Jesus gave many beautiful parables, lessons to teach us in simple and direct ways. My favorite parable has always been that of the talents. We all know it: the master gave three servants, one, two, and five talents respectively. The servants receiving two and five talents doubled their talents. The master praised them. However, the servant receiving one talent hid his away, earning his master's reprimand.
I wonder how much I am like that unprofitable servant. Do I hide my talent away, afraid to take it out for fear of shining a light on what I perceive as my feeble efforts? How can I ask the Lord to bless me, to bless that talent if I am afraid of using it?
I can't.
The Lord expects me, expects all of us, to use our talents in whatever way we can. What we may consider an unremarkable skill or trait may, in fact, be a praiseworthy talent. Do you have a knack for building up others with honest praise? Use that and watch as others bloom as they are around you. Do you have a way of noticing when another person is hurting and set about to help him or her feel better? Use it.
Don't be afraid of shining a light on your talents. The world, and, more importantly, the Lord, have need of them.
This I know for sure: talents blossom when taken out in the sun.
Wouldn't it be great if we had a written list of just exactly what all our talents were? Then maybe it mouth help us to use them a bit more. I suppose that's not really going to happen so we need to be in tune and use what we have.
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