Tag: talent

Owe it to God

Talents, Blessings and Spiritual Gifts Part 3

Owe it to God

By Ereeny Mikhail

God shows us that the differences in our talents, blessings and spiritual gifts are all puzzle pieces that complete a greater purpose. But before we understand the meaning of all this, let’s explore blessings and spiritual gifts.

Differently to a talent, a blessing (n). is described in the Oxford dictionary, as something that is good or helpful. So, living in a country that is not in a warzone is good, having a roof over our head is good, having decent health is good and so on. Yet, often we feel we are in a shortage when it comes to blessings. Sometimes we wish we had more money or looked a certain way or was doing a certain thing. We work hard to try to apply the secret recipe to increase our blessings and double them but find ourselves still hungry for more.

However, it is important to recognise that although working hard to increase our blessings is important, it is also essential not to get consumed in this. St Paul in Philippians 4:19 states, “God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” If we are applying the secret recipe then we must know that we are not in shortage. God is supplying all our need and we do not need more than this. On the contrary, we should be utilising our blessing for Christ, just as the woman with the two mites did; “but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.” (Luke 21:4)

Further to this, it is essential to re-evaluate our standards. There isn’t a level of any vain thing that we need to live up to except our own and Gods. If we do so, then there is nothing we lack.

This means, if God has given us a body and mind in good health, then we must use these to the best of our abilities. But let’s consider that someone may not feel handsome or beautiful because they have gained a significant amount of weight due to overeating which has affected their health. I think then perhaps they must recognise that they are not using their blessing, of good health, that God initially gave them as best they can. Our body and mind are a temple of Christ and we should treat it as such. “…he will be a vessel for honour, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.” (II Timothy 2:21) If we do not feel that we are doing enough with the blessings God has bestowed on us, including taking care of our ‘sound mind’ and body, then we must. This is His vessel that we must make useful and prepare it for His good work. If we are doing so, then there is no more we need. There is no other standard we need to live up to.

Contrastingly, a spiritual gift is often differentiated from talents and blessings, as they are given to those who accept and believe in Christ. It is made for the “edifying of the body of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12). Though, it is important to note that talents and blessings, can be used as spiritual gifts.

This differentiation lays in the fact that the spiritual gift can be lost. The talent remains, but it cannot used for edification if it is degraded. St Paul states in Romans 12:4-8 “For as we having many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. Having then gifts different according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them; if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.” Each of our spiritual gifts is different and useful and all for the purpose of ‘edifying’ the body of Christ. There is no one better or worse than the other. Thus, let us keep these spiritual gifts by recognising this.

What is the meaning of all this? Talents? Blessings? Spiritual Gifts? St Paul tells us in I Corinthians 12:14-20: “For in fact the body is not one member but many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body,” is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now indeed there are many members, yet one body.” If we all had the same talents, blessings and spiritual gifts we could not function. Imagine saying, the architect is more important than the builder. So, if we were all architects, then who would build the house? Or what if we said being a good speaker is more important than being a good listener. Then who would be listening to us when we speak? Every talent, blessing, and spiritual gift is important to complete the cycle of life. It is all important for the greater purpose, that is Christ.

Conclusively, we need to remember that we are all clay in the Hands of the Potter, moulded for His use. Let us acknowledge that:

“Our gifts and talents should also be turned over to Him. They should be recognized for what they are, God’s loan to us, and should never be considered in any sense our own. We have no more right to claim credit for special abilities than for blue eyes or strong muscles. ‘For who makes you different from another? And what have you that you did not receive?’”

A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God

The Secret Recipe

Talents, Blessings and Spiritual Gifts Part 2

The Secret Recipe

By Ereeny Mikhail

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a man travelling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them and made another five talents. And likewise, he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground and hid his lord’s money.” 

Matthew 25:14-18

Three particular things strike me about this parable.

The first thing is the fact that they ALL received talents. He did not leave one of them with nothing. So, I think when we state that we have no talents, we are offending God. We are acting as that foolish servant who claims God to be a ‘hard man’. God gave us each according to our own ability.

