The Gift

"There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them... for the common good." 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 (NIV)

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I have compared my gifting to others and come away feeling either superior or ashamed, both equally missing the point.

I forgot the gifts were never mine to rank, only mine to steward.

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You did not give the same gift to everyone because the body was never meant to be identical parts.

You distributed differently on purpose, so that what I lack, someone beside me carries, and what I carry, they may need.

I called my particular gifting either too small to matter or too impressive to share credit for.

It was You, distributing exactly what the common good required, not what my ego demanded.

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Forgive me for measuring my gift against another's instead of stewarding it for the whole.

You did not distribute for competition.

You distributed for the common good.

Distributing Spirit, let me steward what You gave me without comparing it to what You gave someone else.

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A Prayer of Thanksgiving

Thank You, Holy Spirit, for gifts distributed for the whole, not for my pride.

Thank You for making me part of a body, not a solo act.

Teach me to steward, not compare. Amen.

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