The Gift Without the Giver

Every individual on the face of this earth was created with a special gift. Some gifts are spiritual, some are even natural. For example, helping others, discernment, wisdom, and knowledge are all considered spiritual gifts, along with preaching, teaching, apostle, evangelism, prophecy, etc. Whereas, some examples of natural gifts are singing, dancing, entertaining, and acting. But no matter what the gift may be, they all were created to glorify the Giver in some way.

There are even gifted atheletes such as football's Big Ben, Reggie Bush, or even the Manning men. Some baseball players are Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, better known as A-Rod. Let's not forget golf's gifted, Tiger-Tiger-Tiger Woods ya'll. There are gifted tennis players like Roger Federer and the mighty Williams sisters. The leading soccer player is David Beckham. And last but not least, several prime examples of basketball’s gifted are the legendary Michael Jordan and Larry Byrd, along with todays dominators such as Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, and LeBron James. Fact of the matter is," Every good and perfect gift comes from above (James 1:17)".

God gave gifts without repentance (Romans 11:29). This simply means that whether a person has repented of their sins and accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior or not, they can still be gifted. Any individual who acknowledges that they have a gift, and operates in that gift to the best of their ability, can reach stardom almost instantly. All it takes is meeting the right, and for some, the wrong people. It’s not about what the person knows, it’s about who they know. Proverbs 18:16 reads, “A man’s gift will make room for him, and bring him before great men”.

God gifted men and women even though He knew that some would not repent and submit their lives to Him. Before we entered our mother’s womb, God knew us. So, the only way that He gets the glory from what we’ve been gifted to do is if it causes someone’s life to be transformed and their heart is turned toward Him; a major element so often undervalued.

While watching certain awards shows such as The BET Awards, The Grammy Awards, The Oscars or The Emmys, one statement that is so often made when a performer wins is, “ I want to thank God for this award”. Although thanking God for the award is considered a wonderful gesture, it doesn’t mean that God was glorified through the message. Some of the movies, TV shows, and songs that have even won the top awards have sent a message that’s displeasing to God. Even the character and the lifestyles of some of the entertainers themselves, along with certain scenes, explicit lyrics and language, have raised questions about the performer’s relationship with the Lord.

Now please don’t misunderstand me, I am clearly aware that we as human beings are very much in need of entertainment. Whether through movies, sitcoms, songs, dancing, and of course, sporting events, entertainment is very vital to our everyday living. Our mental, emotional, recreational, and physical capacities need to be ministered to as well as our spiritual capacity. We need balance in our lives. Without balance, we may become so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good.

However, the reality is that the only way we can connect to God is through the spirit. “God is spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). Through all of the laughter, crying, jumping, clapping, singing and even shouting that the entertainment industry brings to us all, making Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior is still and always will be what’s mainly essential to life…….and death.

On June 25, 2009, we all suffered the devastating loss of two very gifted and talented individuals: “The King of Pop,” Michael Jackson and the woman who brought a certain level of charm and vitality to the TV screen, Farrah Fawcett. Michael Jackson touched our lives with his amazing, fancy footwork and extraordinary singing voice. Remember Mike on Motown with that glittering black outfit and that black gangster brim, those sparkling white socks, and the shiny white glove that would become his trademark? Not to mention, those swift body moves, and that spectacular spin that would end with him striking a pose on his toes and one arm pointing northwest and the opposite leg pointing southeast, then grabbing and slinging his hat to the left with the quickness. And of course we can’t forget how he surprisingly overwhelmed every viewer when he glided across the floor backwards bringing into question if he was the first man to walk on the moon by introducing to us… that’s right - you guessed it, The Moonwalk. All while singing a song with lyrics that testifies that “He is NOT the father”, and would hit the top of the charts, “Billie Jean”. The next day after seeing that spectacular performance, we all felt like we could walk on air. Everybody wanted to be like Mike.

Later he would amaze us even more with that video/mini-movie/album that became the talk of the universe, “Thriller”. Not too long after, Michael Jackson look-alikes were spotted in every city, state, and country. The video not only thrilled us, but the album is still the best selling of all time. He was introduced to us when he was just a child, yet leading his older brothers in a dynamic singing group called The Jackson 5, later called The Jacksons, and taking the music world by storm. They would go on to have hit after hit after hit. Later, Mike would start a solo career that would skyrocket to such fame and fortune that even his siblings would have to make an appointment just to see him. His concerts and public appearances would incite such an emotional frenzy among thousands that you would swear it was the second coming. WHAT A GIFTED HUMAN BEING!

And then there’s Farrah. A young lady who became known for her fabulously flipped blonde hair and that dazzling bright smile that would light up any room. Oh, and let’s not forget that famous poster; a poster that would hang in the bedrooms of thousands of young teenage boys all over the nation. (Sadly, some of those boys are now married men with children, and it’s still hanging somewhere in their home). Another memory we all have of this very talented female icon is her ability to go undercover for years, along with two of her close friends, Jacquelyn Smith and Kate Jackson, and bring down a numerous amount of criminals for a guy they couldn’t see face to face, yet would communicate with by way of intercom. We knew them as “Charlie’s Angels”. Farrah was, indeed, a very gifted actress.

