Developing Our Talents

"Einstein was four years old before he could speak and seven before he could read". (Alan Loy McGinnis. Bringing Out The Best In People. Minneapolis: Ausburg Publishing House, 1985, p. 34). Einstein became one of the greatest physicists who ever lived.

"Isaac Newton did poorly in grade school" (McGinnins, p. 34). Newton, like Einstein was one of the smartest people of his day as a scientist.

"A newspaper fired Walt Disney because he had "no good ideas" (McGinnins, p. 34). Listen to the rest of the story about Mr. Disney. "It is reported that Walt Disney was not only a remarkable man but also a remarkably happy man. Somewhere recently there was a story about his early years. When he started out in Kansas City, he couldn’t sell his cartoons. Some hinted that he had no talent. Disney had a dream, so he set out to conquer his foes. He found a minister who paid him a small amount to draw advertising pictures for his church. Disney had no place to stay, so that the church let him sleep in the mouse-infested garage. One of those mice which Disney nicknamed Mickey, became famous---as the world knows. How satisfying life must have been for Disney when he remembered the hard struggle from lean years spent in a church garage". (Ernest A. Fitzgerald. Keeping Pace: Inspirations In The Air. Greensboro: Pace Communications Inc. 1988, p. 18).

"Leo Tolstoy flunked out of college" (McGinnins, p. 34). It was later on that he wrote the literature classic that we know as "War And Peace".

"Werner von Braun failed ninth grade algebra" (McGinnins, p. 34). Later in life he became a rocket engineer.

All of these people succeeded because they were willing to take the risk and invest themselves and apply their God-given talents.

THE REWARD

The master one day came back to settle the accounts with his servants. He was pleased with the success of the first two who doubled the talents that they were given. They had proven themselves worthy of handling more and were rewarded with more as a result (Matthew 25:21,23). The master also complemented them highly, "Well done thy good and faithful servant" (Matthew 25:21,23 KJV) he said to each of them. Then he came to the third servant who hid what he had been entrusted with because he was afraid. The master called him "wicked and lazy" (Matthew 25:26 NRSV) because he never made an effort to invest what had been entrusted to him. It was because of his laziness that what he had was taken away from him because he never made an investment with the talent that he was given.

Regardless of the amount or the type of talent that God has given us, God wants us to be faithful in our service. "For to every one who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away" (Matthew 25:29 RSV). There is a known understanding regarding Matthew 25:29-----"use it or lose it". We either use what God gave us or we lose the opportunity because our "fear" and lack of faith. As Christian disciples, we have been entrusted with both our God-given talents (abilities) and the good news of the gospel so that we might be faithful and fruitful in investing what God has entrusted to us. If we want to succeed, then we must invest what God has entrusted us with.