Quote:
Originally Posted by Evangelical
I see "natural ability" as the particular skills or talents we have that we were born with or learned. We should remember that God made us this way for a reason.
I believe in spiritual service it is important to rely upon God's gifts and power and not our own "natural abilities".
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I agree with this ... for the most part. To me "natural ability" has everything to do with His creation of us individually and His sovereignty in our lives, arranging our families and environments. I believe that God made us as we are for a reason.
Your second statement was occasionally taken to extremes in the LC, e.g. you don't know anything about children so you should be put you in charge of the children's service, so that
you must rely upon God's gifts and power and not your own "natural abilities." That's stupid.
I don't think that God's gifts and power vary that much "from the particular skills or talents we have that we were born with," to use your words. If one gets saved at a young age, these talents might not be manifested yet, but that does not mean they were not there.
For example, I was not gifted with any musical talent, neither naturally or spiritually. Right after I was saved, a well-meaning brother sitting next to me in one of my first meetings
kindly took me aside, looked me in the eyes, and asked if I was "tone deaf." His "loving" question took me weeks to get over, but eventually with practice and grace I improved, and no longer stand out like an audio "sore thumb." All of God's "great gifts and power" have brought me to the point where I can now sing with others. Barely.
On the other hand, I am like the guru of home remodeling, basically been that way since I was born. I'm an engineer who has had rentals, flipped homes, and remodeled every home I ever lived in. There's not too much I don't know or can't do, so I was always responsible for the meeting halls. Every time one of the saints was buying a home, they asked me to come along to give my opinion. That didn't mean that I did everything without God, by my self, or without His grace, but serving in that capacity was to me a joy, something I liked doing. In Lee's scheme of things, "spiritual" service should
not be something we
like or enjoy. I disagree.