Are You Using Your Talents?

In Matthew 25, Jesus relates a parable about a master who leaves three of his servants in charge of various amounts of "talents", which was a word used in that day for an amount of money. Two of the servants invested their talents and reaped great profits, doubling or even tripling the original investment. However, one of the servants was afraid of losing the one talent he was given, and so he buried his talent in the ground so it would not be lost. This was not pleasing to his master. Similarly, I believe God has imbued each of us with individual and unique talents, skills and abilities that He expects us to use and invest further in His service, and I believe He expects to get a return on His investment. Everything we are given by God is intended to help further God's Kingdom and to bring more people into His love and grace.

Some people believe that they have not been given any talents or abilities, that because they cannot sing, dance, play piano, build furniture or give dynamic public speeches, they are not blessed by God with any unique gifts or abilities. This is incorrect in my opinion as I believe that we are ALL blessed with an ability to do something, and to do that something well. When you really search and look at yourself and your life, you often will find that there is always some little thing that you just seem to have a knack for, that seems to come naturally for you while others struggle more at that thing. It doesn't have to be something as noticeable as being an incredible singer or performer, it can be something seemingly small such as having incredible patience with very small children. Whatever it is, pay attention to it and find ways to use that skill or ability in the service of God on a regular basis because when you do so, you are expanding God's spirit further into this world.

In fact, it is when you are engaged in one of these unique God-given talents that your spirit is most in alignment with God's spirit and miraculous things begin to happen in you, in others, and in the world in general. Fervent use of your unique abilities is a form of worship and prayer. When you are working with children using your incredible patience, or crafting a new chair outof a piece of wood, or listening empathically to the problems of those around you, or crunching numbers on a spreadsheet, or whatever is your particular ability, if you are in communion with God while you are engaging in this activity, an aura of peace and wonder and spiritual presence will surround you, those around you, and that on which you are working.

Unless you have a very obvious ability or talent however, you may have to really search within in order to find out what it is you are gifted with. If you look closely though at those areas in your life that you are most successful and those activities which give you the most satisfaction and peace, it will not be hard to soon uncover your unique talent(s). In some instances, God calls us to stretch ourselves beyond what we think we are capable of, and in so doing we find our particular talents in places we never thought we would. God has a history of taking individuals who appear to have many barriers and limitations in their life and revealing incredible talents in them. Moses, for example, was said to have a profound stutter and yet he was called upon by God to speak before kings and to lead huge groups of people. Stephen Hawking has a degenerative disease that has caused him to be completely paralyzed, even to the point of having extreme difficulty with speech, and yet he is one of the world's most respected and gifted scientists who has changed the way we think of the nature of the universe. What if he had chosen to hide or bury his talents in his "disability" with an "I can't" attitude?

So, rejoice and be glad that God has most certainly blessed you with some unique skill, ability or talent. God's will and purpose for us is to expand His kingdom here on earth, to love one another and to live in communion with Him in all that we do. When we exercise our unique talents in His service, we are better able to put our spirit in communication with others' spirits who are far from God. When we exercise our talents, we are performing acts of love that pervade everyone in our vicinity. When we use our God-given abilities, we are acting in obedience to God's will for us and we can feel and benefit from His loving smile upon us.

Who Are Your Friends?

For the past several months, I've been praying to God for some male Christian friendship. I have several people I call friends and a few in particular that I consider to be good friends, but most of my good friends live many miles from me and have schedules and family lives that don't seem to coincide with mine. Now I admit, I'm a pretty pathetic prospect for a male friend. I don't play or keep up with any sports (as the guys in my church hometeam know now that they've seen me play golf!), I don't know how to do anything mechanical, I'm not a thrill seeker, and I'm not very funny or good with jokes. The fact is, I'm more introverted than extroverted and I'm a deep thinker who's not very good at small talk. So I'm a challenge! But I know that with God all things are possible.

My need for a male Christian friend is a very egoic thing in my opinion since when I am in complete alignment with God, I have no needs. But sustained alignment with God is not something I've yet achieved and, therefore, I continue to have these worldly needs. Did Jesus have the need for close friends? I think He enjoyed human companionship but I'm not sure He needed it. And like most celebrities, I think He had a hard time finding anyone in this world that He could really relate to. He was the Messiah, the Teacher, the Savior and those around Him were the flock, the students, the disciples, those in need. Everyone wanted something from Him because He was their leader. Sure He had James and John and Peter who He seemed to be the closest with, but was there really an equal exchange between them as there is in a regular friendship?

I think even though Jesus may not have had the same kind of need for friends that we have, I think He would agree that Christian fellowship and friendship is a very necessary activity to help us grow, strengthen and sustain our faith and our character. Good Christian friends can help lift us up when we are low by reminding us that God is always there to hold us up and keep us from falling if we simply turn to Him. They are there to reinforce our decisions for doing the right thing in a world that often values getting ahead at any cost. Friends give us perspective when we are in a negative state of mind or on an inflated ego trip by showing us we are not the only ones with problems like ours and by keeping us grounded in reality. But mostly I think, friends give us the opportunity to learn to serve others in a safe environment. Being a friend involves commitment and sacrifice, two things that many of us are short on. So our friendships give us the chance to practice being committed and sacrificing with people who will probably still be our friend even if we mess up a few times. I had the honor to witness this type of behavior among a group of guys from my church hometeam on a recent "guys only" trip together out of state. The commitment to service and sacrifice was evident in each one of them and I learned alot from them.

I should say that it is good to also have some non-Christian friends in your life. These will not be your closest confidantes most likely, but they provide us with opportunities also to grow and strengthen our faith. Jesus was our model for hanging out with all the "sinners" who were far from God. I reminded my 16 year old daughter of this recently when she and a friend of hers hosted a pool party at our house. The friend of my daughter invited several people from another school who, as it turns out, were mostly interested in smoking and doing drugs and wanted to leave when they found out that wasn't happening at our party. Even though my daughter knew she was doing the right thing, she felt the sting of rejection. When she stated that these individuals should never have been invited, I reminded her that Jesus tells us to invite the poor, the oppressed, and those far from God to our feasts, parties and activities. How else can these wayward children of God be reminded of what they lost and return to their Father? So, friends who are far from God are a good thing too, but I have plenty of those in my "poker ministry".

So, if you're not quite like Jesus, like I am not, and you still feel the need for Christian friendship, just be a good friend to everyone you meet and surely God will lead to you one or two close brothers or sisters in the Spirit with whom you can commune on the issues closest to your heart and share in activities that you both enjoy. Even more important though, talk to your friend Jesus everyday at all times in all things, for there is no one who knows the issues closest to your heart better, who feels your pain and revels with you in your triumphs, who needs nothing from you and is willing and already has given His all just for you.