In books like Now, Discover Your Strengths, Marcus Buckingham makes the very helpful point that we will be most effective when we focus on our strengths rather than on shoring up our weaknesses.

It’s not that our weaknesses are irrelevant. We need to be aware of them and manage around them. But we will be most effective if we craft our roles (and lives!) so that we are operating in our strengths most of the time.

This is very good advice and makes a lot of sense. And Buckingham makes an excellent case for it in his books.

But is it biblical?

Now, in one sense this question could be a red herring. I don’t need to ask, for example, whether it is biblical to use a Mac rather than a PC. Biblically speaking, either is acceptable (though practically speaking, many people may have strong opinions!). As Christians, there are many areas where the Bible doesn’t give any specific command and we are free to choose the approach we want to take, as long as it is in alignment with an overall biblical worldview.

But when it comes to Buckingham’s point on strengths, I think there is a biblical foundation which is helpful to see.

Where does the Bible talk about strengths? While there may not be an exact identity, I think that the concept of “strengths” falls under the biblical category of the gifts that God has given each of us. And the concept of focusing on our strengths—namely, on those things we are best at and are energized by—is in line with the biblical exhortations for us to exercise these unique gifts as good stewards of God’s grace.

There are lots of passages that could be brought out here, but let’s look at one. 1 Peter 4:10 says: “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God’ whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.”

Let me point out four things here. First, using our gifts is not just a good idea. It is not an optional bonus we can choose to do or not. Rather, God commands us to use our gifts: “As each has received a gift, use it.” This echoes what Paul says in Romans 12:6: “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them.” Don’t let them sit idle. Use your gifts!

Second, using our gifts is a matter of good stewardship. This also underscores the fact that using them is not an optional bonus. When we use our gifts, we are being good stewards. Conversely, if we don’t use our gifts—or, if we don’t use them very much—we are being bad stewards. Buckingham’s point that we should seek to operate in our strengths most of the time sounds very much in alignment with what Peter is saying here. The way Peter puts it is: “Be a good steward—use your gift! (And, by implication, use it a lot—maximize it for the good of others, as a good steward of God’s varied grace!).”

Third, we are to use our gifts for the good of others. “As each has received a special gift, use it to serve one another.” In other words, using your gifts is important, but that doesn’t mean it’s about you. We aren’t to mainly seek to serve ourselves. Rather, we are to seek to benefit and build up and do good for others—especially for “one another,” that is, the church.

The fact that it is not about you doesn’t mean that you’ll be miserable, however. Serving others is not boring, but rather the most exciting way to live. The happiest people are those who spend themselves radically and creatively for the good of others. Serving is not broccoli; it’s steak.

Some people worry that it might be selfish to focus on operating within our strengths, or gifts, most of the time. But when we focus on using our gifts, we are actually being more effective for the good of others and are being better stewards. So it is actually not selfish to focus on using our gifts; rather, if our motives are right, it is radically others-centered because it is driven by the question: “How can I best serve others and do them the most good?”

Fourth and finally, the ultimate purpose in using our gifts is to glorify God. The end goal of using our gifts is not self-fulfillment, or even the good of others—as important as that is. It is to glorify God by showing his worth and excellency and value, and by serving his purposes in the world. We are to be others-centered as Christians, but not simply others-centered. We are to be ultimately God-centered in all that we do.

Thanks for reading. I will be one of the guest bloggers at this year’s Global Leadership Summit, August 11-12. If you plan on being on site at Willow Creek, I hope to see you there. You can also follow my blog, where I blog on leadership, theology, and productivity, and find me on Twitter.

What things are you doing that keep you from focusing more fully on using the strengths and gifts God has given you?

By: Matt Perman