Posts Tagged: 1 Corinthians 4:7

“Earned, Not Given”

On May 26, 2023 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

“Earned, Not Given” (Seen on a lady’s t-shirt while I was out for a run.)

“For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?” 1 Corinthians 4:7, English Standard Version)

Are good things earned or given? I can answer that question with absolute certainty. The answer is YES! And also, the answer is NO! My basic approach is, when you have an either/or question the answer is probably Sic et Non, yes and no. (Sincere apologies to the memory of Peter Abelard. Who is Peter Abelard, you ask? Well, that is a secret that you’ll need to figure out on your own time.)

Paul wrote at least three letters to a church that was a little too sure that they had it all together. Spoiler alert: They didn’t. He reminds these Jesus people in Corinth who had been given a lot of wonderful gifts that being wonderfully gifted means that you didn’t earn what you’ve got. A gift is a gift is a gift.

Now, it is true enough that earning and giftedness are not implacable enemies. One way to look at it is to say that we are given life, but we also need to live our life in a lively and healthy manner. If we don’t, it isn’t much of a gift or much of a life. I have a friend who is an excellent tennis player. He is gifted. That doesn’t mean that he doesn’t need to keep himself in shape and practice.

If we don’t remember that all of life is a gift, we will become full of ourselves. And anyone who is full of him/herself is very empty indeed. On the other hand, anyone who doesn’t remember that gifts require hard, sustained work in order to develop and use his/her gifts is equally empty.

So, perhaps the shirt should have read: “Given and earned”.

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