Faith Over A Little
“In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well.” Romans 12:6(NLT)
IMPORTANT QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF
What talent has God given you? What do you enjoy doing? What do people tell you are good at?
These are important questions to ask yourself. Why? Because they help you understand how to find daily purpose and figure out how to exercise the God given gift(s) placed in your care. Talents, something you’re good at and given by God, can be used to help, encourage and connect to people. They can be a tool used to further Gods kingdom - no matter your age.
As a child, I had many interests enjoyable to me. I was naturally drawn to music and art and was good at them. I adored singing, painting, and playing the piano. From a young age, I was comfortable talking to people and being on stage. Over the years, I pursued these interests and put decades of time into learning, practicing and saying “yes” to opportunities to use them. But, if I had neglected them, I would have never gotten to the level where I am today and be able to use them to glorify and honor God. God has used them time and time again and it has been a great joy to my life to know I have been a good steward.
FEAR AND NEGLECT
None of my friends were like me. They were great at lots of other things, but they didn’t think of their ability as a “talent.” Over the years. I’ve learned many believers believe a lie talent is mainly singing, painting, writing, playing an instrument or being extraordinary at a sport. Often, they think, “if I am not great at these things, then I have no REAL talent.” Not true. The Bible says God gives everyone at least one talent (Matthew 25:14-30).
MUCH IS GIVEN
In Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus tells the story of a man going on a journey and before leaving, gives talents to each of his servants.
He gave one servant-five talents, another-two talents and to another -only one talent. Upon returning, the master finds how each servant tended to the talents given to them. The results: the five talent man, grew his five talents by five times. The two talent servant grew his two talents by two times. Last, the one talent servant did nothing. He buried the one talent out of fear( Matthew 25:25).
The Trouble With Fear
Fear, the tiny word revealed by the servant, kept him from multiplying his talent. When we let fear get in the way of growing what God has given to us, we stop moving. We stop learning. We stop being in a mindset of thankfulness. We start comparing. We start neglecting our talent and write it off as not good enough. Therefore, our talent doesn’t grow and becomes inactive. Fear wins.And believing fear is believing our feelings over believing God.
THE MASTER’S RESPONSE TO THE ONE TALENT SERVANT
The master gave more responsibility to the servants who exercised their talents. To the servant who did nothing, the master removed his talent and gave it to the servants who would increase it.
Why is this story important to believers? Because God gives each of us a talent(s) and calls us to be faithful whether it is a lot or whether it is only a little.
BE FAITHFUL
Being faithful with the talent God has given requires commitment, time, effort and action. It means putting in the work when no one else sees it but God. It means making whatever you’re good at even better because God has given it to you and you want to be able to use it to make His name great.
WHAT ARE YOU GOOD AT?
Ask
Take time and ask your friends, what they think you are good at. Ask your parents. Ask your small group leader on Sunday morning, or your teachers or coaches. Ask your boss if you work at a job. They may see qualities you don’t see in yourself. Make a note in your phone of a list of those qualities. Think about how you can use them to honor and glorify God.
Maybe you are great at music. Put in the time to be better and look for opportunities to use it. Maybe you are good at math and can tutor someone in your class for free. Maybe you are great at social media and can help share your faith to schoolmates who follow you but don’t know Jesus. Maybe you awesome at bringing people together or settling conflicts in a peaceful manner. Maybe you’re good at talking with people one on one and helping them see something with clarity. Maybe you’re good at tiny details that most people miss but are vitally important. Maybe you can manage people or are very thoughtful and make people feel welcome. Whatever it is, find what you are good at and find ways to get better at it and use it to honor and glorify God.
Pray
Psalm 90:17 says, “Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!”
Ask God through prayer to help your efforts in knowing and growing your talent. Prayer is how we depend on God and not ourselves. Ask God to be your confidence because He gave you the talent. Ask Him to keep you from fear and not trust in yourself or believe lies. Remember the master gave talents to everyone. He expected a return.
Act
Research areas to use your talent in church or community. Look for creative ways to use them at work, home, or at school. Look for different ways to exercise them in these places. And remember action is what grew the talent in the story Jesus told(Matthew 25:14-30). Inaction and fear grew nothing. Fear stops everything and places the focus on you and away from God.
Dear God, thank you for the reminder in the parable of the talents (Matthew25:14-30) that you give us something we are good at. Thank you for reminding us that inaction stifles the believers growth. Keep us far away from passivity, fear and comparison. Help us find out what we are good at and then help us to use it for your glory. In Jesus name, Amen
Ashley Anderton