The left-brain versus the right-brain and your redemptive gift

Whether a person is right-brain or left-brain is an organic issue. Right-brained people see the whole picture. They are generally more creative and emotional, because emotional concepts and messages are stored in the right half of the brain. Left-brained people see the various parts, process logically and in a linear fashion, and think more strategically. Most people have a fairly effective blend between the two sides of the brain and can transition between them with ease, while some people are dominated by one side or the other.  Each of the gifts will be expressed differently, depending on whether the person is right-brained or left-brained. A left-brained teacher will be different than a right-brained teacher. A left-brained teacher will be more analytical and research oriented, will compartmentalize, and will break down information into bite-sized pieces, but right-brained teachers will express their gift more emotionally and more relationally. Left-brained teachers enjoy spending hours researching in the lab or in the library, and right-brained teachers love to be in the classroom and light up when students “get it.”

Some of the gifts tend more toward being left-brained in their basic God-given essence and in their expression, like prophet and ruler, which tend to be better at being logical, prioritizing, making decisions, and organizing. The servant gift is more right-brained and therefore may tend to be more emotional and expressive through actions, rather than vocally.  The mercy gift is more right-brained, visual, creative, and inclined to the arts and worship. A mercy or servant raised and taught in a left-brained environment may have suppressed those parts of their design that were not seen as acceptable, or they may have acquired organizational skills from watching the parents, but that does not alter the spiritual DNA of their gift. 

Maturity, gender, wounds, and your redemptive gift.

Today we will discuss maturity, gender, and the way wounds can affect the way you see your redemptive gifts. This is very important because once you realize that these factors affect the way you view yourself, it will also allow you to analyze in a deeper level how you perceive your God-given giftedness.

For example, everyone is at a different level of maturity in their personal development and Christian life. A person’s lever of maturity will color how they live the characteristics of their redemptive gift. Those who are immature or are not seeking to live in the fruit of the Spirit will exhibit the weaknesses of their gifts more than the strengths. While nobody has reached perfection, we should all be working on our character issues to grow up to maturity.

Likewise, there are several issues regarding gender and redemptive gifts. It is easy to stereotype certain gifts, such as prophet, ruler, and teacher, as being more masculine and servant mercy as being more feminine. Men often reject the idea of being a mercy or servant because they perceive it as being weak. This is a misconception. The gifts of servant and mercy have some of the strongest spiritual authority. Women with the gifts of prophet and ruler often find it hard to be accepted, validated, and nurtured a church setting because of the natural boldness and strength of the gifts. Both men and women need to dig deeper in order to see the beauty of what God has designed, instead of trying to be something other than who God made them to be.

On the other hand, even though everyone has experienced painful situations and relationships that have left them wounded, many times, those wounds are very specific about how they change our perception of ourselves and of God. For example, someone who grew up with and abusive authority figure may become very self-sufficient and independent because they believe they have to make it through life on their own. This is a very different motivation than the God given independence of the prophet and giver. How we are broken, the pain in our soul, our wrong response to pain, the coping mechanisms, and how we compensate for those wounds will influence how our gift is expressed. Sometimes people build walls of self-protection as a way of surviving painful circumstances. These self-protecting walls may not reflect our gift and may hinder its God-intended expression.

It is very important that you approach these issues with prayer. Once you invite the Holy Spirit into this deeper look into who you are in Christ, He can guide you. After all, as David so beautifully puts it, no one knows you better than the Most High,

You have searched me, Lord,

    and you know me.

2 You know when I sit and when I rise;

    you perceive my thoughts from afar.

3 You discern my going out and my lying down;

    you are familiar with all my ways.

4 Before a word is on my tongue

    you, Lord, know it completely.

5 You hem me in behind and before,

    and you lay your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

    too lofty for me to attain. –Psalm 139:1-6

          I pray that you may see that the law of the Lord is perfect. I pray that this same law may convert your soul with the perfect testimony of the Lord, which is sure. I pray that the Lord will enlighten your eyes to see that the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous, and I pray for understanding, that you may be able to see clearly, and that you will be cleansed from secret faults.

Be blessed!

Kent.

Birth Order and your Redemptive Gift

Studies have shown for years that there are distinct imprints on a child’s personality based on where they are in birth order. Firstborn children tend to be more driven and perfectionist by nature. The baby of the family is naturally much more relational and horizontally focused. But that does not mean that all firstborns are gift of prophet, and all babies of the family are exhorters. Being firstborn can intensify all the strengths and weaknesses of any gift (double the good, double the challenges).

Still not sure who you are? Parents own redemptive gifts can directly influence a child's inherent gift.

