Both...Tiger Woods has a coach.

Brenan

It seems that one may have some natural talent and interest in a particular area but to really cultivate those skills to be most effective; study, training and effort have to happen for excellent skills to be fully developed.

Neither! Excellence is defined by divine information and is only the product of the divine, therefore "excellent skills" are the grace produce of the Father , the Son, or the Spirit. They are graced upon us as gifts. Skills can be developed by human effort but they are not "excellent" (imho), they are merely skills. Only God is "GOOD" (which = excellent).

Apodictic, that is absurd...

The question was not around who's life is excellent, or is excellent in their Christianity. While you may be correct, you are correct to the wrong question.

Brenan

I believe we are given "talents" and we can either be smart and invest them or we can bury them in the ground. I believe that when God engenders a talent he intends for us to cultivate and use those talents for the benefit of his Kingdom, which takes practice, training, time, effort, sweat, fortitude... etc.

Ever since my daughter was 5 or 6, I've told her that to be talented at ANYTHING you must either have been blessed with natural ability by God, or work hard to develop areas in which you were not particulary graced - BUT that to be EXCELLENT at any skill - you needed to have both. God indeed gaces us with natural ability, but I believe that part of our worship is honoring him with the sacrifice of dedication and devotion to making it (and all of ourselves) the best that they can be.

Both.

tim magill
kansas city, ks

Both. Growth in the Spirit and igniting its Fire within those you share with are both skills and an inheritance; not so much from your genetic background but from the Grace of a Father that you come to know. I've known a tone-deaf brother who could inspire a congregation to new heights of spiritual worship through his nearness to the Glory of the Father. I've also known musically skilled and very talented performers who's focus on themselves distanced them and their prospective followers from God.