All of us are blessed with various talents and giftings. God has gifted us and when we are functioning in those gifts, those seem to be the times when we feel the most alive. Why? We were created to do whatever that is.
The danger that we run into is when we try to find or feel we have found our identity in those areas of gifting. There is also danger in trying to find our identity in what we do. All of these things are good. We are to function in our giftings, we are supposed to be good parents, responsible workers, etc.... but if we try to tie our identity to them we are headed for trouble. Why? Well, what happens if you can't do what you have tied to your identity? What if your identity is being a husband or wife and your spouse leaves you? What if you raise your kids a certain way and people say you are a good parent and you take that on as your identity, but then as they get older they take actions that aren't good? Are you not a good parent now? And if you tied your ientity to that you will become disillusioned. If you play sports it is only a matter of time before your skills will begin to diminish. Then what? As a musician I have watched many musicians get older and seen their skills begin to diminish (which is natural) and they get upset and mad. Why? They had tied it to their identity.Even in ministry as a pastor gets older they may stay on longer than they should. Why? Without realizing it they have attatched their identity to their position.
This is the challenge for us because it is so easy to tie our identity to these areas. But can we see the set up for danger by living this way? We can fall into depression, anxiousness, etc.. because in losing whatever we have tied our identity to we have lost our identity.
We are supposed to enjoy the things we are gifted at. We are supposed to enjoy the things that bring us pleasure. But we aren't supposed to find our identity in them. Our identity is to be found in Jesus. Our skills may diminish, others may take stuff away from us, we may lose our jobs, our spouses may leave, but Jesus is eternal. He has promised to never leave us or forsake us.
It is ok for us to do the things we enjoy even after our skills begin to diminish at them.Hopefully we do them out of enjoyment and not out of identity. But if we are doing them because we still have our identity tied to them we are in trouble. A sterotypical example would be the elderly church organist. Though they can't hear the music well anymore, much less see the music, though their skills have diminished, they won't step down and give someone else a chance to use their gift. Why? They feel I AM THE CHURCH ORGANIST!!! You see it's their idenity. They could enjoy life so much more if they would just play the organ for the love of it instead of trying to find their identity in it. But instead they look at others as competition, they have to speak down about others. etc.... because if they lose their position they lose their identity. You can translate this to any area of life. It doesn't have to be an elderly person, skills don't have to be diminishing, it's just that it is so easy to find our identity in areas we aren't supposed to.
So we have been gifted with talents and there are things that bring us pleasure, but may we find our identity in Christ and not in these other areas. Maybe a better approach would be to thank God for our talents and enjoy them and bless others with them. Enjoy the things that bring us pleasure and cherish the moments we got to enjoy them. And find our identity in Christ. We will enjoy life more and others will enjoy us more.
Troy