Using your gift
I was talking to a friend (who shall remain nameless, but was quite likely to have been my wife) about whether or not she was a good speaker. “Of course you are”, I said. “I've thought that since that national student conference in 1992, where the chairman froze up under the stress and you had to stand up at a minute's notice to summarize, thank the speakers and conclude the proceedings.”
“Well, I suppose I'm good at it,” was the reply, “but I've always been suspicious of my motives. I enjoy speaking and I'm worried that I'm not doing it for the right reasons.”
Switching easily and naturally into smug mode, I said, “You're right. You're not doing it for the right reasons. The Bible says that your motives are bad. But doesn't that just mean you should pray for forgiveness, ask God to change you, and get on with the job?
‘In fact, have you considered the possibility that by sitting on the gift for all these years, you've been disobedient and other people have missed out on what you had to offer? God gave you the gift for building up the church. You should have a go.’
“You scum”, she or he responded (I'm still not giving away whether it was my wife). “I'll think about it.”
The Bible assures us that we are sinners who need forgiveness. That situation doesn't magically change when we become Christians. We are always, as Martin Luther said, simul justus et peccator—at once justified and sinful. But in spite of who we are, God gives us certain gifts for the building up of his church. He is pleased, and his people are strengthened, when we use what we have—not self-indulgently because we want the recognition, but for God's glory and the good of others.