¹⁰As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. ¹¹Whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as one who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

In the midst of conflict, whether from unbelievers or those in our local church fellowship, we need to focus on our ministry, for ultimately, our ministry is our service to other people. Being in conflict with someone should not cause me to avoid serving him. Spiritual gifts are not for our own benefit but are useful for building up others (Eph. 4:11–12), even those who oppose us.

God has gifted each one of us, and we in turn become a gift to the church as we serve others using our gifts fully and confidently. Gifts are not given to us as the final resting place of God’s grace, but are entrusted to us that we would use them in service of others. In the hierarchy of priorities, we control our thought life so that we can pray for and love others unhinderedly, and we do this by serving them with our unique spiritual giftedness, all for the glory of Jesus Christ.

Of course, Peter does not give an exhaustive list of spiritual gifts (see Rom. 12:6–8, 1 Cor. 12:28, Heb. 2:4). Whatever our gifts are, we are given them to safeguard and use effectively and productively. We are to be avenues of God’s gracious provisions for others. The more we serve one another in our gifted ways, the more they experience God’s grace! Just think of that; you and I can add to the experience of God’s goodness in the lives of others. This is especially compelling when we do this for those who oppose us!

Peter focused on two particular areas of giftedness. The first has to do with the gift of speaking, which we take to refer to preaching or teaching. If this is a person’s gifting, then the most loving and most humble thing for him is to use this gift responsibly as a good steward of God’s truth. He takes seriously the idea that he speaks on behalf of God Himself, not with human wisdom or prerogatives. There is no place for arrogance or primacy for human opinion. His goal is to build up in love the saints of God.

The second is the area of serving. Although this is a similar word to the general attitude of serving (in verse 11), some people are gifted in the practical, hands-on areas of service. The attitude is to serve with a supernatural strength that takes it beyond what would be normally expected of all believers.

Lord, I commit to using my spiritual gift to consciously build others up in love.