Exercising Spiritual Gifts

Shel Silverstein worte a kids' poem titled "Never." The last verse reads:

I've never scored a touchdown

On a ninety-nine-yard run,

I've never winged six Daltons

With my dying brother's gun,

Or kissed Miz Jane, and rode my hoss

Into the setting sun.

Sometimes I get so depressed

'Bout what I haven't done.

Some Christians might add a verse like this:

I've never crossed the ocean

To speak to those who seek,

I've never preached a sermon

Or parsed a word in Greek,

I've never shared my wisdom

With folks on the radio;

If I'm any part of the Body at all,

I'm only the little toe.

Some Christians might suspect that Paul's talk about gifts is like the pep talk we give our kids when they get a bit part in the kindergarten play--"It's just as important to be one of the flowers as it is to be Little Bo Peep..." But that's not what the Bible is saying. By likening the church to a body, Paul makes clear that all lparts are vital and that no gift is either superior or inferior to the others.