Talents

Jesus said to them, 

“Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket,

 or under a bed, and not on a stand?”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭4:21‬ ‭

Jesus told the parable of the man who, before embarking on a long trip, gave five bags of gold to one servant, two bags of gold to a second, and one bag of gold to a third (Mathew 25:14-30). The servants with 5 bags and 2 bags doubled their money, while the one with one bag hid the money safely and did not make use of it. When he returned, their master rewarded the servants who had doubled their money, and rejected as a worthless servant the one who had hidden his money. So it is with the spiritual gifts that God gives us – if we make use of them and double them we will be rewarded. Did God expect the servant with one bag to make the same effort as the other servants? Do we have any talents that have made us grow stronger in our understanding about God? How do we use our spiritual gifts to help others, increase their understanding about God? 

 Is there a difference between talents and spiritual gifts? Bach was a brilliant musician who channeled his God given talent of music into a spiritual gift of inspiring people to love, understand and obey God’s word. Whenever Bach composed a piece of music, he wrote the letters S.D.G. at the bottom of the music. Those letters stand for the words Soli Deo Gloria which means "To God alone be the glory". Bach was convinced that his music was a gift from God and that he had a responsibility to use his gift to bring glory to God. Do you use your talents and spiritual gifts to bring glory to yourself or to God? Do you regularly make use of your spiritual gifts and talents so that you improve them over time? Do you have any talents that you find are drawing you away from God? One of the sayings of Jesus was that the purpose of a lamp is to be seen and not to be hidden (Mark 4:21).