Power Source

This video is aptly titled “How Not To Use A Jackhammer.” The man in the video had been using the tool for an hour, not knowing that it was a power tool. He had the right tool for the job, he just wasn’t using it to its full potential because he wasn’t using the power that the tool had available to it. I feel for the guy, but I also think back to the many years I spent using the tools God had given me in improper ways, not using them to the full extent of their intent, and not using the power that was available to me.

“God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.” (1 Peter 4:10)

“There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. (…) A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.” (1 Corinthians 12:4, 7)

“Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.” (Colossians 3:23)

God has given us many tools, but we must use them in the correct way. If you are a writer, point to God with your words. If you are a maker, use your talents and products to point to The Maker. If you work in business, make sure the ethics that guide you are based in Scripture and let the way you do business point to our God, whose mercies are new each morning. We can all honor God with how hard we work, working with a good attitude and a mindset that we are working for Him and no one else. God has given us these talents and not only should we use them for His glory, but we should use them through His power for His purpose. If we have a talent but we use it for selfish reasons and we rely on our own minds and skills to get the job done, it’s like using a jackhammer without ever flipping the power switch.

“Run from sexual sin! No other sin so clearly affects the body as this one does. For sexual immorality is a sin against your own body. Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:18-20) 

“So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27)

Like the man in the video, we can misuse the tools that God has given us. Our bodies were not made so that we could use them to bring ourselves pleasure. We were made in the image of God and we should do our best to accurately reflect that truth. Our bodies were made to house the Holy Spirit and we should honor God with how we use them, not abuse or misuse this tool He has given us.

“The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.” (Romans 8:11)

The Spirit of God raised Jesus from the grave and that same power lives in us. When we use our bodies and talents in ways that God did not intend or by our own power and not His, we are like the man who used the jackhammer by his own power: we can work really hard and not get far at all. God has given us all bodies (tools) and talents and we need to use them in God-honoring ways. 

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

—Redeemed