Aaron Ivey talks about how we should be enamored with the giver of the gifts rather than the gifts themselves. We must recognize that every good and perfect gift comes from above.
Here are a few of the main points:
If you’re wondering if you’re a glory robber or not, here’s a really good indication: if and when you get the applause and approval, if it puffs you up, there’s a really good chance that you’re a glory robber. If and when you don’t get the like or the approval or the applause it buckles you, there’s a really good chance that you’re a glory robber. You’re a glory thief. It’s something that you want.
So, real quickly, let’s look at what the scripture says about how in the world we’re supposed to go about this whole thing of giving glory to God, and him alone. Where do we start?
First, we start with the realization that our gifts and talents are never as good as the gift-giver. Our gifts and our talents are never ever as good as the gift-giver. Our hearts have this crazy tendency to be tricked into thinking that the gifts of God are something we should be enamored with.
Maybe for you it’s that you’ve figured out at some point in your life, in high school or college, you’ve figured out you’re really really good at something, and it’s so easy to be enamored with that gift – enamored meaning like your whole life kind of bends around it. You practice, you work on it, you dream about it, you think about it, right, which is totally natural. But it’s easy to become so enamored with the gift that we totally forget to edify the gift-giver, the person who gave it to us in the beginning.
Jesus has never been interested in being one of your idols. He doesn’t want to be one of many idols. He wants to be the only one. That’s why God is so clear on, “You can’t love money and me. You can’t cling to your father and mother and follow me. You can’t have one foot in the kingdom and one foot in the world. You can’t do that. You can’t have two masters. You gotta have only one.” He’s not interested in being one of our idols.
So, we’ve gotta first realize that we have to treasure the giver of the gifts above the gifts that we have. Whatever gift you’re looking at, whatever talent you have, realize it’s just something that he chose to give you, just out of his kindness, out of his grace, he gave it to you, but he’s the one that deserves being enamored. Not the gift. That’s first. That’s foundational.
