For lack of a better topic...
I will now take up Miss Pervinca Took's current little debate on her blog... give my own personal perspective on talents... and invite some more discussion. There's nothing I love more than a little debate, and I haven't been to TPS forum for ages now... >_>
And now, a ponderous editorial:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Think of an athlete and Average Joe. Do both need exercise?
To an athlete, working out is the end in and of itself. He works out to achieve its necessary result: the ability to work out again tomorrow.
To Average Joe, working out is a means. Average Joe works out to keep himself healthy for other activity. He works out because if he doesn't, he'll throw his back out on his construction site. Or his mind won't be sharp enough to keep up his sedentary office work.
For the Christian, talents are not the end. We do not foster a specific capability to its extreme levels just for the sake of being really good at it. We do all things toward unity with God, glorification and enjoyment of Him.
Being really good at something is not wrong, and for some people, it's exactly what God wants. But don't get confused: expertise does not necessarily indicate a direct calling from God. He may have totally different plans for you.
Following Christ entails the taking up of a cross. Remember Paul's "thorn in the flesh"? God told him he needed that hindrance because "My strength is made perfect in weakness."
And that ever popular verse, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
If God wants you to do something, the talent doesn't matter. Anything He tells you to do, you can do! On one hand, He only gives you things you can handle, but on the other hand, He enables you to handle the things He gives. He wants to teach trust, not independence.
I can name a whole flock of Christians who gave up brilliant careers in a particular field to become nurses, mothers, taxi drivers, construction workers. These Christians do commendable work.
Think Jim Eliot. Classic example. What did his summa cum laude degree in Biblical Greek do for him in Ecuador? Well, he had talent for intellectual learning, for languages, for understanding Scripture. But his calling was bigger than that one talent. And in fact, most of what Jim Eliot did in Ecuador was medical work--you know: gross, underappreciated, terribly unpredictable.
Even so, we aren't supposed to consider our personal abilities as anything more than part of God's shaping hand in our lives. We have a lot of talents, and they aren't all supposed to be used to the same extent in the same way. My mother, after a music performance turned music education career, married and had eight children. That didn't waste her talent. It just channeled it differently. Her musical understanding still comes in handy, but it isn't the focus of her life. That's the way it should be.
Here I give two of the many kinds of people:
~those who obviously glorify themselves through their talents in front of a whole lot of people, and then say that "it was a great ministry opportunity," or "it glorified God." Most Christians think this way (including myself). All we have to do is be outstanding, and suddenly God gets the glory.
~those who could do a whole lot of good with their lives, and instead thrash around in either (a) patent laziness, or (b) self-pity, or (c) both.
~~~~
God's plan goes beyond getting good scientists, journalists, musicians, and athletes into the world. (How much does He really care about all that? I've often wondered.) We die. God lives on. Our contribution to the world of science, politics, music, or whatever, will be (almost certainly) completely obscured within a hundred years. (how many scientists from a hundred years ago can YOU name? And that is what percent of the era's world population? academic population? scientific community population?) But God's name will live on in a different fashion because of us.
Talents make us ourselves, and they give us ways to bond with people around us. But they should never give us our primary identity, nor should they be the focus of life.
"Nobodies" don't exist. God gives the primary identity. But "Nothings" do exist: Christ made Himself "of no reputation" and took on the form of a servant. For that reason I hesitate to say that one with a talent MUST use it to its fullest potential. We use all our talents for God's glory. If that great reading voice will be used for nothing but three kids in a violence shelter on one Saturday afternoon, then so be it. If that great piano playing has no purpose other than elementary school, so be it. As long as a person actively seeks God's purpose for his life, the actual use (or non-use) of a particular talent should not be a concern. When the opportunities arise, the Christian seeks God's will.
Christ had abilities He just never used. The reason why should be obvious: He was here to do the will of His Father. So He healed as He preached the gospel, and gave signs to validate His message... but He didn't use His abilities for their own sake. Satan tried to make Him do that, remember? He didn't use His abilities when they became convenient--like when He was on the cross above a taunting crowd. He only used His authority, His gift, in conjunction with the ministry of the Father.
Christ is our pattern. And even so, our gifts are only useful in the way they relate to God's calling on our life.
The end. :P
And now, a ponderous editorial:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Think of an athlete and Average Joe. Do both need exercise?
To an athlete, working out is the end in and of itself. He works out to achieve its necessary result: the ability to work out again tomorrow.
