\u201cWhen I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say: I used everything you gave me.\u201d \u2013 Erma Bombeck<\/p>\n
I love that quote. Isn\u2019t that what we are called to do with our lives?\u00a0 With every bit of energy that we can muster, we are called to spend our lives using all the talents, skills and abilities that God has given us to make the world a better place.\u00a0 That is our responsibility.<\/p>\n
Admittedly, using our talents isn\u2019t always easy. Sometimes we have to break out of our comfort zone to use the talents that God has given us.\u00a0 For example, I am a flute player.\u00a0 I\u2019m not a professional, but I can play classical pieces passably.\u00a0 My challenge is that I don\u2019t enjoy performing in front of other people.\u00a0 So when I am asked to perform in church, I am reluctant to accept.\u00a0 However, I have to step back and say to myself, \u201cThis isn\u2019t about you.\u00a0 This is about contributing to the worship service and creating a prayerful atmosphere.\u201d\u00a0 The reality is that sometimes using our talents can be uncomfortable.\u00a0 However, God has given us those talents for the purpose of serving others.\u00a0 As a result, we have to get past our discomfort and use them.<\/p>\n
We also are responsible to continually refine our talents. That is hard!\u00a0 We don\u2019t always feel like improving ourselves.\u00a0 Admittedly, it is much easier to spend our free time surfing the Internet, watching television, reading a book, or distracting ourselves in any number of ways.\u00a0 It takes discipline to work at honing our skills on a regular basis.\u00a0 But God doesn\u2019t give us perfect talents.\u00a0 Rather, He gives us an aptitude for something, and then He says, \u201cOK.\u00a0 Show me what you can do with it.\u201d\u00a0 It is a test of our character to work hard and turn that aptitude into something that can be a blessing to the world.<\/p>\n
Sadly, some of us don\u2019t use our God-given talents because there are others who happen to be better than us at a certain skill. So we assume our skill isn\u2019t valuable simply because our cousin, friend, or brother happens to be more advanced than we are.\u00a0 Don\u2019t let yourself fall into that trap of wrongheaded thinking.\u00a0 When you use your skill, it is used in the unique package that is YOU.\u00a0 So that skill will be displayed with your particular brand of warmth, humor and compassion.\u00a0 And that is a gift to the world that only you<\/em> can provide.<\/p>\n And please don\u2019t engage in false modesty by claiming that you have no talents. Everyone has something that they are good at.\u00a0 You do as well.\u00a0 If a parent, friend, teacher or colleague has ever told you that you don\u2019t possess God-given talents, you have to realize that none of those people have the authority of God.\u00a0 He has given each of us specific gifts and abilities.\u00a0 You wouldn\u2019t be on this earth if He didn\u2019t want to use you in some way to be a blessing to others.\u00a0 And He has imbued you with special skills for that very purpose.<\/p>\n The bottom line is that if God has given you a particular aptitude or talent, you must<\/em> use it<\/em>.\u00a0 Don\u2019t let it lie dormant.\u00a0 Use it.\u00a0 Work at it.\u00a0 Refine it.\u00a0 None of us knows how God wants us to serve the world.\u00a0 But He can\u2019t use us if we (1) don\u2019t recognize our talents and then (2) use them.\u00a0 If you do, you will find that He will take your life in directions that you couldn\u2019t have imagined.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cWhen I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say: I used everything you gave me.\u201d \u2013 Erma Bombeck I love that quote. Isn\u2019t that what we are called to do with our lives?\u00a0 With every bit…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":593,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n