You are talented. You have gifts, maybe even pulling off marvels. You are impressively gifted. But there’s a catch: You can be a miracle-worker and waste your gifts. Spiritual gifts are like dynamite. In the right hands, they blow up rock to build tunnels and highways. They can produce. In the wrong hands, in hands seeking to puff up, spiritual gifts are good for nothing. Today on Ask Pastor John: wasted talents.
And that brings us to the love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13, which we read together today, and to this question from Martha in San Diego: “Pastor John, hello and thank you for taking my question. In 1 Corinthians 13:1–3, Paul teaches that spiritual gifts, though valuable, are meaningless without love. He explains that no matter how impressive or beneficial a gift may seem, whether it’s speaking in tongues, prophesying, or even giving away all our possessions, it all amounts to nothing if it isn’t motivated by love. A spiritual gift plus that gift put in action minus a motive of love equals nothing. That is a powerful warning. How does this challenge our understanding of the role of spiritual gifts in the church? And why do you think Paul places love above even the most powerful spiritual abilities?”
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