For His Glory

I was watching a video of a praise and worship event, and it was amazing.  The singers were well known names in the gospel music world and they sang with all that they had. I loved the song choice as well.  The song that they sang was an anthem which means to me that it is meant to display the glory and grandeur of God. I have sung this song many times before with my family choir, and in my family we believe in making a joyful AND well sung noise unto the LORD! The people in this video did that! What got my attention, however, about this display was the comments section.  Many of the people were edifying (praising) the singers and musicians while others were expressing disenchantment with what they thought were gaudy displays of skill.  This led me to ask God and myself about a few things surrounding God's gifts to men.  Firstly, is it wrong to take joy in the gifts that God has given through others? Secondly, is it wrong to use our God given gifts to their full extent?

1. Is it wrong to take joy in the gifts that God has given through others?
I believe the short answer here is no...but.  According to scripture, my greatest and most trusted resource, every good and perfect gift comes from GOD (see James 1:17) and is for us to share and enjoy.  There is no wrong in recognizing the amazing gift that God has given just like there is no problem recognizing the beauty of a painting displayed in a museum, BUT in order to avoid plagiarism, credit must be given to the artist.  No creation is greater than its creator (see Romans 9:20), and any accolades toward the creation should really be credited to it's artist.  In case you were wondering who the artist is, it is the one sending the vision or message to the audience, and that isn't necessarily the singer. God crafted every gift to show us himself and his intentions toward all of us. We are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works which he planned ahead of time (see Ephesians 2:10).  If I might use the analogy of the artist again, we are not only the art but the instrument which GOD created to uniquely draw out his message of hope and restoration.  The joy of the gift is for us, and even the edification that comes from giving our gifts to others is for us (the "thanks for sharing"), but the glory is for GOD alone.  The goal to me is to be GOD conscious while we enjoy the gifts that he works through people.  The gifts of GOD should not ever be cheapened to being purely for our entertainment, but GOD's gifts are a wonder to behold AND contemplate on.

2. Is it wrong to use our God given gifts to their full extent? I think that the answer here is also a no...but.  Scripture tells us to walk worthy of the work which God chose for us both in attitude (Ephesians 4:1) and in aptitude (see Colossians 1:9-11).  Being grateful has a lot to do with how we treat the gifts that people give us and what God gives us.  Some gifts get hidden away, others get displayed, and yet others get used.  What is the difference here?  I believe it is attitude and aptitude.

I love gifts that I can use!  They make my life better, and I can tell that the giver was thinking about me.  This emotes a certain gratefulness from me naturally and I begin thinking about how, when, and where I am going to use the gift.  I also love giving gifts that I later see people using.  It is a wonderful thing to feel appreciated and valued and when a well given gift is put to good use it shows that the giver has done both of these things toward the receiver and that the receiver has valued the gift by finding a way to use it.   

On the other hand, I've gotten some gifts that were so badly chosen that I knew they weren't really for me.  It could have been the result of a new relationship where the giver didn't know me well or that the giver loved the gift so much that they forgot to think about me.  Hopefully it wasn't because they didn't like me but wanted something from me or were trying to look good.  No matter the reason I find these gifts don't cause the same response of gratefulness or inspiration from me although I still accept them as graciously as I can.  People in America might say "don't look a gift horse in the mouth."  While I understand that it is important to be grateful for anything that you get, I can not help but wonder if someone gives me a "horse" that is malnourished.  My attitude would fall flat as a result of missed expectations. Who would be happy to receive a stone when they were hungry for bread (see Mathew 7:9-10)? No matter how precious the "stone" it is useless in my possession if I can't find the best way to use it in my life.  This speaks to my ability to use the gift and the givers ability to access my needs and wants, this is aptitude.

Fortunately for all of us God is a good gift giver (see Mathew 7:10-11).  God gives us the gifts that will best relay his message through us, and if used correctly I believe that they are amazing to use and experience.  If you are a singer then you should sing with everything that you have.  Why not get lessons and practice?  Why not learn exercises to strengthen your voice?  And after all of that, why not sing like you know how?  To do any less is to hide away the gift that God gave you.  At the same time it is important to always be grateful to the giver and ready to give God the credit.  It would be foolish to pretend that God didn't give us the gift, but that somehow we found it on the side of the road. God thought about you and planned to give you a gift that you could maximize.  Really I believe that we were crafted for our gifts just as much as the gifts were crafted for us like pieces of a puzzle that turn into a beautiful work of art which is God's love for us. People of God we need to show God our gratefulness by using what he gave us in the best possible way and therefore putting it and him on display for the world to see. 

I define worship as the use of our God given abilities to show God's glory.  There should be no confusion about who the real artist is and who he uses to show himself.  At the same time worship is personal and the heart of the receiver will always be exposed in the process.  Not every message is meant for every person.  If you didn't get anything that will improve your life out of someone sharing their gift then that message may not have been meant for you.  Ask God to give you the gift that is meant for you to have, and that goes for receiving because when it comes to the gift that you are supposed to share, God has already given it.  It is now up to you to walk worthy of that gift and share it as God leads you.  (see Romans 11:29-36)