What Hast Thou That Thou Didst Not Receive?

Paul's question in 1 Corinthians 4:7 cuts through the heart of human comparison: Why cannot we write poetry like John Milton, or paint like Raphael? The Victorian preacher Joseph S. Exell reminds us that our differences—intellectual, artistic, moral—are not occasions for despair or pride, but invitations to humility.

Consider Jedediah Buxton, the ploughman whose mind could calculate how many revolutions a wheel would make around the globe, yet at the opera he could only count the dancer's steps. Or Streletzki, the Polish count, equally conversant with Australian geography and Irish poor law, yet he built nothing, was brilliant but not solid. Each man received gifts; each lacked what another possessed.

The apostle's penetrating question applies to all: What hast thou that thou didst not receive? Strength comes from Elohim. Skill comes from Elohim. Opportunity comes from Elohim. To those inclined to despair at their lacks, remember: every daisy has its own colour. If you have little, you might have had less. If you stammer, you might have been dumb. Though you have no wings, you have strong limbs.

To those who pride themselves on gifts and power, the word is sharper still: you are a debtor. Your ten thousand a year, your talent, your influence—all received. This recognition transforms boasting into gratitude and levies a tax of humility upon the gifted.