After spending a weekend among artists in Asheville, I once again found myself wrestling internally about whether I am using the talents God has blessed me with in a way that is pleasing to Him. I went to the Bible and searched for references to talents. Found only a couple. The passage I settled on actually had little to do with the talents I was concerned with, at least on the surface. 

Matthew 25:14-30 tells the parable of the talents, but the talents in this parable are actually units of money, not skills or gifts. As I read, I vaguely remembered it from a study once upon a time. Here’s a summary: Just before leaving on a journey, a master entrusts pieces of his property to three of his servants, according to their respective abilities. The first two servants double the value of what they are given and in turn receive praise from the master. The last man buries his talent in the ground so that he can protect and return the talent to his master. For this, he is punished severely for being lazy.

After reading this parable a few times over, I looked up a few interpretations of it to see if I could better understand exactly what God was trying to say to me. I found an article by Ken Boa which did a really nice job: http://bible.org/seriespage/stewardship

It seems God wanted to address my talents as part of a larger discussion on stewardship.

At every kid’s birthday party there will be one gift that gets all the attention while the rest of the toys, clothes, games and cash sit neglected off to the side. It’s not always the flashiest, most valuable gift. In my older son’s case, it usually is something like a $3 stretchy lizard. I’m a lot like that when it comes to gifts from God. I almost always put my talents or spiritual gifts under a microscope and try to deeply analyze their meaning so that I can determine my purpose and where my journey should take me. Meanwhile, I’m missing the bigger picture. I’m ignoring a pile of gifts, some of which are more valuable.  

As Dr. Boa so eloquently states in his article, I’ve been asked to be a steward of the gifts God has placed in my life. Not just spiritual gifts. All gifts. Like the earth, my family, my financial resources, my talents, each day I have to spend. Yes, using my spiritual gifts in the way He intended is a good thing, but if I’m not a faithful steward of the other gifts I’ve been given, I will fall desperately short of the point and be an awful long way away from my purpose.

God wants to use far more than my “talents” to further His plan. He wants to use every resource available to me. Every resource that he has placed within my reach. Every gift He has given.