Everyone Has a Gift

Good news: Everyone has a motivational gift! No one has been left out. We have tested tens of thousands of people and each one has discovered his specific giftedness, falling under one of the seven categories, or sometimes under more than one. (We have never found anyone who fits into an eighth category. In fact, there is no eighth category.)

But don’t take our word for it. Look at God’s Word: As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

1 Peter 4:10, NAS.

And since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let each exercise them according: if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in the serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality, he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

Roman 12:6-8, NAS

There you are. Seven motivational (that is, motivating) gifts. And each one of us receives one (or more). So what do we do with them?

We are commanded to use our Gifts to benefit others.

Scripture stresses that our motivational gifts are given to us to benefit others. They are not to be used for selfish purposes. It is only by the grace of God that we are gifted in the first place; therefore we are to use our giftedness to help and bless others.

The contrast of the two seas in Israel shows that an outflow is essential for life. The Sea of Galilee has water flowing not only into it but out of it. Therefore the lake is fresh and useful; it supports life. But the Dead Sea has no outlet. It holds in all of the water it receives. Through evaporation this lake has become the saltiest in the world: there is no life in it at all.

So it is with the motivational gifts. They were designed by the Creator to overflow from us to those around us.

Our Gift was built into us when God formed us.

Our giftedness was not an afterthought. It was a part of God's plan to shape us for our role in the building of His Kingdom.

One of the most beautiful creation passages in the Old Testament is found in Psalm 139:13-16:

For You did form my inward parts, You did knit me together in my mother's womb.

I will confess and praise You, for You are fearfully wonderful, and for the awful wonder of my birth! Wonderful are Your works, and that my inner self knows right well.

My frame was not hidden from You, when I was being formed in secret and intricately and curiously wrought [as if embroidered with various colors] in the depths of the earth [a region of darkness and mystery].

Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in Your book all the days of my life were written, before ever they took shape, when as yet there was none of them. (TAB)

What a magnificent expression of the design and development of the child in the womb; God uses what scientists now call DNA in the process. When a child is conceived half of his DNA inheritance comes from the father and half from the mother. And in that micro. - scopic fertilized egg the joined DNA forms a helix-shaped genetic ladder that is literally slx feet long. Yet it is marvelously compacted within that tiny egg. How incredible!

Every detail of our physical being is programmed by DNA. Its intricacies far outweigh_ the most sophisticated computer system on the market today. The color of your hair was pre-programmed by your DNA. The shape of your nose, your height, your body frame, 11 your physical characteristics were determined at that moment of conception. h

If God has so precisely planned for the development of your physical body---wich i5 you eventually subject to degeneration and death—how much more has He planned giftedness. We believe that our motivational gifts are given to us at conception and that just as DNA eventually brings forth our physical characteristics, so our motivational gifts bring forth the interests, abilities, enthusiasms, and actions that make us effective members of the Body of Christ.

One of the things that has convinced us that motivational gifts are a part of our initial creation is our study of twins.

The first time I tested a twin was nine years ago in Montana. Judy, a young mother in her thirties, commented at the time that she was sorry her identical twin sister, Jane, lived too far away to come to the seminar. Judy scored highest as "exhorter." Other women present who knew both twins insisted that Jane would probably score the same.

A year later I was invited to teach the motivational gift seminar in another Montana town that happened to be where Jane lived. While she had heard Judy speak of the seminar she had not seen Judy's scores or profile sheet. "I thought it would be best if I didn't see Judy's results until after I had a chance to do the test myself," Jane explained.

After the seminar Jane brought her profile sheet to me. Her primary gift was exhorter! What surprised me more, her second and third gifts matched Judy's too.

Since then, each time twins have taken the test their primary gifts have been identical. For instance, one pastor's wife was strongest in the serving gift. Her favorite part of her ministry was hospitality. She loved entertaining people in her home and having house guests.

Her twin sister had married a wealthy businessman. She could afford domestic help but preferred to take care of her home herself. She loved entertaining her husband's business associates. She too was a server.

In another instance, Deanne was tested in Washington state and her identical twin sister, Dianne, by mail on the East Coast. Both proved to be perceivers.

