Heard the saying “your gift will make a way for you”?
True or not? I dare say that is what the likes of Bill Gates, Mother Theresa and Oprah have in common; their gifts – and plenty of hard work – contributed to making a way for them.
Operating in our gifts can enable us perform at our optimum, perhaps it is because we are doing what we have been naturally gifted to do, and most importantly, we are touching and changing lives, be it in our community, the business world, or workplace.
We have each been given talent(s), and in order for it to be of value, for it to open doors for us or make an impact, we need to not only activate it, we also need to continuously nurture and operate in it (using some elbow grease). I am reminded of the parable found in Matthew 25:14-28 where a man gives three of his servants five, three and one talent respectively, but only the servants with the five and two talents trade with their talents to bring about returns (ROI). On the other hand, the servant with one talent does nothing with his; giving the excuse of not wanting to lose it, he hides it away, and the talent lays dormant. And this leads to his master taking away the talent and giving to the others who had the five and two talents! Wow … is it not interesting how the rich seem to keep getting richer, and sometimes the poor remain status quo?
Are we like the servant who has an excuse for hiding away their talent? Are we hiding behind one excuse or the other on why we are not doing anything with our God given talents? Are we scared of perhaps failing?
We have to be willing to take a chance even if it means failing, but like John Maxwell says in his book ‘failing forward’, we sometimes need to fail forward in order to succeed. We learn from our experiences, hone our talents, and prepare to take another leap forward again.
We have each been given one, two or more talents to make a difference, and the world or someone out there is waiting for you, so take a bold step today and do your thing! “…For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required”!
