an excerpt from: Spiritual Gifts

An excerpt from: Spiritual Gifts

God made all people, believer and unbeliever alike, and some He made able to dance with gracefulness and some He made not able to dance with gracefulness. If we in the church are indeed members of one body in Christ, and Paul tells us that one member cannot say to another, “I have no need of you” (I Cor. 12:21b), and every member is in fact necessary, “it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary” (I Cor. 12:22), then we all better start playing the part of the body that God created us to be. That part is, in fact, necessary. This may be a different part than we wish to play, but it is the only part by which we will realize full and true satisfaction when we play!

ARE ARTISTIC TALENTS SPIRITUAL GIFTS?

To have a deeply healthy body, I think we need to ask a few questions in pursuit of better discernment so that we can benefit from a more accurate application of where artists may or may not prove to edify the body.

So my question is: Are artistic talents spiritual gifts? Does an artistic talent or giftedness or skill of some kind equate to a spiritual gift? This is where I think we need to seek out discernment because we see that not all talent is employed to edify. Surely all talent, giftedness and skill is a gift of God to a person, that is not in question. All talent is from God. But just because someone is gifted by God with talent in their voice, and can lead all the rats across town, does not mean that they have any spiritual gift of leading, teaching, exhorting, serving, etc., for the edification of the body. To equate a talent as equaling the spiritual gift seems to be an error. This thinking will lead us to trust in our talent rather than in the Holy Spirit. Or it will cause us to despair that we have no gift for the body if we lose our talent ability. If a pianist lost his hands, his talent, does that mean then that he has also lost his spiritual gift? You can see how we have to be very careful not to confuse the powers that God has granted to talent as equaling a spiritual gift.

I have seen a lot of great talent that has only worked to tear down the body. Look anywhere in the arts and you will find ample evidence of talent that actually proves to destroy man’s soul rather than edify it. However, a talented artist may also have a spiritual gift of exhortation, or teaching, or prophesy, or healing, etc. that manifests itself most often through an artistic talent. The talent may be a vehicle that uniquely deploys the spiritual gift (which is another evidence of just how grand the creative genius of God is). I do not mean to imply that the spiritual gift can only be deployed within the execution of a particular talent, but rather that the talent may be the most efficient or effective delivery vehicle for that person’s measure of spiritual giftedness to most effectively edify the body, or a part of the body. A singer may exhort most effectively with a song. An actor may teach most clearly through a film. A poet may prophesy most poignantly through a poem. A painter may have a gift of healing that manifests itself through a painting that calms the troubled soul.

But what happens when it’s not a song (talent) that is needed? Does that mean that exhortation (spiritual gift) is not needed or service (spiritual gift) is not needed? No. It would be incorrect for someone to say, “my spiritual gift is in playing the Hammond B3 organ and since there is no organ of this kind around, I guess I have no way to exercise my spiritual gift for the edification of the body.” This thinking confuses a talent for a spiritual gift. You may have a talent on the organ and have a spiritual gift of leadership. And those two can work very nicely together. But you can also exercise leadership in the parking lot.

This category error could be due to ignorance or it could be due to pride. If it is pride, then repent and be free. If it is ignorance, be encouraged and be free! Paul says to us in Romans 12:6-8, “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness” (ESV). Do you see how Paul mentions a gift and then he mentions a generic way of employing that gift. When he says “the one who leads,” he is talking about those who have been given a spiritual gift of leadership, and when he finishes with the generic application “with zeal,” he is saying, “use [the gift]” (vs.6), and use it wherever you can. There was spiritual leadership going on long before the B3 was around so there must be other ways to zealously lead without the organ.

I must interject here a note of personal thanksgiving to God for the Hammond B3 as a means of employing the spiritual gift of leadership. And I also want to praise Him for those in the body He has granted the skill (talent) to lead (spiritual gift) with it!

So let’s be careful not to confuse categories and thereby miss out on edifying pleasures. A talent is from God and a spiritual gift is from God, and they are both given to us for the pleasure of the glory of God in the edification of His body. How are we using them?

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excerpt from The Affections of the Heart in Art - a wrestling for the full pleasures in art Jason Harms