The Reader's Digest carried an article on twins that presented even stronger evidence that motivational gifts are born in us, not added later. One revealing paragraph:

Identical twin boys, born in Ohio some 40 years ago, were adopted by different families shortly after birth. A year ago, after 39 years apart, they were reunited. It was discovered that each had been named James; that each had had law-enforcement training; that each liked mechanical drawing and carpentry. Each married a woman named Linda, had a son—one named James Alan and the other James Allan—had divorced, and then married a second wife named Betty. Both had dogs named Toy. Also, both favored the same St. Petersburg, Florida, vacation beach.

It is significant for our study that these twins were raised apart in different homes, leaving no opportunity for family or school to influence their identical choices of jobs, hobbies, and recreation. Clearly something more fundamental than external influence was involved—something, we believe, built in at conception.

Our Gift can be observed in childhood.

Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:6, KJV

As we began raising children we took this Scripture seriously, endeavoring to ra4 rse out youngsters morally and scripturally.

Then when the boys were eight and ten years old we discovered the motivational gift child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent], and When he is old he will not depart from it." training. The Amplified Bible version of this Scripture gave us new insight: "Train up and began to realize there was more to Proverbs 22:6 than a teaching about discipline and training. The Amplified Bible version of this Scripture gave us new insight: “Train up a child in the way he should go [and in keeping with his individual gift or bent], and when he is old he will not depart from it.”

The original Hebrew included the insight that each child has a giff_a gift—and a bent— direction to be fulfilled by using his motivational gift(s). w — e as parents then, have a responsibility to discover our child's giftedness and to "train him up" in it, to encourage the development of that gift, so that when he comes of age he will be using that giftedness to the glory of God and for his own true fulfillment.

We are grateful that we found this out before our boys were fully grown. We could easily see that Dave was an administrator (with a secondary gift of exhortation). We could en_ courage his leadership at school. Dan was completely different from his older brother: a perceiver, with a modifying effect from the gift of compassion. We could encourage him to take strong stands on issues and ideals.

Not only have they expressed gratitude that we encouraged them in their giftedness, but over the years they have brought friends and schoolmates home to take the motivational gift test as well.

Linda was already grown and married when we learned about the motivational gifts. But, in retrospect, we could see that she had a strong gift of compassion. As a child she was always drawn to others who were hurting or friendless. And her love for animals was exceptional. She wanted to be a veterinarian so she could work with animals, but when she learned they also did surgery she couldn't bear the thought of performing operations.

We are not to neglect our Gift.

Neglect not the gift [charisma] that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery.

1 Timothy 4:14, KJV

Of the fifteen times the word charisma is used in the New Testament we find that it is not , uncommon for more than one gift category to be referred to at the same time. (The term, as with any term, must be understood within the context in which it is used.) In this reference for instance , , see the three categories of gifts expressed: The supernatural gifts may have been more fully released or manifested by the laying on of hands on Timothy, the manifestation gift of prophecy flowed through an elder who had the ministry gift of a prophet, and the motivational gift Timothy had been endowed with was identified and released in greater measure at this special time of his ordination. A careful examination of this verse as given in The Interlinear Greek-English New Testament' brings out an interesting rendering: Be of the hands of the elderhood."

First of all, notice that the original Greek refers to the "in thee gift," indicating gift was already "in" Timothy when the elders prayed for him. The word "given" in the that the Greek is dodo mi which has a wide range of meanings according to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible3 including "to be brought forth, shown, and uttered." It is likely that Timothy, being a young man, had not yet identified his primary motivational gift. So, when the elders were ordaining him (utilizing the various manifestation gifts of prophecy and word of knowledge), the gift that was already "in him" was identified verbally. (His primary motivational gift seems to have been that of teacher as evidenced by many later references to Timothy's ministry of teaching. See 1 Timothy 4:6, 11, 13-16; 2 Timothy 2:2, 15; 4:2.)

That Paul was probably one of those who prophesied over Timothy is indicated by his reference in 1 Timothy 1:18 to "prophetic intimations which I formerly received concern-ing you, that inspired and aided by them you may wage the good warfare" (TAB).

But more important than the timing of the gift is the fact that to neglect it is to neglect God's purpose and plan for our lives. Each of us has an "in thee" gift and, like Timothy, we need to use it for the glory of God and the benefit of others.

