God's word in today's world

Hit a hole in one with your talents


On the farm, I made the same mistake a few times. When you find a good worker, you want to help him earn more money. You find him a job with more responsibility and appoint him as foreman. 

He is grateful, but soon you see his head drop. He struggles and the wheels come off. Later you struggle with him yourself and can’t understand why he doesn’t use the opportunity. One morning, he doesn’t show up and you hear that he took his things and left. 

Then you wonder what has happened. He was such a good worker and now he has left. I think I only understood when the same thing happened to me. You see, at one stage I was offered a position which I accepted, but which did not quite fit my gifts. 

I suffered a lot. I had so much stress it was dripping from my eyes. I had to braai on Sunday evenings, just to keep the black dogs out of the house. And in the end, I left. 

When you’re appointed in a position above your talents, such things happen. You just don’t fit in well and the things you have to do don’t give you energy – on the contrary, they drain you. 

God has given each of us a set of talents. For some, one or two. For others, a heap. And not all people have the same talents. Each talent has been specifically chosen for you to make a special difference in the world. 

God’s Word says so: 10Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help. When you live your life where your talents are used to the fullest and in the world the tyre hits the road, everyone is a winner. 

That is why it’s so important that you make sure what your talents are and put a lot of energy into developing them. So many young people make the mistake of studying or going into a field motivated by the number of zeros on their pay slips, only to realise a few years down the road that they don’t want to carry such a bag of stress. 

Our talents form the basis of our actions. When our actions are fueled precisely from this basis, God’s plan kicks into action. Then our exceptional talents hit the world and make a big difference. 

I wonder what the world you live, work and play in looks like. Does life just drag along or is there always a piece of hope, help, a fresh breeze, a sun that rises in the dark, a fresh fragrance that bursts open? 

It’s our exceptional talents, a gift we all share, that make it so. That’s why we have to get serious and make sure that the foundation that drives us is made up of our talents. When this happens, everything is in harmony, and we get the energy to do even more. 

But there is a warning at the end. Don’t be too proud of yourself. 11That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and He’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. All honour to God when our talents eventually make a difference, because only He can hit a hole in one with crooked sticks like us!  

 Scripture
1 Peter 4:7-11 

Reflection
What talents do you have?
Do they form the basis of your actions?
Do you really make a difference where you live, work and play? 

Prayer
Father, thank you for all my talents. Help me make a difference everywhere I go. I ask this in Jesus’ Name. Amen. 

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