Ephesians 4:8 (ESV) Therefore it says,

“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,
    and he gave gifts to men.”

The simple view is that all we have to do is follow Jesus and we will be with Him where He is now. That is true and so simple that it fails to uncover what gifts have been given, why they were given, and how to use them. Simply following Jesus is a little more complicated than saying, “He is there and that is where I am going.”

It is complicated because we are complicated. We are not all motivated by one ruling factor. We hide behind masks and build up walls to protect ourselves because the world treats us as enemies or as competitors for control. We are lied to and manipulated. That is the world we live in. It is not God.

Answer this honestly. What do you want? If you are sitting in a Sunday school class you might search for the right spiritual answer. If you are in an economics class in college you will answer in accordance with syllabus for that class. If you are alone with your significant other that question will take on a whole new meaning. If you are in an ethics seminar you will lie. We all have different agendas and we serve those agendas because that was how we were raised in the world.

We are given gifts by God. What gifts are given and how to use them will be answered best in the why. We are given gifts to serve God’s agenda and not our own.

1 Corinthians 12:31a (ESV) But earnestly desire the higher gifts.

The immature will desire out of a heart that grew up in the world and seek to possess the gifts and use them to serve their own agenda. It is a changed heart that seeks to serve God’s agenda without bias or influence from anything or anyone apart from Christ.

Revelation 5:9 English Standard Version (ESV)

And they sang a new song, saying,

“Worthy are you to take the scroll
    and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
    from every tribe and language and people and nation,

Well that was different. I have always used the King James Version and I believe that God has called me out on this issue. My reasons for insisting on the use of the KJV has become a source of pride. I realized one of my reasons was not valid. The KJV is out of copyright and I can use it as much as I like without worrying about violating copyright laws. I have a page that defines the permissions of all the bible versions I might us. Yes, that is right, there are some I will not use. In my review of those allowable usages I found this about the ESV.

The ESV. Crossway’s Guidelines for using text from books and blogs

No formal permission request is necessary to use a small number of quotes for noncommercial use. As long as the source is credited, it is possible to quote up to 400 words without seeking permission from Crossway.

I limit my blogs by design to 300 words, more or less. I would never use 400 words from the ESV.

Why should I change now? I do not have to change my style, I have to change my attitude. I have often gone through life saying “Well that’s just me.” I expected others to be tolerant of me and that is a sign of pride.

In my search for the initial release of the King James Bible I discovered one phrase that could have shed some light if I had been paying attention. The KJV was released in an archaic language at the time of its release. English has evolved over time and it is not spoken now as it was in the 1500’s. In America English is a foreign language. Rev. 5:9 says every language and languages change.