skip to content

Spiritual Gifts, Green Eggs and Ham, and You

Spiritual Gifts, Green Eggs and Ham, and You

Get the discussion questions for Spiritual Gifts, Green Eggs and Ham, and You

What kind of gloomy and miserable world would we be living in if there never was a man named Theodor Geisel?

Do you remember Theodor? You probably do, but don't know him by that name. He wrote and illustrated amazing and fantastic books and signed them with:

Dr. Seuss.

Seriously - to even imagine a world without Cat in the Hat, Green Eggs and Ham, and Cindy Lou-Who (who was no more than two) is beyond my imagination. That's why I'm so glad that Dr. Seuss put his gifts and talents 'out there', because if he hadn't, the world would be a much dimmer place.

Did you know that you have gifts and talents as well? That's right...you got 'skeels'!

No, I'm not talking about being able to turn your eyelids inside out or make a star with your tongue - although that is pretty impressive, especially if you can do both at the same time while patting your head and rubbing your tummy. What I'm talking about is a special God-given ability that was planted into your life when you trusted Christ. Let me unpack this for you a bit:

God-given ability: as in this isn't the same as a natural talent like music, art, sports, or being able to burp the alphabet. This is a gift from God that gives you the capability to do amazing things that help get God's plan carried out in the world.

Planted in your life: think X-men, only this isn't a mutation. This is an addition to your world that you either choose to use or let sit on the shelf of your soul.

When you trusted Christ: I don't know exactly how this works, but when you trusted in Christ as your only hope of salvation, God entrusted you with a spiritual ability that wasn't there before. Here's what the Bible has to say about it:

God has given gifts to each of you from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Manage them well so that God's generosity can flow through you. (1 Peter 4:10)

See what I mean? So basically you have this cool spiritual ability inside you just waiting to bust out and be used by God to do amazing things in the world. The question is...will you? You probably didn't know this, but Dr. Seuss' first book was rejected by 27 publishers! I'm so glad he didn't give up, and just like him, you shouldn't either, because if you choose not to use your spiritual gifts, the world will be a dimmer place. So in the tradition of the late, great Theodor Geisel, here is my humble attempt at encouraging you to discover and use your spiritual gift...Seussian style!

One day God said, "This is what I will do:
I'll give my children spiritual gifts,
(And of course this includes you!)
These gifts will come in all shapes and sizes,
They'll give the world some amazing surprises.

You can use them here or there,
You can use them anywhere.
You can use them in a church,
You can use them with a guy named Lurch.

So what gift did God give to you?
Don't know? Then I'll tell you what to do.
Go ask a preacher or any other trusted creature,
Ask them to help you find your fantastic feature.

What fantastic gift? Let me name a few,
Then you'll see firsthand what you can do.
Because when it comes to gifts, there is no doubt,
They'll give you lots to shout about!

Some of you can teach the Word,
With boldness and the power of powers.
People will come from miles around,
To hear you preach for hours.

Then there are folks who love to serve,
To help, to heal, to hope, and more.
They love to help those in need,
Lending a hand is what they live for.

Maybe you're the one with the gift of mercy,
You might even feel bad for a guy named Percy.
You feed the hungry and help those in need,
Widows and orphans, you assist them indeed!

But wait - there's more and more!
Spiritual gifts are knocking on your door.
Giving and sharing your faith in God,
There's more to life than i-tunes and i-pods!

The bottom line is to fire up your gift,
It's guaranteed to give the world a lift!
Don't delay, dawdle, or dilly dally around,
Your God given ability is just waiting to be found!

Head: What you need to know about this truth

When a person trusts in Christ as his/her only hope of salvation, the Holy Spirit gives them a unique ability called a spiritual gift that should be used to help fulfill God's plan for the world.

Heart: What you need to feel about this truth

You should feel amazingly special and responsible. Amazingly special because God chose you to accomplish a mission on earth through your spiritual gift. Responsible because this is one of the main purposes to your life, and you will be judged on how well or not so well you used your gift.

Hands: What you need to do about this truth

One of the best ways to have a discussion about spiritual gifts is to talk about how you would react in a specific situation. For example, if a server spills someone's meal all over the restaurant floor and a group of Christians are sitting nearby, each individual will react differently based on his/her spiritual gift. The gift of mercy responds by helping to clean up the mess, the gift of giving offers to pay for another meal, the gift of exhortation seeks to cheer up the server. The gift of administration delegates and organizes the whole matter to avoid confusion. The gift of teaching suggests some ways to make sure the spill doesn't happen again, etc. Your spiritual gift makes you sensitive to certain needs that others may not see. Another way to get educated and get help with discovering your spiritual gift is to complete a spiritual gifts inventory. Talk to your pastor, youth leader, parent, or a mature Christian adult about where to find one and how to interpret the results.