In horse racing a horse that is somewhat “skittish” may have to wear blinders while he is racing. The blinders permit him to see only what is in front of him. In that way he will not be distracted by what is happening around him; he can concentrate solely on winning the race.
That is good for horses running a race; it is not good for believers who are running this race toward eternal life. We are not race horses; as believers we all have duties to perform in addition to the major one or ones that entail the gifts of the Spirit. Performing the additional tasks will help propel us toward the prize at the end of the race. We have more to do than fulfill just one major assignment, which assignment is using the gift God has given us. We are humans who have a plethora of human needs in our midst that have to be looked after. No one can fill the needs unless we as individuals fill them. Perhaps the following will illustrate what I am trying to say:
God has given me the ability to write. It is not world class, but I have a duty to use the gift. Consequently I am engaged in writing Christian articles and publishing them in my limited way. Being involved in this primary task, I have a tendency to put on my blinders and not see anything else. After all, this is the Lord’s work, however small it may be. Yet I cannot be so occupied in writing, although it is a task that is required of me, that I overlook the constant afflictions and needs of people all around me. Without doubt God intended for me to reach out and help others by the gift He bestowed upon me and it is good that I am doing this, but there are additional ways in which I should help the needy souls to whom I am reaching out. There are many needs that I have the ability to fill by the grace of God – and I would be remiss in my duty not to take of what I have and at least help fill a need of my brother or sister. There are gaping holes in the lives of my fellow creatures, holes that have to be covered over. If I have the means to do this or to assist in doing this, then the responsibility is mine whether I ask for it or not.
I want God to give me grace to diversify my interests as only He wills for me to do. I cannot be just a writer and nothing else. What kind of writer is effective who has no experiences from which to draw? True enough, God gives me my inspiration, but He draws it from the well of my experiences in great part. If the well is dry, there will be no inspiration. Just as God deals with men and women according to their individual personalities, He gives inspiration to preach or write as He finds it in the experiences of His people. But, after we have faithfully made use of our God-given gift, if we neglect the small things, the little acts of love, we are in effect putting our blinders on. Neither you nor I can expect to optimally help others if we ignore the tasks that are “too small.” It would be like running our race in a tunnel just large enough for us individually. We may properly have our eyes on the prize at the end of the tunnel, but by neglecting the “minutiae of God” we will have erected an impenetrable wall around ourselves. No one else can touch us behind the wall and we cannot touch anyone else. If I am not mistaken, the rules of this race make it mandatory that we love others. How can we love if there is no reaching out to touch?
If all I do is write, where is the praying heart and the listening ear? If I concentrate on my writing to the exclusion of everything else, where is the heart of compassion, where the getting down into my brother or sister's tragic experience? Where is the pain, the sorrow, the binding up of the cruel wounds inflicted by men whose only thoughts are on what is good for them?
I can ill afford to sit in my ivory tower and write about life if I have had no life outside of the ivory tower. Jesus prayed to the Father, “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world...” If I ignore the many needs of others, I will have taken my own self out of the world. God wants us to stay in the world and not to participate in the evils thereof.
We would be wrong to wrap our gift or gifts in a cloth and bury them out of sight. There would be a price to pay for that. But we are wrong to get so engrossed in using our gifts that we bury the needy, the afflicted and the unsaved out of sight. There will be a price to pay for that also. So let’s all do what we can to fill the needs, great or small, that are plaguing the masses among whom we walk as lights of the world. Let us raise the effectual, fervent prayer, show love and mercy, give of our material and financial needs, and strive to be what God has envisioned for us. It can be summed up thus: Let’s use our gifts of the Spirit as we continually walk in love. If we walk in love, we cannot help but reach out and touch those who need us.
Comments