Diverse Gifts
Diverse Gifts
Saint Paul the Apostle says:
“So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another… Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us: if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministry; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation…” (Romans 12:5–8).
We are members of one another, like a tree for example: it has roots beneath the ground, hidden and unseen by anyone, and it also has visible parts—the trunk, branches, leaves, flowers, and fruits. Each has its own function.
The root represents the member who works in secrecy, carrying the whole tree, while all the praise is attributed to others. He works in silence. We praise the branches whose leaves give us shade, we admire the beauty of the flowers and the sweetness of the fruits, but rarely do we praise the roots that support all of these and send nourishment to them so they may live. Yet the roots are content with their hidden role, according to the portion God has allotted to each—without weariness and without envying the visible parts of the tree.
Imagine if the roots desired to appear—what confusion would result! This is a lesson from nature that God presents to us, teaching us how the members of one body work together in cooperation, even if one of them remains buried and unseen throughout its life. It is purposeful collective work, where everyone labors together.
This reminds us of the story of the blind man and the lame man. Before them was a delicious fruit: the blind man could not see it, and the lame man could not reach it. So the blind man carried the lame man, who then picked the fruit, and they ate it together. Each became a member for the other: the blind man was the legs of the lame, and the lame man was the eyes of the blind.
The same applies to the story of Moses and Aaron. Moses had a strong relationship with God, but he was slow of speech and tongue. When he complained of this to God, God gave him Aaron his brother and said: “You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth… and he shall speak for you to the people. And he himself shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as God” (Exodus 4:15–16). Aaron completed Moses, and Moses completed Aaron: Moses was the mind of Aaron, and Aaron was the mouth of Moses.
As one person may say to another, “I am your right arm” or “I am your eye”—meaning he becomes a member who performs the work of the arm or the eye. Likewise, the Didascalia says that the deacon is the eye of the bishop, seeing for him which families are in need of care and informing him so that proper pastoral care may be given.
This is true collective work: each member completes the other. No one can do everything alone; the other members must work with him, according to the portion God has given to each. Each differs in function from the other, for the gifts are diverse.
God diversified the gifts so that collective work may be complete. If everyone had the same gift, the work would not be accomplished. Work needs a manager just as it needs a clerk, a servant, and a cleaner. When each fulfills his role, the work is completed, like the members of one body.
God created the artist who cares for beauty, the philosopher who cares for thought, and the laborer who works with his hands—whose duty is not to think, but for others to think on his behalf. All are necessary. One person may be given the gift of administration but not teaching—shall we criticize him? Or as Scripture says: “He who leads, with diligence… he who teaches, in teaching” (Romans 12:7–8). It is like a machine: every part has a specific function, and from the sum of these functions the machine operates. If even one screw is missing, it will not work.
Truly, God has created only a few individuals with many gifts. An example is the Apostle Paul: he was a teacher and a preacher, an apostle and a priest. He had the gift of tongues, visions and revelations, the gift of administration in his “care for all the churches,” intellectual gifts, and skill in manual labor, for he was a tentmaker.
Likewise, David the Prophet was a king, a military leader, a poet, a harpist, a prophet, a family man, and a shepherd. Saint Basil the Great was a theologian who refuted the Arians, a founder of monasticism and its rules, a worker in social service, an archbishop, a teacher, and a biblical interpreter.
Such a collection of gifts may come together in one person, as with Saints Athanasius, Augustine, John Chrysostom, and other leaders whom God endowed with many talents.
This does not prevent the existence of great saints who had only one gift—but they used it to near perfection and through it reached God and left us an example. Among them is Saint Julius of Aqfahs, who was not known as a theologian, teacher, or monk, but whose gift was caring for the bodies of the martyrs and recording their lives. Through this, he left the Church an enduring legacy: the relics and biographies of the martyrs.
Another saint, Simon the Tanner, was not known for administration, teaching, monasticism, or tongues, but for the gift of answered prayer that moved the mountain—and through it history remembered him. Others were known for the virtue of mercy, such as Saint Serapion the Great, who sold his Gospel and even his garment to give to the poor, returning to his cell naked. Another saint sold all he owned, and when nothing remained, sold himself as a slave to give the price to the poor.
Among them also is Saint Anba Abraam, Bishop of Fayoum, who entered history through the virtue of mercy. When God saw his faithfulness in this virtue, He granted him the gift of miracles to complete his work of compassion.
We may also include Ibrahim El-Gohary, a married layman and government official, who had the gift of generosity, through which he helped the poor and built churches and monasteries. Similarly, Saint Tabitha in Joppa made tunics and garments for widows (Acts 9), and the widows wept for her; Saint Peter the Apostle raised her from the dead.
All these did not possess multiple gifts, but one gift to which they were faithful, attaining what those with many gifts attained. Many saints are remembered in history for only one deed: Joseph of Arimathea, a rich layman, is recorded as the one who took the body of the Lord after the Crucifixion and laid it in his own tomb. Obadiah, in the days of the pagan king Ahab, hid and supported prophets threatened with death, and we know no other deed of his (1 Kings 18). Others, unknown to history, had only the gift of copying manuscripts in an age without printing presses, copying the Holy Scriptures and Church books, accomplishing a very great work. Some offered their homes to be churches, such as Mary the mother of Mark, Aquila and Priscilla, and Lydia the seller of purple.
Therefore, one should not seek a multitude of gifts or extraordinary gifts. It is enough to be faithful to what God has given. One must be faithful to his talent, however small, according to what God has allotted him, and thus he enters into the joy of his Lord.
For example, a woman should not aspire beyond what is fitting, like those who seek priesthood. It is enough for her to raise her children well, care for her home and husband, and be pure in heart—this is her talent. God once guided Saint Macarius the Great to two married women in Alexandria with children and told him that they were equal to him in spiritual stature.
Do not say, “I do not have the gift of knowledge or teaching.” If you cannot teach or preach, deepen your prayers—your prayers may accomplish more than sermons. Thus lived Saint Simon the Tanner and our monastic fathers. If God has given you love for the poor, say to yourself: this is a great gift. Pure religion before God the Father is to visit orphans and widows in their trouble and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
One serious flaw is for a person to forget what he has and seek what he does not, saying, “I have no gift.” Is this not ingratitude toward God’s gifts and unfaithfulness in little things? God has left no one without a gift, but gifts are diverse. Wise leadership must discover these gifts and direct them.
It is not spiritually sound to compare gifts. You cannot say which is more useful to the body—the heart or the brain. Both are necessary. Let each be faithful to his role and cooperate with the others. Thus are all members of the Church, each according to his gift.
The book The Forty Stories tells of a saint who served as a doorkeeper at the Monastery of Anba Bishoy. Through kindness, cheerfulness, and gentle words, he attracted many to faith and monastic life, so that people loved the monastery because of him. He became the most important person there because of the virtue he perfected.
Do not desire a particular gift, for it may not benefit you, or the enemy may use this desire to harm you. Rather, walk according to the portion of faith and gifts that God has allotted to you.