Secondly, the way the servants and lord reacted to the number of talents is so important. The servant with two talents did not look at his neighbour with five talents and think about how much more than him he had. He focused on himself and went and made two more. And as we know later in the parable, the lord of the servants rewards the servant who doubled his five talents into ten, and the servant who doubled his two talents into four, equally. And the servant with the one talent ends up with nothing and is cast out. The significant thing to take from this is the lord did not look at the servants and think he only has four and the other has ten. The number of talents is not what we should be looking at and it is not how God will judge us in the coming days. Rather, it is how we utilised the talents he gave us.

Now let’s twist the story a little bit. Imagine if the servant who didn’t use his talents was the one with the five talents. And the servants who doubled their talents were the ones with the two and the one talent. The master of the house would have reacted the exact same. The servant with the five talents would have been cast out. It is in fact better for someone to have one talent but to use it and increase it than to have five talents and use none of them at all and waste them.

Finally, another message we can take from this parable is, exploration or investment. The servants with the five and two talents did not just get excited and think about how much they had. They chose to act wisely and put in the effort to increase their talents.

Think about it as an investment of money in the bank. You place the money there and over time it continues to increase. You act wisely with what you have, rather than just celebrate your talents.

More importantly, the effort these two servants put in is essential. They went and actually explored how to increase their talents. So perhaps your talents are sport and being a good speaker. This does not mean you settle for the two talents and thank God only. It is fundamental that you find ways to use these talents in more than just the one way. I think about the sportsmen or sportswomen who sign the cross before a game. This must spread waves into the world. Maybe that day someone will pray for the first time in a long time. Or if you are a good speaker, don’t just use it for your job. Use it to speak at your church or preach the name of the Lord to others. Perhaps if you feel you cannot expand on these talents, then it is essential to explore yourself more and find more talents in order to increase what the Lord gave you.

We must realise talents come in different forms. We must recognise the talents God has given us and not disregard them. We must always ensure that we do not compare our talents to others. We must ensure that we explore these talents and invest in them. This is the secret recipe to all talents, blessings and spiritual gifts.

The Comparison Game

Talents, Blessings and Spiritual Gifts Part 1

The Comparison Game

By Ereeny Mikhail

“I don’t think I am talented at anything.”
“If only I was prettier or smarter.”
“If I am not one of the best at it, then I am not talented.”
“I just wish I had more money.”
“But so-and-so is more spiritual than me.”
“I am not worthy enough.”

How many times have you heard someone you know say one of these statements or something similar? In fact, I think most of us have fallen into that trap at some point in our lives. In this day and age, we are exposed to so much information and content via the internet, social media, books, talks and the like. And often, the line between what is true and false, right and wrong, and good and bad, becomes blurred. We see an incredibly talented individual and we think there’s no point trying because we will never be as good. We see people share their success and think what we have is not enough. And we see one another spiritually progress and feel we are left behind, drowned in our own sin.

One of the greatest pitfalls of how we perceive our talents, blessings and spiritual gifts, is comparison.

The Oxford dictionary defines a talent (n). as ‘a natural aptitude or skill’. This natural aptitude or skill can come in many forms. Some of us are good speakers, some of us are artistic, some of us are financially gifted, some of us are talented at sports, some of us are musically inclined and so on. However, what I find most striking about the definition is it does not in any way state that we need to be at the top of the game. We simply should just know how to do a certain thing to be talented. St Paul, in II Corinthians 10:12, states, “For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they are measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.”

Take this for example, two women take a painting class together. Both women had good paintings, and enjoy painting, but one painting is totally abstract, and the other is perfect to the last stroke. Now, let me pose the question. Who is more talented? Is it the woman who had an abstract painting or the woman who is a perfectionist? The answer is actually both. Not one painter is better or more talented. Both are there for a purpose. One artwork is for the person who enjoys looking at something relaxed and expresses a bit of chaos in their art. The other is for the eye that loves to see everything in a particular place at a particular time. The point of the story is talent is not defined as something you are better at than someone else. It is defined as something that someone just naturally knows how to do, which in this case, both women enjoyed the activity, and knew how to do it, in different ways.

Sometimes the key to recognising your talent is stop comparing your talents to other people. That very person that you look at and think that your talents are insignificant compared to, probably looks at you in the same light. This breeds jealousy, contempt, insecurity and so much more that is harmful to our inner selves.

Further to this, what kind of friend do you want to be? The one that compares yourself and is trying to do better than those around you, or the one that supports, encourages and tries to build the talents of those around us?

