Hey all! Yesterday I shared some thoughts on what it means to be stewards of our time and challenged ourselves to have a paradigm shift on just what we mean about "meaningful" time or how "busy" we really are. But that's just the first of the 3 offerings that we lift up in church on Sunday. The next is talents, which we will focus on today and tomorrow. Then we will discuss treasures for this weekend leading up to Commitment Sunday.
Take a moment and make a bullet point list of each of your talents - whether that's in your head or on paper is up to you. For me it might look something like this:
I'm a runner
Good with technology
Public speaking
Creative planning
Cooking
and more!
I imagine if we each took 15 minutes to do this activity we would come up with far more examples of what we're good at than we might have initially thought! God has blessed each of us with so many talents and attributes that make us unique, give us purpose, and establish fertile ground for a legacy of success.
So how might you use your talents to not only make a profit but also make a meaningful difference? For example, I might look at my list and realize I have skills that would allow me to lead a community meal, start a runners group out of our church, or help people learn technology, or be a part of a team ministry to spark new brainstorming ideas. All of these would be fantastic ministry options and provide a meaningful legacy. Go back through your own list and make a note next to each of an idea of how you could use that skill to give back and then ask God in prayer if you're led to one of them. We're excited to see how God moves through you for the benefit others.
Scripture to Read
What are you really good at? Painting? Counseling? Maybe you’ve never met a car problem you couldn’t repair, or you’re an amazing chef. Perhaps you just find opportunities to help people wherever you go.
Whatever your talent or skill is, guess what? God’s behind it! But He doesn’t bless us with talents or skills so we can get noticed or earn lots of cash.
Yes, that can be a result of it. But it’s so much bigger than that. God wants us to honor God with those gifts! God wants us to be “good and faithful servants” with our talents.
How exactly does God want us to use our talents? Two ways: blessing others and building God's kingdom.
God wants us to bless others.
In 1 Peter 4:10, we’re called to use our gifts to serve others as faithful stewards of God’s grace. Now, in that context, Peter was specifically talking about spiritual gifts, like prophecy and healing. Those are supernatural abilities God gives each Christ-follower, but the general idea of blessing others also carries over to talents. God doesn’t give us anything just for our own benefit. After all, we’re blessed to be a blessing (Genesis 12:2)!
Just as with spiritual gifts, God wants us to use our talents and skills for the benefit of others.
How can you put that into practice? Maybe there’s a ministry that uses your skill or talent to help others. If you love working on cars, volunteer to repair single moms’ cars for free. Or if you paint, hold art classes for nursing home residents. If you look in your community, you’re sure to find a need you can meet with the talents God’s given you. And if nothing exists, you can always start your own ministry!
God wants us to build His kingdom for His glory.
God made us all different. That’s great, because together, all of us make up the kingdom. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul compares the body of Christ to a human body: Each of us is unique, but together we make the body complete. And Christ is the head of the body (Ephesians 5:23), so everything we do points back to Him. He directs it all!
In other words, God wants you to use your unique role in the body of Christ to glorify Him. So, if God made you an amazing singer, sing for Him. If your talent is a little less conventional—maybe you’re good with numbers or with writing code—then find a way to translate that into a job or volunteer work for a God-honoring company or ministry. Use your God-given abilities to reach those who don’t know Him—and give Him the credit for your talents.
Jesus gives us two commandments: to love the Lord and to love others as we love ourselves (Matthew 22:37–40). And when we steward our talents to honor Him and to bless others, we’re doing just that.
Questions to Consider
What are my talents?
How do I currently use them?
How could I use them in a new way?
What are my 'spiritual' talents?
How do I currently use them?
How could I sue them in a new way?
Praying with Praise
How have I omitted choir pieces from this section for this long?! Silly me. I have a beautiful chancel piece for us to simply close our eyes on and be moved by. What shall I offer to my Lord? Enjoy!
I'm ready to make my offering to God! What now?
Great! Submit your pledge card for the 2022 year by clicking this button and then do a happy dance knowing you're making a huge difference.