But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 

Matthew 25:18

You, my friend, are talented.

You’ve got some natural abilities, some long-learned skills, some spiritual gifts that make you one of a kind. Not everybody realizes this about themselves, but it’s true. Maybe in great big ways or little subtle ways, you can do things nobody else can do.

Maybe you’re a listener. Or a singer. Maybe you make bad puns. Or maybe you have an amazing b.s. detector. You could make a mean omelet or skip rocks like a champ. Maybe you haven’t even identified your talents yet, but they’re there. There’s not a person on earth that doesn’t have some.

How well are you using them? It’s an important question for people of faith.

Let’s take the parable of the talents. A talent in the Bible refers to a unit of money. A lot of money, in fact. Just one talent would be the equivalent of 20 years of labor! (https://www.grandrapidscoins.com/) So when this man, going on a journey, entrusts one talent, and two, and then five talents to his servants, this is a big deal.

But let’s not think about money right now. Let’s pretend this parable is actually about YOUR talent. The amazing things about you. Which of those servants are you? Are you multiplying your ministry, so to speak? Are you taking what you’ve been given and putting it out there where it can send ripples into the world? Or are you, like the servant with the one talent, holding back, and burying it in the sand?

What if the world were one big talent show, where everybody tries to offer their best, and everybody else cheers them on? Wouldn’t that be great? Alas, it doesn’t always work like that. Sometimes people feel ignored or even ridiculed when they try to “do their stuff”. Some people don’t want to show off or come across as arrogant. Others lack the confidence to make the leap. Still others have trouble understanding what their talents are or how it’s worth the effort to use them.

But you don’t need to be one of those people. Because you know that you are a created being. Created by the One who made you in their image. God put something special right into you and just keeps helping it grow. Call it the divine spark. Call it being “beautifully and wonderfully made”. Call it what it is:–your invitation to the greatest talent show of your life: YOUR LIFE!

So live it. Dive deep and discover what you’ve been given. Maximize your potential. Do whatever it is that makes you quintessentially you. Don’t make the mistake of hiding it under a bushel.

Whether you discover you have a few talents or a hundred doesn’t matter. Just remember…

It’s not a performance,

it’s a privilege.

Have a great week,

Mitch