"And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head - Christ - from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love." (Ephesians 4:11-16)
But what happens when spiritual gifts get put on steroids - when the gifts the God has given each of us are used without the Spirit's leading and control? Things get...well, out of control.
We've all probably seen this happen at one time or another -
discernment can turn into a constant (and poisonous) stream of criticism
serving can become an obsession with "doing" at the expense of our walk with the Lord
leading can become dictatorship
knowledge can lead to pride and lack of authenticity
...and so forth.
Ironic, isn't it - we can take the very things God has given us to strengthen His Body and, by using them selfishly (i.e. apart from His leading), weaken His Body.
Spiritual gifts are an important and necessary part of our lives as believers. God has designed them to be used - used to the fullest - and used with grace.
But they were never meant to be put on steroids.
Lord, help us use our gifts for Your glory, to build up Your church, and not misuse them to gratify ourselves.
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