Improving Upon Your Talent

Hi guys. Hope you've had a great week so far.

Today I wanted to share a little something about improving your gifts and talents. We all have something that we're good at or something that we've learned how to do. It could be singing, playing an instrument, photography or sports. It could also be a character trait. Maybe you're a really kind person who always helps others in times of need, or you're very smart and knowledgeable when it comes to studying and learning new things. Whatever it may be, no matter how insignificant it may seem, each of us has something that God has placed within us to use to help and bless others in some way or another. Our gifts and talents were given to us by God, but they're not meant for us to keep to ourselves. What's the use of a talent when it can't be shown to others or have an impact on them?

Matthew 25:14-30 tells the story of a man who was going on a trip and gave his servants bags of gold, and each of them were expected to produce more talents with the amount they were given. Now the man gave each servant an amount according to their own abilities, meaning he knew what each servant was capable of doing and so gave them the bags of gold accordingly. The first was given 5 bags of gold and worked to produce five more. The second was given two and produced two more. However, the last one who was given only one, decided not to work with what he had been given, but rather hid the gold and did nothing with it. He simply didn't even try to improve upon what he had been given. And you can imagine how angry the man was when he returned to find out that the servant hadn't even tried to produce more with what he had been given.

Many of us can relate to the last servant. We have a talent or gift within us that God wants us to use and improve upon. Improving upon a talent helps increase its effectiveness in using it for God's glory. Everything God made is meant to glorify Him, and that includes your talent.

It's important to also work with the time you've been given. I know because of the pandemic a lot of things have been put on hold for a lot of us. There are some people who still have to work harder because of the state things are in and some things like school are still in session one way or another. But for others, there's a lot of free time at your disposal. Why not use it to learn something new, whether if be a new ability or even learning more about God through studying His Word?

The three servants, although given different amounts of gold bags, all had the same amount of time to produce more.The one given five could have produced three more, but he decided to produce five more. Some people may seem to have more talents/gifts/abilities but will still use this time to come out with more. Are we learning more/ improving upon what we have or know?

It's good to use the state of things to rest since a lot of us are always on the go. But we shouldn't forget about the things that we've always wanted to do or the goals we set earlier on. The thing is that, rest is good, but we shouldn't get so comfortable with resting that it turns into laziness and time-wasting. Pray for strength and direction from the Holy Spirit to guide you in your plans and actions. Seek wisdom in this time and improve upon your knowledge of God also. We've been given this time, and if not now, when? When we are asked by God how we used our time, let us have done enough to give credible answers. Seek God more now, improve upon your gifts and learn something new.

How are you using your time in the middle of this pandemic? Leave your thoughts and views on this topic in the comments section below or email/message me on social media. Have a great day and a great weekend.

Stay blessed and stay a blessing.