A GIFT IS NOT A TALENT.
Remember the name Sha’Carri (sha-KERRY) Richardson. She is bold, brash, Black, and beautiful! Saturday, June 19th, she locked in her ticket to Tokyo Games, cruising to a win in the 100-meter dash at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials.
Is running her gift, or is this her talent?
Know that your gift is valuable, and your gift is the key that will open doors for you. Being able to identify your gift is the key to fulfilling your unique purpose in your life.
Gifts and talents are from God. Both grow in effectiveness with use. Both are intended to be used, on behalf of others, not for selfish purposes.
Don’t confuse a gift with a talent. Any person can learn a talent. You are born with your gift.
Talent is the result of genetics and or training. This means that a person inherits a talent from their mother or father, therefore having a genetic component. A spiritual gift is the result of the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit of God is the only source for spiritual gifts, and without accepting Jesus Christ in salvation, a person cannot receive spiritual gifts. (Ephesians 4:10-12). Spiritual gifts are focused on specific tasks, while talents can be used entirely for non-spiritual purposes.
Think of it this way: can any person take singing lessons to improve their voice? Yes, they can develop a singing talent. But can anyone sing like Whitney Houston? No. Whitney’s voice was her gift, and no one else (no matter how many lessons and voice coaches they have and how dedicated they are to furthering their talent) will sing quite like her.
A talent can be possessed by anyone, Christian or non-Christian, while spiritual gifts are only possessed by Christians.
If you’re not sure what your gift is, ask yourself these three questions:
• What can I do that I’m best at, with little effort on my part?
• What is the one thing that other people associate with me?
• I’ve listened to others connect this gift with me, so how have I used it?
Find your gift, know yourself and reflect.
If your gift is writing, how can you use it in the most valuable way? Your way might not be in writing fiction—it could be motivational writing instead. Or, if your gift is singing, think of all the ways you could use it to benefit the most people.
Once you identify your gift, you can live your best life. The success you experience is connected to a gift, and you must figure out the most valuable way to use it.
Has Richardson received the key that will open the door for her? (Proverbs 18:16)
Get used to her gold hair, and perfect stride and her elegant eyelashes and her bold proclamations, her blazing times, and her unapologetic attitude, brash and bubbly at the same time.
