The Better Way to Discover Your Spiritual Gifts
Have you taken a spiritual gifts test? I’ve taken spiritual gift tests for training as a summer Bible camp counselor, during seminars, and for Bible college classes. Maybe you have too. A simple Google search will give you several spiritual gift tests you can take for free. Unfortunately, each one will probably give you a different set of results.
In case you haven’t taken one of these before, they are like a personality test. You answer a list of questions, assigning a value depending on how true the statement is for you, and at the end you tally your answers to determine whether you’re the energetic, extroverted “Otter” or the reserved and controlled “Beaver”—or, alternatively, which spiritual gifts you have. Perhaps you’ve simply found yourself staring at the few listings in Scripture trying to determine how to define them and which ones might be present in your life—which isn’t much different from what we do through spiritual gift tests.
We turn to these tests or list-matching when we feel unsure of how God made us, what our particular giftings are, and how we can best serve within our churches and communities. However, I’m fearful that we’ve trusted too much in these tests rather than the wisdom given to us by God through our local church communities. This may sound backwards, but the best way to discover how God has gifted you is by participating in your local church.
Relying on Biased Answers
The Bible never lays out a clear list with matching definitions for all the spiritual gifts God gave his church. We find partial lists in various passages but never one lengthy, fully defined list. However, we do find these definitions in man-made spiritual gift tests and lists. Why is that? Because people from a smattering of denominations and beliefs have formed lists and definitions based on their own interpretations and convictions.
This isn’t wrong; we each have our decided beliefs about spiritual gifts. Some believe that certain gifts have ceased in our day, and others believe that all the gifts continue. Some believe the gift of discernment looks like this, while others believe it looks like that. However, a spiritual gift test usually doesn’t begin by telling you with which bias it was created.
These tests, in turn, keep us from investigating Scripture for ourselves to see what God says concerning spiritual gifts. We read someone else’s explanation and assume this is what the Bible teaches. Spiritual gift tests often don’t present us with the various orthodox views on spiritual gifts, and consequently we can believe that what this particular test or list teaches is the only answer. Yet this is a highly debated topic with many different interpretations, and we need to do the hard work to understand these nuances, finding the most biblical path forward.
There’s another way we rely on bias. After doing a few tests, you begin to see how they work. They ask numerous questions from which you either give yourself a score or receive a score based on your answers, thereby determining your gifts. In the privacy of your own mind—without anyone looking over your shoulder and demanding the best spiritual answer—ask yourself: Have I ever answered those questions trying to get a specific result?
When looking at a list or taking an assessment, our hearts will often lean toward the gifts we think seem the most interesting and exciting, and then in turn we try to find the characteristics within ourselves to match them. Whether it’s our own sinful, lying heart or the power of suggestion, it’s difficult to get honest answers from these tests. I’ve caught myself before, hesitating over a question, trying to determine if something was actually true in my life or if it simply felt like the right answer. How hard is it to truly be honest when a test asks, “Do you love giving to those in need?” It doesn’t help when you’re in a room of other students who might be glancing over their shoulder at you.
Despite what the world tells us about our own gut instincts, we aren’t always the best at truly understanding ourselves. Sometimes it takes an outside perspective to better understand oneself, which a spiritual gift test or list can’t offer.
Discerning Our Season in Life
In addition to needing external perspectives, we need the internal self-awareness to understand the limits and benefits of various seasons. We minister differently in different stages of life. The first year with my newborn twins was hectic to say the least. My eyes were trained on my family and raising them as well as I could through the season of three-under-three.
Now, we’re stepping into a less-crazy year. We no longer have three children under three years of age (though we still get those amazed stares when we enter a store). As we move into a new season, I’m looking to get more involved in my church. Yet the way I get involved will still operate around my family and what works best for us. Right now, serving opportunities that take me out of Sunday morning worship aren’t possible; I need to wrangle my toddlers into their seats and try to keep them occupied through the sermon. However, I can encourage fellow moms who may be facing similar challenges I did with postpartum anxiety or seek out childcare once a week to volunteer at youth group.
A spiritual gifts test or list won’t tell you this. They won’t supply you with the wisdom to access your own limited resources or abilities during a particular season. A test or list simply calls us to look at certain aspects of our own lives and what interests us, rather than what might best work within the responsibilities God has already given us.
They also don’t consider our maturity or knowledge; while a spiritual gift test might declare that you have the gift of teaching, you may not have the humility or biblical theology to preach from the pulpit. We need others around us to help us discern what we’re capable of, how we can grow into our natural giftings, and wisely see when we are able to use them more publicly.
Discovering Your Spiritual Gifts
If spiritual gift tests or comparisons against a list of gifts aren’t the best ways to discern how God has created us, where should we turn? Here are three simple steps:
1. Study the spiritual gifts. Find out what the Bible teaches about spiritual gifts. Study the Holy Spirit to understand how he works in redemptive history. Read key passages of the Bible like Romans 12:3–8 or 1 Corinthians 12, along with reputable books on the subject.
2. Get discipled. Many of the questions we find on a spiritual gift test are questions we truly can’t ask ourselves. We may enjoy teaching and speaking the truth, but we can’t know how clear our teaching is without others to give us feedback. We may believe we have great intuition on seeing and filling needs around us, but we won’t know how well we serve others unless we hear from them directly. To truly see our giftings, we need others to come alongside us and give us honest critiques and encouragement. Like Timothy, we need our gifts confirmed by others in the church (1 Tim. 4:14).
Find someone who is further along in their spiritual walk than you—someone with greater maturity and wisdom (both of which usually come with age or time spent walking with God). Make sure this person is someone who will be honest with you and with whom you can be honest in return; without honesty, this person is no better than a spiritual gift test. As they teach you about God and get to know you, they will begin to recognize areas of your life in which you are gifted to serve and tell you when you’re ready to start exercising those gifts. As you both recognize these natural giftings, they can help you grow in your gift and learn to use it in a humble way that brings glory to God, not yourself.
3. Get involved in your church. The only way we can know if we are truly gifted in a certain area is by the crucible of serving. Reach out to your church leadership and tell them you’re trying to figure out how God has gifted you, so you want to try serving in these various ways. Churches are always looking for more volunteers; moreover, wherever we find spiritual gifts discussed in Scripture, we see Paul addressing not individuals but entire churches and calling them to use their gifts to serve one another.
Remember, don’t quit just because it becomes difficult or less exciting. This will happen even if you are gifted in this area of service. Press through. After a trial period, evaluate with your fellow volunteers, church leaders, and mentors. What did they see? Did everyone flourish—both you and those you served? Get honest and be willing to receive critique, and through it you will grow and learn.
God didn’t create us in such a way that it should be a mysterious hunt for our spiritual gifts. He wants us to serve his church and bring glory to him. Rather than fretting over biased and arbitrary tests or lists, seek out the wisdom found within your local church, get involved, and watch what God will do through his people. Spiritual gift tests have a way of bolstering our pride; they keep our eyes on ourselves and what our gifts can do for us. But discovering our gifts through God’s church forces us to remain humble and turn our gaze to serving God’s people for his glory alone.
Lara d’Entremont is a wife and mom to three from Nova Scotia, Canada. Lara is a writer and learner at heart—always trying to find time to scribble down some words or read a book. Her desire in writing is to help women develop solid theology they can put into practice—in the mundane, the rugged terrain, and joyful moments. You can find more of her writing at laradentremont.com.