he wants you to use it. It’s like a muscle. If you use it, it will grow. If you don’t use it, you’ll lose it. If you have a talent but are afraid to use it, or if you get lazy and don’t use it to benefit others, you’re going to lose it. Like the parable of the ten talents in Luke 19, if you don’t use what God has given you, he will take it away and give it to someone else who will.

But if you use your talents wisely, God will give you more. If you use your time wisely, God will give you more time. If you use your energy wisely, God will give you more energy. If you use your influence wisely, God will increase your influence. God will bless your level of faithfulness.

PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick

For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!

---

Discover God's plan to care for your needs!

You’ll never encounter a need that God can’t meet — and that’s a promise!

 

Today, we want to fill your heart with hope by exploring that promise. That’s why we’d love to send you a complete audio set of Pastor Rick’s 7-message series, How God Meets Your Deepest Needs.

 

This series teaches you about God’s perfect character and examines how he meets your most urgent needs. You’ll find inspiration in messages such as . . .

 

• Where to Find the Hope You Need

• How God Heals Your Hidden Wounds

• The Path to Personal Peace

 

This audio series is our thanks for your gift today to help reach others with the certain hope of Jesus. And we’ll also send you an exclusive beverage tumbler as thanks for your first Partners in Hope monthly gift.

 

But this offer ends soon — so give now to help others like you find hope in God’s promises!

 

*The USA IRS code permits you to deduct the amount of your financial gift to Daily Hope that exceeds the fair market value of materials you received from Daily Hope.

This devotional © 2018 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

You can listen to Rick Warren on OnePlace.com.