As jobs become more scarce, as the bar is raised higher than ever before and as the need for “advertising” one’s self and one’s skills becomes greater and greater, self-promotion is no longer an option—it’s a necessity. But for Christ-followers, this goes against what we have been taught. In many cases, those teachings were correct; in others, I believe they were way off course!

I will start by saying adamantly that I believe that EVERY skill, talent, ability and breath that I have is from God. Even in my greatest moments of creativity, passion and desire I could not have come up with them on my own nor could I have mustered up the very breath it took to breathe in those moments. He alone is the Giver of Life and the Creator of all. He formed me, molded me and led me every step of the way to accomplish the purposes for which He formed me, molded me and led me. (Psalm 139)

Yet, I’m sure we all know where it leads when we focus on the abilities, skills and talents more than we do the Giver of those gifts. Pride takes over and we begin thinking we had something to do with acquiring those gifts. Yes, we may work hard, resulting in a promotion, and yes, we may succeed in our careers, resulting in acclaim. But the very breath required for living through each day comes from God and the knowledge and strength to excel is a divine gift.

However, as my journey of joy has taken me through the village of  “Job Search, USA” recently, I have recognized the importance of knowing what those skills, talents and abilities are. Enter: “the need for self-promotion.” But I was saddened when I recently attempted to guide a client through these steps: “In what areas do you feel that you excel?” The reply? “Oh, that would be prideful to state that I’m good at something.” As the teens in the youth group are saying right now, “WHAA? WHAAAAT?”

This is where we went astray. As Christ-followers, what better praise can we offer back to our Creator than to acknowledge His gifts of life, skills, talents and abilities through the fullest possible use of them? And how can we use them to their fullest if we feel it is somehow “sinful” to acknowledge them? No wonder we so often accomplish so little.

I want to close by sharing the saying I often told my former music students before their public performances. It basically summarizes how our need for self-promotion in today’s society can be “sanctified” and used properly:

Confidence is knowing that God gave me the abilities to do this. Arrogance is thinking that I had something to do with it. – bls 

Take a moment today to think about the gifts God has given to you. Identify them. Be grateful for them. And then use them to their fullest!

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(I encourage you to read my mom’s little book Biblical Self-Image [affiliate link]  for additional insights to proper thinking on this subject.)