Surprises Inside the Gifts

Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. (Romans 12:6-8)

I took some time today to carefully look over the original Greek words for each of these gifts. What I found was very fascinating as each one is a reflection of some aspect of God's character or attitudes. I also feel it is very helpful and useful to throw out every previous notion or definition of every one of these words before replacing them with fresh, updated and more accurate definitions. There is so much baggage and tradition attached to many of these words that it is very difficult to do this, if not impossible at times. But as much as possible I try to do that. Here is what I found from the Greek.

Prophet – one who goes in front of God to people and speaks His thoughts.

Minister (KJV) – a servant who runs errands, an attendant, a waiter. (Luke 17:7-10)

Teacher – one who instructs and helps others learn.

Exhorter – one who calls people to come near, invites, beseeches, comforts, elicits desire, entreats, prays for. Extremely similar to the Greek word used for Comforter, Helper or Holy Spirit mentioned in John 16.

Giver – to join God in an adventure of distributing blessings, to yield and offer resources to others.

Leader – one who stands before others as one responsible for their care, an example to them of abiding in covenant, staunch and firm in demonstrating a covenant relationship.

Mercy – one who has great compassion on others, pity and mercy.

Here are some enhancers listed in these verses that I also found additional insights on from the Greek:

Liberality – with copious generosity and without any vested interest for one's self. Simple and bountiful.

Diligence – literally means speed, eagerness, earnestness and with care.

Cheerfulness – alacrity, prompt, willing, merry, with grace.

Wow! This is so radically different than the impressions that I usually get from reading this passage. It is becoming clear to me how God wants to reveal Himself in different ways through different people with different facets of His character. Each of these gifts have very positive, uplifting connotations to them and together become a very compelling magnet to draw others toward a deeper intimacy with their Creator.

I see nothing of the hierarchical differentiations that is often associated with the artificial offices and roles typically seen in most churches. We hear these gift words often used to label some people who are appointed positions in organizations, but when I simply look at this passage without reference to all those distractions I find a beautiful description of what the real body of Christ will look like when each person is allowed to naturally utilize their God-given gifts, their unique reflections of some facet of God, in blessing for those around them.

I don't see any implication of dominance over others within these gifts. And that, I think, is crucially important, for the Kingdom of Heaven is based firmly on the spirit of serving and unselfishness and love alone. All of life is to be lived to bless others as we have received blessing and gifts. The whole cycle of life itself thrives on the principle of receiving to give. If a lake refuses to give through an outlet it soon becomes poisoned with saltwater or silt and eventually dries up. These gifts are the outlets that are necessary to keep our souls alive and thriving so that we can be energized in the cycle of life designed by God.

I would like to mention a few more things about some of these gifts that I have learned in the past. A prophet is really one who is a connecting link between God and other people. I think this is not because God does not want to converse with people directly but because they stay so far away from Him and are so out of sync with Him that they are unable to receive many important things from Him directly. It becomes necessary for God to use an intermediary who will translate the awesome thoughts of God into the language of the simplistic and artificial world of the bottom-dwellers.

Sometimes a prophet is shown future events, but that is not necessary to be used as a prophet. We have linked this word so strongly with future-telling that we are loath to acknowledge anyone's gift as a prophet unless they can foretell the future. This sets us up as ripe for counterfeits which are more than ready to fill the spot. The true nature of a prophet is to share God's thoughts with others as well as represent a group of people before God. A prophet must always maintain the viewpoint of how heaven sees people and situations so that their communications reflect true reality.

I find the definition for minister very fascinating considering that all too many “ministers” using that label are too often the opposite in their spirit from what is revealed here. But this description is of a person who has the spirit of a good waiter. I think most of us can remember when our dining experience was extremely enhanced by enjoying the blessing of a thoughtful, cheerful, entertaining waiter or waitress that just made the experience almost more than perfect.

An effective waiter is humble and alert, always ready to anticipate and resolve any situation and need that may arise. Their primary purpose is to do everything possible to enrich and enhance the dining experience of their patrons without interfering or being noticed very much. Their job is to create the most pleasant atmosphere possible so that other people can connect with each other over a meal most effectively.

It reminds me of the spirit of John the Baptist who did everything possible to elevate Jesus and allow Him to connect with people's hearts while not promoting his own importance or ministry. He said he was a friend of the Bridegroom and as such was careful not to attempt to divert the affections of the bride. Jesus said that John was the greatest of anyone who had been born while at the same time he was the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. Since the Kingdom of Heaven is the reverse of the way we imagine kingdoms that means that in our terminology John is the greatest.

The meaning for exhortation is one of the most startling to me. The typical ideas that arise in my mind whenever I hear this word is along the lines of someone striving to deeply impress others with their beliefs and doctrines almost to the point of using force. It also brings up images of those who feel compelled to make others feel guilty for not measuring up and lecturing them on being better Christians – admonishment. That may be slightly extreme but is the tendencies of how this word seems to be often applied.

I was amazed to find in my study that this word really means to relate to others in a spirit of comforting, invitation, attraction, etc. Conviction is the work of the Holy Spirit but it is not our work – ever. But we can be used by the Spirit to assist Him in conveying the love and compassion and attractions of Jesus to other hearts and thus draw them and call them into a heart connection with God for themselves. When we view this word in its original meaning it takes on a whole new and attractive flavor.

Leader is another term that has a stark difference in the way it is demonstrated typically and the way this passage portrays it. In God's plan leaders are not to have any spirit of domination or coercion of any kind. A true leader is one who stands up for the covenant that we share with God and by example shows how to live in true covenant relationship with God and with God's family. Again, a leader is one who leads and models and demonstrates, not one who drives and forces and manipulates.

This is interesting given the nature of how the brain works. The left brain learns by receiving cognitive information and processing it logically. But the right brain learns by watching an example or demonstration and then imitates that. I believe the right brain is the primary entry point and communication access used by heaven to communicate with mankind. It is the part directly linked with the heart which is God's primary concern in salvation and it seems to be closer to the spirit part of us.

The other big surprise was when I discovered the real meaning of diligence. It too was very different than the meaning typically associated with it in my mind. Being linked with the gift of leadership I see that a leader needs to be unhesitating in modeling an example to imitate. That seems to indicate the need for a spirit of confidence and assurance and sometimes even boldness in being quick to demonstrate the advantages of living in covenant with God.

I find the last combination very heart-warming as well as instructive. It is important to always keep compassion hooked up with the pleasantness of cheerfulness. To have compassion and mercy linked with the word merry can give it a whole new dimension. I believe the opposite direction may also be important. If we are engaging in times of humor and fun we need to be very careful to be alert that our humor does not fail to always have compassion as the guardian to keep us from hurting anyone. Some people believe that humor itself is a bad thing. But I think this is because too often humor is used in the wrong way and at the expense of others. But just like everything else, there is always a healthy genuine whenever there are obvious counterfeits.

I have found that the most effective presenters dealing with some of the most dense truths to comprehend have made it much, much easier to learn and grasp and remember when the presenter had a kind and cheerful sense of humor balanced with compassion. It reminds me of the food we eat. We do not care for a meal consisting of all heavy, very dense foods with almost no liquids. Our stomachs would rebel at such a spread. Likewise I have noticed that when a person mixes together lightness and humor and stories along with deep, intense and important concepts in a proper way that the truths thus learned tend to linger much longer in my memory and are far quicker to return to my consciousness just when I need them in a real-life situation.

Now if you read the verses again with the light of their real definitions they take on new life and energy.

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