Immediately after a generous offering was collected for building the Tabernacle, God called individuals from among the people to play key roles in its construction. He identified them by name and then equipped them for the work. We learn that Bezalel and Oholiab (never caught on as children’s names) were filled with “the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge and with all craftsmanship.”1 He also inspired them to teach and “filled them with skill to do every sort of work.”2 God not only gave instructions to build the place where he would meet with his people, but he also graciously provided the gifts and skills necessary to make it happen.
I am reminded here that every ability and skill we possess is, in the first place, a gift from God that we do not deserve. This is not to dismiss things like inheritable traits, genetic predisposition, or hard-earned ability, but underneath all of this, there is the Creator God of providence working his will throughout his creation. The inspired apostle simply puts it this way: “What do you have that you did not receive? If then, you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?”3 If every talent and ability is a gift from God, there are implications for how we are to steward these gifts and use them for his glory and the good of others.
Aspiration
Because everything we have is a gift from God, we have an implicit responsibility to cultivate and grow the abilities we have been given—to “fan them into flame.”4 Aspiration to deepen and strengthen these gifts is good and godly, inasmuch as we aim to be good stewards of what we have been given. Whether plumbing or preaching, cooking or coding, washing clothes or writing books, we can glorify God by refusing to squander what he has given to us through laziness or apathy.
Humility
When we recognize that our abilities are gifts of grace, we refuse to join in the fallen world’s boasting and self-promotion. The use of the gifts we receive is not to be an end in themselves, or a means to gain acclaim and recognition. Whenever we receive a gift from God, it is a fresh opportunity to glorify the Giver and call attention to his greatness, not ours. When we boast as if we have not received our ability from God, we distort and disfigure the ultimate God-glorifying reasons He has blessed us.
Contentment
God has appointed and arranged our abilities to serve his good, wise, and sovereign plans and purposes. This means that we should be content with what we have been given and refuse to give ourselves to envy of what others have. Much of our frustration in life can be avoided if we stop striving to be or become someone God has not wired us to be. We can be grateful for all we have received, and, in our contentment, we can admire and celebrate the gifts God has given to others.
What gifts and abilities has God given to you? Why not resolve today that you will aspire to grow and expand those gifts for the benefit of others and the glory of God? We have a wonderful opportunity today, and every day, to thank God for what we have received and then use this one, short life we have been given to:
“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”5