One day all the animals in the forest got together and decided life was not fair. Some animals were better at flying than others. Some animals were better at climbing than others. Some animals were better at swimming than others. To even out the scales, they decided to open a school where the animals could improve in the areas of their weaknesses.

After a month in the program, both tempers and frustration levels were rising. The rabbit was the fastest runner but failed miserably at climbing.

The squirrel was the first one up the tree but never mastered swimming.

The duck could swim for hours but lost every race in the 100-yard dash.

The eagle won all the awards for flying but didn't even enter into the water or attempt to climb the tree.

They were all miserable because they were all forced into a position that did not match their gifts. Instead of celebrating what they enjoyed most and did well, they focused on where they came up short.

Are you mismatched?

Today, 50% of all workers hate their job, 30% endure their job, and only 20% say that they enjoy their job. Why? The same reason the animals in the forest were miserable. There is a mismatch between their work and their gifts.

In 1 Corinthians 1 Paul writes to the young Christians, "... you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly await for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ ... he is the one who invited you into this wonderful friendship...." Paul writes here as he does in 1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12, Ephesians 4, and elsewhere that the key to living a life of fulfillment is to discover, develop, and use your spiritual gifts.

First Timothy 4:14 says, "Don't neglect the spiritual gift that is in you." Peter Drucker, the father of modern management, was once asked, "What advice would you give to young people who are trying to get ready for the twenty-first century?" Drucker said, "Know your strengths. The most important thing is to know what you're good at. Very few people know that. All of us know what we're not good at. But the reason why so few of us know what we're good at is that it comes so easily. You sweat over what's hard to do. So knowing what you're good at is the first thing you need to know."

Do you know what you are good at? Sometimes other people tell you. Sometimes you take an aptitude test. Most of the time you have to figure it out by trial and error.

In my first church, I helped out with vacation Bible school one summer. Since they were having difficulty recruiting volunteers, I told them to put me anywhere there was an opening. I was placed with fifth-grade girls. I was great with the games. I was an expert at the Bible study. The four chords I can play on the guitar were a hit during music. But when it was time for arts and crafts, I was a mismatch. These fifth-grade girls lived for arts and crafts. That was their favorite part of VBS. We were to make stained glass by gluing tissue paper carefully into pretty patterns on a framed piece of glass. I gave instructions on how to do this project and encouragement along the way, but these stained-glass pictures looked awful. The girls were very polite but kept on saying, "I don't think this is right." I said, "Of course, it is. Just glue the tissue to the glass." But even I knew something was wrong.

I didn't understand the problem until one of the girls said, "Can I read the directions?" When she read, "Glue the tissue paper to the glass," she said, "We don't have tissue paper." I told her, "Yes, we do. I bought you all a box of pastels." She said, "That's not tissue paper you bought. That is Kleenex!" "Is there a difference between tissue and Kleenex?" I asked. Their laughter convinced me of two things. First, there is a difference and second my spiritual gift is not arts and crafts. (And I'm okay with that!)

As you find your spiritual gift, you might have to start by deciding what you are not good at. Just ask a fifth grader for help if you can't figure it out.

Second Timothy 1:6 says, "Fan into flame the gift God gave you." Most of the time, the gifts that we receive are in their raw form. They have to be developed through practice much like fanning a flame into a roaring blaze.

I had a guitar teacher once who was excellent at the guitar. He would spend five hours a day practicing. I neither had the talent, the time, nor the commitment to play that well. After one rather ego-deflating lesson, I asked my teacher if playing the guitar was a God-given gift or did you have to practice five hours a day to get good? I loved his answer. He said, "I think it is a God-given gift ... to be able to practice five hours a day."

Through 1 Corinthians, Paul wrote about living this full, rich life in the Spirit. Beginning with this first chapter, this life is tied into spiritual gifts. The most difficult challenge is to discover your spiritual gift. After that, it needs a lot of work to develop. It comes to us raw. It's up to us to draw it out and perfect it. However, to stop there would miss the point of spiritual gifts. They are to be used, not for your own glory and admiration, but for God's.

In 1 Corinthians 12:6-7 Paul writes, "There are different ways God works in our lives, but it is the same God who does the work through all of us. A spiritual gift is given to each of us as a means of helping the entire church." And in 1 Peter, "God has given gifts to each of you from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Manage them well so that God's generosity can flow through you" (1 Peter 4:10 NLT).

In Matthew 25, Jesus told the story of the master who left on a long journey, leaving his three servants in charge of his wealth. To one he gave five talents, to the other three talents, and to the third, one talent. You know the rest of the story. The first two doubled their talents while the third one wasted his only talent by burying it in the ground and not putting it to use. The first two were rewarded when the master returned. "Well done, good and faithful servant." The third was scolded and punished.

Life is unfair. It is even more unbalanced than in the forest with all the animals. We all don't begin at the same starting point. We all aren't given the same opportunities. We all don't have the same talent. The answer is to discover what spiritual gifts God has bestowed upon you.

Remember the movie Amadeus? Amadeus was a pompous, arrogant, impious musician with all the talent. Salieri, on the other hand, was a fine musician — fine enough to know that he wasn't great. Fine enough to know that he didn't have the talent of Amadeus. Fine enough to be driven mad by trying to be Amadeus.

Remember how the story ended? Amadeus died early, wasting his great talent. Salieri ended up in an insane asylum forever comparing himself to Amadeus.

When Paul writes about spiritual gifts, it is a celebration of how God has made you unique. If you are a rabbit, run. Don't spend time trying to climb trees. If you are an eagle, soar. Don't take up swimming lessons. If you are a duck, swim. Forget the 100-yard dash. And be satisfied with these gifts because God has created you to be but one member of the larger body of Christ. Amen.