There are similarities and differences between talents and spiritual gifts. Both are gifts from God. Both grow in effectiveness with use. Both are meant to be used on behalf of others, not for selfish ends. 1 Corinthians 12:7 states that spiritual gifts are given to benefit others and not ourselves. Since the two great commandments are about loving God and others, it follows that one must use his talents for those purposes. But it differs to whom and when spiritual gifts and talents are given. A person (regardless of their belief in God or Christ) is given natural talent as a result of a combination of genetics (some have natural abilities in music, art, or math) and environment (growing up in a family). music will help one in developing a talent for music), or because God desired to endow certain individuals with certain talents (eg, Bezalel in Exodus 31:1-6). Spiritual gifts are given to all believers by the Holy Spirit (Romans 12:3, 6) at the moment they place their faith in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. At that time, the Holy Spirit gives the new believer the spiritual gift(s) he wants the believer to have (1 Corinthians 12:11).
Romans 12:3-8 lists the spiritual gifts as follows: prophecy, serving others (in a general sense), teaching, exhorting, generosity, leadership, and showing mercy. 1 Corinthians 12:8-11 lists the gifts as the word of wisdom (ability to communicate spiritual wisdom), the word of knowledge (ability to communicate practical truth), faith (unusual trust in God), the working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, tongues (ability to speak in a language one has not studied), and interpretation of tongues. The third list is found in Ephesians 4:10-12, which speaks of God giving his church apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastor-teachers. There is also the question of how many spiritual gifts there are, since no two lists are the same. It is also possible that the biblical lists are not exhaustive, that there are additional spiritual gifts to those mentioned in the Bible.
Although one can develop his talents and then direct his profession or hobby in that way, the Holy Spirit gave him spiritual gifts for the edification of the church of Christ. In that, all Christians must play an active role in promoting the gospel of Christ. Everyone is called and equipped to participate in the “work of the ministry” (Ephesians 4:12). All are gifted so that they can contribute to the cause of Christ in gratitude for all that He has done for them. In doing so, they also find fulfillment in life through their work for Christ. It is the job of church leaders to help build up the saints so that they may be better equipped for the ministry to which God has called them. The intended result of spiritual gifts is that the church as a whole may grow, being strengthened by the combined provision of each member of the body of Christ.
To summarize the differences between spiritual gifts and talents: 1) A talent is the result of genetics and/or training, while a spiritual gift is the result of the power of the Holy Spirit. 2) A talent can be possessed by anyone, Christian or non-Christian, while spiritual gifts are only possessed by Christians. 3) While both talents and spiritual gifts are to be used for the glory of God and to minister to others, spiritual gifts focus on these tasks, while talents can be used entirely for non-spiritual purposes.