Use Your Talents

Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people. (Colossians 3:23 CSB)

One day I sat bitterly contemplating our plans for the weekend. Every activity consisted of commitments that would please other people, but not anything I particularly wanted to do. Said commitments weren’t even doing anything special for these people; they were just run-of-the-mill commitments. Nothing super-important, but expected of us nonetheless. Dutifully, I shoved aside what I might have wanted to do and how I wanted to spend my time in order to fulfill these commitments But it made me wonder: Was I doing too much to please people?

By trying to please people, was I actually squandering my time? Was I working from the heart? Or was I begrudgingly saying yes to things because I thought it was expected of me? I highly suspect the latter.

Sometimes we tend to shove aside things we love, even things we may feel called to do, because they don’t fit easily into our schedules or we don’t make money doing them. The super-successful “side hustle” has waylaid many a dream when it doesn’t bring in the big bucks. Now, I am not knocking the side hustle. Everyone has different financial responsibilities. If you can make money doing something you love, great! However, I think we need not forget the beauty of chasing a dream for the sake of the dream itself.

Use Your Talents

In the parable of the talents in Matthew 25, a master entrusts his servants with various amounts of talents while he goes away on a trip. When he returns, two of the servants have doubled their talents, but one servant has hidden his talent away and returns the same amount to the master.

The word talent in the parable denotes money, but the modern definition of talents easily fits as well. God gave each of us specific gifts (talents), and he expects us to use them. He does not want us to return them to him unused and undeveloped.

Don’t neglect your talents and gifts! We encourage our children to dream and use their gifts in work and play, but as we get older, we tend to put that aside and focus solely on what we have to do—our adult responsibilities. However, in wholely giving ourselves over to all our responsibilities, sometimes we can lose sight of our God-given gifts. And our talents are something the world needs.

The world needs beauty and creativity. They are reflections of God.

You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16 CSB)

Make the Time

It can be difficult to put aside time just to create. If you are like me, you feel it is not really a productive use of time when you still have to do a, b, and c. Even though we enjoy it and it gives us a great outlet, many of us don’t make creative time a priority. However, our creative time not only fulfills us, but can fulfill others as well. Others need to read your words, hear your songs, and see your art. God can and will use your talents to bless others.

I have been paid to write a couple of times. It was very exciting to classify myself—if only for a couple of articles—as a paid writer. However, most of the writing I do is not for monetary gain. On a few occasions, I have received comments or messages about how my words have helped someone during a tough time or encouraged them in a certain situation. These types of messages mean more to me than any amount of money. They humble me and make me thankful that I have used my gifts.

Growing up in church, you may have heard the example of planting the seeds of salvation. When we share Jesus, sometimes we are just planting the seed for someone else to water down the road. We may never see the end result, but it is so important to plant that seed. Our creativity is similar. It may seem to be a small gesture and we may never see tangible rewards for it, but we could be planting a seed. We could be comforting someone, encouraging someone, or inspiring someone just by using our talents.

God gave us our gifts and talents to glorify him and minister to others. We need to stop being afraid to use them. When we work with our hearts turned to the Lord, he will use our offerings, and they will matter just as much as the rest of our work.

Dana Herndon is a writer, blogger, and middle school teacher. She and her husband live in Georgia with their three children. In addition to teaching and writing, Dana loves to read, paddle board, and sometimes run. She blogs about faith, family, and enjoying the everyday life at danaherndon.com.

Photograph © Jazmin Quaynor, used with permission