However, as gifted as these two individuals were, and even though they touched our lives in one way or another, the questions still have to be raised, Did they accept Jesus as their personal savior? Was God pleased with their lives and their way of living? Were they truly successful according to God’s standards? We can’t let the excitement of all their accomplishments cause us to be blinded from the truth. That truth is that success is not success until we’ve done what God created us to do and the way he wants us to do it.

Now that they have passed from this life, where will they spend the next? Another question of concern is: Do we as believers really care? We have all talked about how magnificent their lives were, but are we concerned about where they will spend eternity? Are we more fascinated with all there fame and find their popularity more interesting and appealing because we desire the same for our own lives? Or, are we all under the assumption that anyone as gifted as they were had to be saved? Salvation should never be assumed just because a person is gifted and talented. Only when a person confesses with their mouth the Lord Jesus, and believes in their heart that God raised Him from the dead, can they truly be saved (Romans 10:9). This is now, and forever will be, the only plan of salvation. It is not about how a person starts out, it's about how and where they end up that matters.

Unfortunately, in the body of Christ, our relationship with the Lord has been compromised as well due to our valuing our gift more than the Giver. We’ve gotten so attached to how well we may do what we have been gifted to do, that we have allowed the main ingredient to dry up in our lives, the anointing. The anointing is the primary distinction between the body of Christ and those that are unsaved. Although God gives gifts without repentance, He only anoints the household of faith.

The anointing is the fuel that ignites any gift. A person can be gifted and not be anointed, but one can’t be anointed and not be gifted. The gift is evident on the outside, but the anointing comes from the inside. The gift is given, but the anointing costs. It corrects our character, adjusts our attitudes, and humbles our hearts toward God. To be anointed by God takes process. God processes His children to the extent of purging, pruning, and purifying to display His power. He has to take some things out before He puts some things in.

For instance, Joseph was anointed and appointed to be second in command to Pharaoh.
Moses was anointed to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt to the Promised Land. Abraham was anointed to be the “Father of Faith”. And let’s not forget Saul who later became Paul because of his anointing. Joseph was a gifted administrator, Moses was a gifted orchestrator, Abraham was a gifted operator, and Paul was a gifted motivator, but without the process, there wouldn’t have been any anointing.

The anointing is a special touch from God that transforms every believer’s life, even to the point of sanctification. God has to set us apart to get us together so we can do what He purposed for us to do. It’s God’s desire that we touch the lives of others all over world with the same touch He gave us. When He anoints His children it is not for their own lives but for the lives of those they will come in contact with.

Today, so many of us as believers have forgotten the touch. We have gotten so comfortable with living the lifestyle of the rich and famous that we have more of a passion for our gift than we do for the Giver. Pride has set in and our character has changed for the worst. Some of us may speak to thousands, but we no longer speak to one who may be passing by. There was a time that nobody but God knew who we were. Now, because we are so popular and our schedule is so full, even God has to make an appointment with us. We used to call on the Lord, but now since so many are calling on us, God has been put on hold.

Our value of family has depreciated due to our busy schedules and annual engagements.
We are not home as much anymore and when we are our minds are somewhere else.
Our spouses and our children are being neglected and the devil himself is making a house call. While he’s hanging out at our homes, we are hanging out with someone else that we shouldn’t be. We have become so materialistic that what we drive, where we live, and how much we own determines who we are. God desires that we have nice things; He just doesn’t want nice things to have us. We’ve gotten so high-minded and arrogant that we look down on others the way others use to look down on us. This has caused our anointing to fade and sometimes we don’t even realize it.

We have even been deceived into thinking that just because we may be operating well in our gifts and we are prospering consistently, that surely we have not lost our focus. But the reality is that we can preach, teach, sing, etc. and still be far away from God. People can ring our phone off the hook requesting our presence, and we can rock the house when we open our mouths, and God still not be glorified. Remember, the gift was given without repentance. So whether we continue to prosper or not, our gift will still make room for us. It will still do what it does. Consequently, the higher we may go will determine the harder we may fall.

It’s important that we as believers take time for a spiritual evaluation and allow the Holy Spirit to reveal to us if and where we’ve gotten off track. One way to do this is to ask ourselves these questions:

If I couldn’t preach, teach, or sing in public, would I preach, teach, or sing in private?
Do I preach so well that it’s hard for me to be preached to?
Do I teach so well that I’m no longer teachable?
Do I sing so well that I don’t think anyone can hold a note to me?
Has the fame, fortune, and popularity caused me to compromise my faith, fellowship, and purpose?
If I couldn’t be in front of another TV camera, stand on another platform, or have my face on the cover of another book, would I still get on my face before God?
Am I more interested in people following me than following Christ?
Am I more fascinated with my own glory than the Glory of God?
If we ask the questions, the Holy Spirit will answer.

Finally, it is very important that we instill in our children the importance of honoring and glorifyng God at a early age. As our children grow and mature, their gifts and talents will start to manifest themselves in different ways. Some siblings may show it more than others. So teaching our children how to humble themselves early and that they're gifted for God's glory and not their own, will avoid them facing certain spiritual, as well as physical dangers as their statue and popularity increases. Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it(Proverbs 22:6)

We must return to our first love. It is detrimental that we get before God and seek His face. We must repent and ask God to purify our hearts and minds and anoint us once again for His glory. Then we will sincerely glorify the Giver, and not the gift.