Abusing the Gift God Gave You

 

Abusing the Gift God Gave You

Joshua 16:3 “And Samson lay low till midnight, then he arose at midnight, took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and took the two gate posts, pulled them up, bar and all, put them on his shoulders, and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron. These gates were high and were covered with steel plates to keep them from being burned down. Then the gate had a steel bar across the top and the side posts had to have been buried really deep. The gates alone probably weighed a ton, the size of a truck. While looking at the maps in our Bibles, we surmise that Samson carried this gate nearly 30 miles to the top of the hill. This strength that God blessed him with was held in his hair. If you don't remember the story of how his hair was cut and his strength lost, then please read Judges 16. So why did Samson do this? Samson may have known that there were men lying in wait for him until morning. Maybe he did this out of revenge or maybe he was just plain mischievous. God gave Samson this strength to get rid of the philistines. He was a good man in the eyes of God, but did Samson use his gift the way God intended? In verse 2 of this chapter, it says Samson went into a prostitute and stayed there until midnight. Then when he left, he did not leave quietly but probably woke the whole city with the lifting of this heavy gate and carrying it up the hill. Is this is what God intended Samson to use his gift of strength for? Which brings me to us, is there a gift that God has given us that we are using that is not based on God's intentions? So ,what might our gifts be? Do we have the gift to teach? If so, are we teaching God's word or everything but? Do we have the gift of compassion and is it limited to family and friends only or are we reaching out to others we barely know and care about? Do we have the gift of giving? Do we give to those who we think deserve it, or are we giving to those whom God has put on a heart to give to whether they deserve it or not? Maybe we have the gift of prayer. There are many prayer warriors in our world, and we are blessed to have them, but as a prayer warrior, do we pray only for those we encounter and maybe only once, or do we pray for those struggling and suffering outside our reach, daily. My prayer is that we all have the gift of love, and we use it the same as God's love for us. Love covers many gifts, and we cannot go wrong if we love others as God loves us.

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