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.