Our Gift colors all we see.

If you put on a pair of sunglasses, all you see will be colored accordingly. So it is with a person's motivational gift. A perceiver will look at life through a perceiver's eyes. Everything will look either good or bad, right or wrong, in God's will or out of God's will. It is impossible for the perceiver to see life in any other way.

A server on the other hand will approach reality with the question, "What can I do to help in this situation?" He constantly notices opportunities to do things for others.

A teacher will search for truth in everything he encounters. Like the persistent Diogenes of Greek literature searching with a lantern for an honest man, the teacher will investigate, seek, and research.

An exhorter will see opportunities to encourage people at whatever they do.

The giver will look for ways in which he can invest his time, talent, and money providing for the needs of others.

The administrator with his broad vision will grasp the overall dimensions of a situation. The compassion person will recognize hurts and wounds that need to be healed and see endless opportunities to express love.

And each one may think, "Why don't others see things the way I see them? It's clear to me!"

OUR GIFT GIVES ONLY ONE PERSPECTIVE OF THE WHOLE.

God has purposely limited and focused our giftedness so that we must work together and remain dependent on each other in order to grasp the whole truth.

Remember the six blind men who went to "see" an elephant? One felt the side and said an elephant is like a wall. The next felt the tusk and claimed an elephant is like a spear. The third felt the trunk and likened it to a snake. The fourth felt a leg and said an elephant is like a tree. The fifth, touching an ear, declared an elephant is like a fan. The sixth felt the tail and insisted an elephant is like a rope. No one was altogether right, yet neither was he entirely wrong. It was only when they got all their observations together that they "saw" the whole elephant.

Thus it is with our motivational gifts. Each of us is somewhat blind to the other perspec.. fives. We are wrong to say our way of seeing is the only true one. We are each partly right But we are not totally right all by ourselves. We need each other's viewpoints in order to see the complete picture.

In our presentation of the motivational gifts we not only want to help you to discover your gifts but also to become familiar with the other gifts, how people with differing gifts think, how they operate, and how they benefit the whole Body of Christ. We believe you will be enriched both personally and in your relationships by gaining these insights.

Each Gift is of equal value.

Let's suppose the circle represents a pie. Obviously it's easier to cut a pie into six or eight segments, but we want you to cut the pie above into seven equal slices. A challenge? See how well you can do.

Now, just in case your slices did not turn out symmetrically, write, "These are equal slices" beside the pie. Then label each slice with the name of a motivational gift: perceiver, server, teacher, exhorter, giver, administrator, or compassion person.

We want you to grasp the concept of this diagram: that all the gifts are equal. They are equal in the sight of God. They are equal in value in the Body of Christ. No gift is higher than or better than another gift. They each contribute invaluably to the collective functioning of the Body of Christ. If any one gift is not in operation there is a lack, a void.

Whatever motivational gift you have been given is the best gift God could have given you for the working out of His purposes in your life and for the benefit of the other people whose lives you will touch. Rejoice in your giftedness! Use your giftedness! Develop your giftedness! We like that oft-quoted slogan:

What we are is God's gift to us;

What we make of our lives is our gift to God.

It is true that God bestows some of the gifts more frequently than others. That's because more people are needed in certain functions. There need to be more followers, for instance, than leaders. From the data we have compiled* here is the percentage of people who have each gift:

* This tabulation is based on detailed response sheets from 1000 people over a ten-year period, representing more than 100 groups in a variety of states, provinces, and countries.

The most prevalent gift is that of compassion-perhaps because there is so much need for love and compassion in the world.

The gift of server and exhorter are almost tied for second place. Lots of servers are needed to get God's work done, and we all need encouragement every day.

But just because there are more with a certain gift does not mean that gift is more important. Neither does a lesser percentage mean a gift is somehow more special. All the gifts are equally important. All the gifts are necessary. All the gifts, when used properly, are a blessing.

Here's brief review of the motivational motivational (motivating) gifts and the needs they tend to meet:

The above chart offers only a bird's-eye view of how the motivational gifts function; there is, of course, the possibility of overlapping and interaction, and secondary gifts will color or modify the operation of a primary gift.

We will be going into detail on these point; for now let's lay an additional foundation by taking a look at how each gifts is placed in the Body of Christ.