Spiritual Gifts pt17: Practicing Other Gifts

By Bill Gothard

HOW TO BEGIN PRACTICING OTHER GIFTS:

1. Discover what gifts are around you.

God has already placed around your life people whose gifts will complement yours. Your parents, brothers and sisters, marriage partner, Christian friends, and working associates all have spiritual gifts (if they are Christians) that will enrich your life as you find out what they are and how they operate.

Help those around you to discover their spiritual gifts by reviewing the characteristics of each motivational gift. Ask each person to identify the list which most accurately describes him or her.

2. Take a new look at conflicts.

Most of the conflicts which we have with other Christians are simply the result of our misunderstanding their motivational gift or of their misusing that gift.

The most important point to remember in understanding other people is that each person sees a given situation from the perspective of his or her motivational gift.

Furthermore, each person will expect you to see those things which stand out to him or her. At the same time, you will probably expect others to see what is obvious to you in a given situation.

Not only will others expect you to see things from their perspective, but they will expect you to be as concerned about them as they are. Any lack of concern may be translated as a lack of spiritual maturity on your part or even as a sign that you are rejecting them.

3. Learn to see through the eyes of others.

Begin asking those with other gifts to tell you what things are important to them. Ask them to describe what they see in a particular situation. Encourage them to point out “blind spots” in your life or service for Christ.

Find Christians who are successfully using their gifts and study how they go about doing various things:

* How does a prophet identify and expose sin?

* How does a server see and meet practical needs?

* How does a teacher validate truth?

* How does an exhorter visualize steps of action?

* How does a giver make wise investments?

* How does an organizer get jobs done?

* How does a mercy know what hurts others?

(End of series)