Tis an inside job . . .

Many people are gifted. Talented even.

I mean, think of Michael Jordan. Kelly Slater. Serena Williams. Picaso. Mariah Carey. Steve Jobs. Einstein. They were all people who were both talented and gifted in their areas of expertise. Amazing. WOW. They used their gift, applied it to their setting and WHAMO! - the world recognises and celebrates their gift.

Many people are gifted. Many are talented. Wow.

Many people in the world want recognition and praise for who they are and what they do. Look at me - I’m nailing this . . . look at me, I’m the best at this . . . look at me, I’m amazing! Social media echoes this on a massive scale these days.

Now, there’s nothing wrong with celebrating your gift and talent but there is more to this . . .

Proverbs reminds us that WISDOM IS THE KEY THING in this thing called life.

Wisdom calls aloud and says that he who has a gift is to . . . SERVE.

WAIT . . . WHAT?!

I thought that if you’re talented and gifted, you should expect others to rally around you, celebrate you, lift you up and praise your amazingness!

Nah.

You see, the Lord is more interested in the “IN YOU” than the “THROUGH YOU”.

Allow me to explain further.

The “THROUGH ME” wants the world to recognise the gifts that I have and how amazing it is that these gifts flow through me to benefit all of mankind.

The “IN ME” focuses on the person God, the Creator of all, wants me to become . . . when my INSIDE is in the right place, the THROUGH me can operate much more effectively and with greater impact.

I mean, I’m pretty sure we’ve all met people who are talented and skilled but lack the character or discipline or heart to excel at it. For example, I can recall a guy I grew up with who was super talented in rugby . . . and he knew it . . . and would tell people all the time about how good he was and who he smoked and what contracts he had turned down, etc. Needless to say, he didn’t make Super Rugby or even Northland, despite the fact that I believe he had the talent to do so. It was the inside job that was missing.

I know of another guy who became good at public speaking as a teenager nd often thought about how he could talk publicly and get a message across super clear . . . but didn’t get the opportunity until he was in his 40s . . . because the Lord was working on his heart and character . . . and thankfully the Lord has continued to work on my heart and character ever since.

The greatest litmus test of our character and heart is this simple phrase - Christlikeness.

What are we to do? Resemble Christ.

Genesis 1 says that we were made in His image - nothing has changed. That remains our goal.

Romans 8 and Galatians 4 resonate the same - Oh Lord, that I may be more like you! In fact, as John said, More of Him, less of me . . . it’s an inside job.

The exciting thing is that when we lay down our talents and gifts and allow Him to work on our inside, He gives it right back but in a more powerful and explosive way. Allow Him to do an inside job on you.