Using Your Gifts for Others with 7eventh Time Down

When Family Life Radio asked Mikey Howard of the band 7eventh Time Down about his creative process he said, “As an artist, there’s a very selfish component you have to wash away. If I get caught in the trap of just creating art for me, it’s not going to work. It’s going to fall on deaf ears.”

Each of you has been blessed with one of God’s many wonderful gifts to be used in the service of others. So use your gift well.
– 1 Peter 4:10 CEV

To get out of that selfish mindset, Mikey began to look at his art – his songs – as serving people with the music. “When it’s about serving other people, you can take your hands off of it. For me, I’ve had more success that way as a writer.”
Mikey’s words offer a valuable lesson – not just for musicians, writers or artists, but for every Christ follower. It can be easy to get caught up in using your God-given talents and abilities solely for personal satisfaction, but these gifts are not your own. They are given as gifts for kingdom purposes for the body of Christ.

Use your gifts to bring joy to the lives of others.

When you intentionally shift your focus from yourself to others and begin to see your talents and abilities as gifts from God, you use your gifts to bring joy to the lives of others.

Ultimately, it’s about how you steward your gifts to serve others. When you approach everything with this perspective, your abilities and talents arise with a new purpose and meaning, and often open the door to transformation in the lives of those you choose to serve.

Today’s One Thing
Identify the people you feel God wants you to serve. Consider what you can offer them and how you can use your gifts to meet their needs. Do one thing this week for them.

Go Deeper

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