What we are is God’s gift to us. What we become is our gift to God.

The saying contrasts innate endowment with moral agency. “What we are” points to unchosen givens—temperament, talents, circumstances—framed as grace rather than personal achievement. “What we become” shifts responsibility to the self: character is formed through choices, discipline, and the use (or neglect) of one’s gifts. Addressing God as the recipient of our “gift” casts self-cultivation as a spiritual vocation: the proper response to being given life is to shape it toward goodness, service, and integrity. The aphorism’s appeal lies in its balance of humility (we did not author our starting point) and accountability (we do author our trajectory).