For most people, their dominant gift jumps off the page at them. For others, it is easily narrowed down to a few, but then a final determination is not so obvious. Over the next few days, I will try to walk you through different things that might help you identify your gift.  Some things that we will be looking at are parenting styles, birth orders, maturity, gender, your wounds, the use of the left-brain versus the right brain, as well as your culture and time frame. Sometimes determining a person’s redemptive gift is like looking at an uncut gem. To the untrained eye, it looks like a rock, but if one takes the time to remove the excess layers that have been placed on it over time, the true jewel inside begins to emerge. In thinking about the characteristics of the redemptive gifts, it is important to look at what is leagiftrned or acquired behavior versus the essence of who and what God designed. The following factors are some of the things that will influence how the redemptive gifts are expressed in a person’s life.

Parenting

Every child’s parents have their own redemptive gifts. Their gifts impact how they view the world and how they raise their children. Therefore, the parent’s gift will leave a very significant imprint on the children, regardless of what the child’s own gifts are. Also, the potential character weaknesses of a parent’s gifting can impact the child as well. If a child’s parents are servant and exhorter, for example, the child might grow up in a home where the exhorter is financially irresponsible and is living in denial. In an attempt for the servant parent to help meet the child’s need, the irresponsible behavior by the exhorter parent might be reinforced by the servant, thereby skewing the proper redemptive gift qualities of the child. Thus, the child may grow up lacking the knowledge needed to be financially responsible, although it is part of their God-given design to want to be a good steward of resources, especially if their redemptive gift is giver. On the positive side, let’s look at a child who has the redemptive gift of prophet and is raised by an exhorter. Prophets tend to have difficulty relating to people. Since the exhorter’s strength is the ability to maintain relationship with others, the child will most likely be much more oriented towards relationships than others with the gift of prophet. Because they learned relational skills from their parent, the prophet has the imprint of the parent’s exhorter gifting. 

Keeping the Word Alive--The Mercy Gift

Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done. Genesis 2:-3

On the seventh day, God rested. While Mercy’s heart is capable of many things, this person’s heart is to enjoy God and His presence. Mercy moves at a slower speed because God designed them to extract the deepest amount of insight, understanding, and wisdom from what they experience. Mercy sees God’s finger prints in a more complex way. God created nothing new on the seventh day, yet He celebrated what He had created. Mercy celebrates what is good and true. A Mercy gift gets along with everybody easily. This person is admired and respected, and creates intimacy of soul and physical touch. Mercy hears from God but has a difficult time explaining why. This is a safe person for wounded people to be around because his person can help feel safe.

One of Mercy’s strongest weaknesses is impurity because Mercy desire for intimacy and physical touch can lead to impurity. Mercy is also an enabler and wants to protect others from pain. Mercy is also not confrontational and so, may tolerate abuse and exploitation because of his/her unwillingness to allow injustice to continue.

Biblical example of Mercy—John

Keeping the Word Alive--The Ruler Gift

And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals,[a] and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them;    male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day. Genesis 1:24-31

On the sixth day, God made animals and man. God told them have dominion. God designed rulers to organize and administer social units, groups of people. They have a wonderful ability to mobilize people to progress. The ruler gift thrives under pressure and puts the people around him under the same pressure. This people are skilled in time management, in focusing on immediate tasks, and in not being easily distracted. The ruler gift does not need affirmation of others when he has made up his mind. The ruler gift often wants to figure out how to fix it when something is wrong, and can withstand strong opposition.

Their weaknesses are that they can be insensitive because they are so goal oriented. This person may fail to nurture those around and may also apply pressure without moderation. It is easy for this person to compromise ethics and integrity because they often work under the assumption that the end justifies the means. This person often settles for fulfilling his own agenda instead of God’s.

Biblical example of the Ruler redemptive gift—Nehemiah

Keeping the Word Alive—The Giver Gift

And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day. Genesis 1:20-23

On the fifth day, God created the birds and fish, who Nurturers by nature. Fish live in schools of fish, and birds nest when they reproduce. Givers have wide spread interests and are involved in many things. They are usually concerned about the preservation of life, and being prepared for old age. People with the giver gift have a need for safety, they have strong desire to care for their family, and they desire to leave a legacy.

The giver gift has a heart for sharing faith but does not do it personally. The giver empowers others to do it. The giver has a strong resistance to being canned, manipulated or guilt tripped into action. The giver gift desires to keep private life private, and tends to find favor in terms of money.  The giver often likes to keep all options open. Yet, some of the weaknesses of the giver is that this person tends to be very independent and does not need others, which might result in this person not acknowledging needs to God. This person also falls on hypocrisy because the giver may appear to do the right things, but may not deeply pursue holiness.  The giver gift’s weakness is also control and manipulation. This person desires control based on fear of the unknown and risk, and therefore, tries to manipulate God and people.

Biblical Example of the Giver redemptive gift—Job.