When we stop comparing ourselves to others, we begin to see the beauty in the differences we possess. We see each individual as part of the body of Christ. A fearfully and wonderfully made masterpiece, that could never compare to another.

Why are you here?

Why are you here?

by Bethany Kaldas

 ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.’

~ Matthew 5:16

Before you start reading this, I want you to look around. Take note of where you are, who you are with, and how you got there. Keeping all that in mind, I want you to ask yourself, ‘Why am I here?’

People spend a lot of time contemplating the meaning of life. Don’t get me wrong, I’m one of them—and if you’re claiming not to be then I suspect you need your humanity revoked. But asking that huge, impersonal question of ‘Why are we (as in, all things that exist) here?’ has often proven to be a case of biting off a bit more than we can chew. Just a bit. And this has generated a lot of existential angst in those who find themselves pondering the meaning of all that is.

When faced with questions too big to swallow, it can help to ask smaller questions first. When I urged you to ask yourself why you are here, I did not want you to contemplate the meaning of your personal existence. Even this is a question possibly too big to be grappled with at the moment. I meant quite literally, why are you right here, right now?

I’m sure you can generate a wealth of obvious answers to those questions. If you’re reading this on the train, for instance, you’re here because you have somewhere to go. You’re surrounded by the people around you because they too have somewhere to go, but otherwise have no connection to you. I think I can safely say that (unless something extremely strange is happening in your life), you are fairly confident in the reason for why you are literally here, be it by choice or by chance. It is not a question we tend to give much thought to.

But is it possible that the key to that big, ultimate question of why we are here is rooted in the simple, mundane question of why you are here, in the most basic sense? Is it possible that there’s more to why you are where you are, with the people you are with (or alone, for that matter), than mere coincidence?

Let’s talk about a Biblical story we should all be familiar with: the Samaritan woman (John 4:1-40). This is a seemingly random encounter with enormous consequences. And it does seem quite random. The Samaritan woman had been gathering water (specifically at an hour when she assumed she would meet no-one) and Jesus had been on His way to Judea and was only passing through Samaria.

If you had asked the woman at the well, ‘Why are you here?’, I can imagine she probably would have said something about needing water before telling you to leave her alone. She had no idea the true purpose God was working through her apparently ordinary daily chore. In that one seemingly insignificant moment, everything changed. She saw the Saviour. She helped countless others to see Him too. And even to this day, her story aids us in meeting Him in our lives.

…But that’s different to your life, right? After all, the whole reason that moment held such magnitude was because she had met Christand not just anyoneat that well. If you’re wondering what this really has to do with you, I think Fr Alexander Schmemann expresses it perfectly in his book, Great Lent: Journey to Pascha:

‘Christian love is the “possible impossibility” to see Christ in another man, whoever he is, and whom God, in His eternal and mysterious plan, has decided to introduce into my life, be it only for a few moments, not as an occasion for a “good deed” or an exercise in philanthropy, but as the beginning of an eternal companionship in God Himself.’

When you consider this, can you ever believe that any encounter you have is truly random? That any moment you experience is merely a transition from one more important event to another? That anyone or anything in your life, anything that the world has told you is insignificant and unworthy of attention, is really without purpose

C. S. Lewis addresses this also when he speaks of friendship in The Four Loves:

‘But, for a Christian, there are, strictly speaking no chances. A secret master of ceremonies has been at work. Christ, who said to the disciples, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you,” can truly say to every group of Christian friends, “Ye have not chosen one another but I have chosen you for one another.” The friendship is not a reward for our discriminating and good taste in finding one another out. It is the instrument by which God reveals to each of us the beauties of others.’

There is nobody and nothing in your life who is there purely by chance, not in God’s eyes. Christ does not encounter people by accident—He always does so with purpose. And when you encounter someone in your life—anyone, whether they’re a total stranger or someone you’ve known your whole life—you are meeting Christ. And they are meeting Him too—in you.

So I want you to take a moment. Look around you again. Consider where you are, who you are with, and how you got there.

Why are you here? You are here to show Christ to the world. And maybe the answer to that simple, basic question holds the key to that massive, ultimate question. If you are here to show Christ to the world, maybe the world is here to show Christ to you.

‘Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’’

~ Matthew 25:37-40