To Average Joe, working out is a means. Average Joe works out to keep himself healthy for other activity. He works out because if he doesn't, he'll throw his back out on his construction site. Or his mind won't be sharp enough to keep up his sedentary office work.
For the Christian, talents are not the end. We do not foster a specific capability to its extreme levels just for the sake of being really good at it. We do all things toward unity with God, glorification and enjoyment of Him.
Being really good at something is not wrong, and for some people, it's exactly what God wants. But don't get confused: expertise does not necessarily indicate a direct calling from God. He may have totally different plans for you.
Following Christ entails the taking up of a cross. Remember Paul's "thorn in the flesh"? God told him he needed that hindrance because "My strength is made perfect in weakness."
And that ever popular verse, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
If God wants you to do something, the talent doesn't matter. Anything He tells you to do, you can do! On one hand, He only gives you things you can handle, but on the other hand, He enables you to handle the things He gives. He wants to teach trust, not independence.
I can name a whole flock of Christians who gave up brilliant careers in a particular field to become nurses, mothers, taxi drivers, construction workers. These Christians do commendable work.
Think Jim Eliot. Classic example. What did his summa cum laude degree in Biblical Greek do for him in Ecuador? Well, he had talent for intellectual learning, for languages, for understanding Scripture. But his calling was bigger than that one talent. And in fact, most of what Jim Eliot did in Ecuador was medical work--you know: gross, underappreciated, terribly unpredictable.
Even so, we aren't supposed to consider our personal abilities as anything more than part of God's shaping hand in our lives. We have a lot of talents, and they aren't all supposed to be used to the same extent in the same way. My mother, after a music performance turned music education career, married and had eight children. That didn't waste her talent. It just channeled it differently. Her musical understanding still comes in handy, but it isn't the focus of her life. That's the way it should be.
Here I give two of the many kinds of people:
~those who obviously glorify themselves through their talents in front of a whole lot of people, and then say that "it was a great ministry opportunity," or "it glorified God." Most Christians think this way (including myself). All we have to do is be outstanding, and suddenly God gets the glory.
~those who could do a whole lot of good with their lives, and instead thrash around in either (a) patent laziness, or (b) self-pity, or (c) both.
~~~~
God's plan goes beyond getting good scientists, journalists, musicians, and athletes into the world. (How much does He really care about all that? I've often wondered.) We die. God lives on. Our contribution to the world of science, politics, music, or whatever, will be (almost certainly) completely obscured within a hundred years. (how many scientists from a hundred years ago can YOU name? And that is what percent of the era's world population? academic population? scientific community population?) But God's name will live on in a different fashion because of us.
Talents make us ourselves, and they give us ways to bond with people around us. But they should never give us our primary identity, nor should they be the focus of life.
"Nobodies" don't exist. God gives the primary identity. But "Nothings" do exist: Christ made Himself "of no reputation" and took on the form of a servant. For that reason I hesitate to say that one with a talent MUST use it to its fullest potential. We use all our talents for God's glory. If that great reading voice will be used for nothing but three kids in a violence shelter on one Saturday afternoon, then so be it. If that great piano playing has no purpose other than elementary school, so be it. As long as a person actively seeks God's purpose for his life, the actual use (or non-use) of a particular talent should not be a concern. When the opportunities arise, the Christian seeks God's will.
Christ had abilities He just never used. The reason why should be obvious: He was here to do the will of His Father. So He healed as He preached the gospel, and gave signs to validate His message... but He didn't use His abilities for their own sake. Satan tried to make Him do that, remember? He didn't use His abilities when they became convenient--like when He was on the cross above a taunting crowd. He only used His authority, His gift, in conjunction with the ministry of the Father.
Christ is our pattern. And even so, our gifts are only useful in the way they relate to God's calling on our life.
The end. :P
posted by Unknown at 12:08 PM
3 Comments:
Good point about the differing definitions. I don't like the word "nobody." Period.
I hope you're having fun in Scotland.
I don't much like the word nobody either.
All of the people God has made are important- something about being His image bearers, perhaps.
I should've known not to try to start an argument with two Tooks!!
:o)
Perhaps because
(Tooks) = (argumentative chatterboxes).
:P
We feed each other's frenzy of wild opinion pretty much all day, every day. Woe to anyone who stands in our way!!
:P :P :P :P :P :P
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