| We often talk about
the inspirational value of Christian biographies. Yet have you
ever come away from reading the account of some great
Christian’s life feeling more discouraged than uplifted? C.
Peter Wagner expresses such frustration in his classic
Your Spiritual Gifts Can Help Your Church Grow: “At one
point, earlier in my Christian life, I used to read quite a few
biographies. Then I stopped almost completely and at first did
not know the reason why. What I did know is that, while they
were enjoyable reading, when I finished I felt miserable. I
always felt that ‘if he can do it so should I.’ . . . The ‘dear
believing reader’ bit got to me.”*
Let me hasten to say that I’m not against reading Christian
biographies. We can grow greatly through such study. Yet in all
honesty, I think that many of us can identify with the
unsettledness Wagner expresses. When confronted with the life of
a renowned Christian--whether through a biography or public
example--we’re seized with a strange mixture of exhilaration and
self-contempt.
On the positive side, we’re moved by the person’s example,
and inspired to spend our life in more noble pursuits. On the
negative side, we contrast our life with the great individual’s
in unfair ways. We conclude that our own achievements are meager
by comparison. We berate ourselves for not living at this
person’s level of energy and faith, and for having far less
talent and achievement to show for our years on earth.
Yet such comparisons are never meaningful. God has given us
each a unique mix of gifts, and a distinctive energy level and
motivational pattern. I’m accountable to God to live according
with how he has designed my life and not anyone else’s.
Gift Projection
A major reason these unfair comparisons arise, Wagner
explains, is because of “gift projection”--a practice that he
finds far too common in the body of Christ. Gift projection
occurs when someone with an unusual talent claims that anyone
else can develop the same skill, and can realize the same
success, if they simply yield themselves fully to Christ.
Nineteenth century George Muller is a classic example of
someone of who projected his gift. Muller raised millions of
dollars for building orphanages in Great Britain. It was his
policy never to mention a financial need to anyone, but only to
share it with God in prayer. He wouldn’t accept any salary for
his work. His journals document a lifetime of cliff-hanging
episodes, where he committed major financial needs to God, who
constantly provided for them miraculously--sometimes at the last
possible moment. As a typical example, someone would walk in
unexpectedly with the food needed for dinner at an orphanage
just as everyone was sitting down for the meal.
I believe that Muller had the spiritual gift of faith, which
Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians 12:8. This gift is a special
capacity to understand the mind of God, and to move ahead in
perfect confidence that God will work in certain ways that
others do not yet perceive. Yet like all spiritual gifts, it
isn’t given to everyone, but only to a small percentage of
Christians.
It’s to Muller’s credit that he lived with such integrity in
light of his gift, and realized its potential so fully. In this
sense, he is a great inspiration to us all. Yet Muller insisted
throughout his life that he didn’t possess any unusual gift of
faith. He believed he was demonstrating a lifestyle that all
Christians should follow. Anyone can have his experiences of
faith, he insisted. The implication is that anyone who accepts a
regular paycheck is living less than a fully committed Christian
life.
Gifts and Responsibilities
In our own day this sort of gift projection occurs in many
different ways. Someone with an exceptional talent for winning
others to Christ claims that anyone who takes our Lord’s command
to witness seriously can be just as successful. Someone who
entertains hoards of people in her home insists that such
hospitality is a calling laid on all believers. A successful
missionary teaches that anyone who makes a reasonable effort at
cross-cultural ministry can be just as effective. (Thank
goodness we don’t hear many great singers or brain surgeons
making such claims!)
Gift projection usually occurs with the very best intentions.
Muller’s claim not to have a special gift of faith sprang from
considerable humility and compassion. He wanted others to be all
that Christ would enable them to be.
Yet, as Wagner points out in his book, such a claim confuses
responsibility with gifts. God often expects us as
Christians to exercise responsibility at points where we don’t
have special talent. He may wish us to respond to someone’s
need, for instance, simply because we’re the most logical person
to help that person, even though we are not particularly skilled
to do so. In this case God uses our availability more than our
ability. And by extending ourselves we grow in important ways
and deepen our dependence upon Christ.
Bearing responsibility means that we each should strive to
live by faith as much as possible, to share Christ with others
whenever we can, to show hospitality often, and to have an
ongoing concern for missionary work throughout the world.
Yet we may or may not have a special gift in any of
these areas. Over time we should give the burden of our
efforts to those areas where we are gifted, and not deride
ourselves for giving less attention to areas where we are not
specially skilled.
Wagner also notes that St. Paul could scarcely have used a
more graphic analogy for emphasizing the importance of
respecting our individual gifts than the human body. In 1
Corinthians 12 Paul compares our personal gifts to parts of the
body, stressing that while each part is radically different from
the rest, each is essential to all the others in its function.
“The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ And the
head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!’ On the
contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are
indispensable” (1 Cor 12:21-22 NIV).
The corollary is just as true, Wagner points out--an eye
cannot become a mouth, no matter how hard it tries, nor can a
hand become a foot. The point is not that we have no
responsibility for meeting needs outside of our areas of
giftedness, but that we shouldn’t expect our maximum
effectiveness for Christ to occur at these points.
For each of us, the critical matter is to come to grips with
the special mix of gifts God has given us personally. Once we
understand and appreciate God’s unique design of our own life,
we then can profit greatly from the examples of other Christians
who have lived impressive lives. We will be inspired by the
sincerity of their commitment to Christ, but not feel compelled
to imitate what they did. We will best fulfill our own
commitment to him by respecting our individuality, and by living
our life distinctively in light of whom Christ has made us to
be.
“Each man should examine his own conduct for himself; then he
can measure his achievement by comparing himself with himself
and not with anyone else. For everyone has his own proper burden
to bear” (Gal 6:4-5, NEB).
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