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Now, More than Ever, Your Spiritual Gift is Needed

Now, More than Ever, Your Spiritual Gift is Needed

Last updated on: February 16, 2018 at 11:04 am by Shane Phipps

Now, More than Ever, Your Spiritual Gift is Needed 2018-02-16T11:04:38-04:00 Shane Phipps

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Christians are called upon to be the hands and feet of Jesus. We each are blessed with different spiritual gifts. Our nation is sick. We all need to be using our gifts, now more than ever.

But here is the thing; you don’t have to be a Christian to have spiritual gifts. All of us, regardless of our faith–or lack thereof–have the ability to do something to help heal our nation. That power is within us all and it will wither on the vine if we allow it.

We are all reeling in the aftermath of another senseless school shooting. Social media is ablaze with debate over what should be done to prevent these awful events that seem to be getting more and more common. Beyond that issue, we are feeling ever more polarized politically and our world seems to be approaching the brink of the unthinkable consequences of ideological division. It’s becoming harder every day to maintain a positive attitude and a sense of optimism. It is extremely easy to let the world drag us down into a sense of hopelessness. It doesn’t have to, but it quickly will if we throw our hands up and passively submit to defeat. The best way to combat hopelessness is to make more use of your spiritual gifts.

In an age filling with bad, be the good that is absent–do the good that needs done.

I have not been blessed with gifts that tend to put me out in the streets and interacting with a lot of strangers. I wish I was more inclined in that direction but I am very shy by nature and have always been more introverted. My gifts seem to lean more toward observing and discerning the different perspectives about issues and putting my thoughts about them down in writing. Because of that, I write. I hope that my writing serves others, but I know that my writing serves me. It helps me defeat those feelings of hopelessness by expressing how I am doing battle with them. I hear from enough people who read what I write to give me reason to believe that my efforts sometimes help them to process and do battle with their own struggles with hopelessness, fear, anger, confusion, etc.

Sometimes, I feel like I am copping out by “just writing” instead of more “doing” but, I have come to the realization that stepping out of my comfort zone and taking a public stand using the platform I’ve been given is doing something–and it’s far from comfortable. Taking a stand as I do very often puts me in an awkward and uncomfortable position with many of my friends and family who sometimes see things quite differently. So I have come to the conclusion that not writing, for me, would be the cop out.

What is your spiritual gift? Whatever it is, the world needs it–now!

We need people who have the gift of listening in a world where too many people are screaming at one another.

We need people who have the gift of being a calming moderator in a world where too many people are at each other’s throats.

We need people who are gifted artistically to fill our lives with poetry, music, and art in a world filled with ugliness and decay.

We need people with the gift of hospitality inviting neighbors into their homes to share a meal and fellowship–even those neighbors who had the campaign sign for that “other candidate” in their front yard last fall.

We need people with the gift of a loving spirit to provide smiles, kind words, and hugs to those of us who have resorted to looking at each other with suspicious raised eyebrows–yes, even those who have crossed you, personally.

What is your spiritual gift?

If you know what it is, start using it.

If you don’t know what it is, find out and start using it.

All hands on deck–we need each other–right now!

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February 15, 2018

In the Wake of the Florida Shooting, I'm Giving Up Hopelessness for Lent

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February 19, 2018 An Open Letter to America's Youth--You Can Fix This

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