“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms” 1 Peter 4:10 NIV.
Author and speaker, Jon Acuff, wrote in his book FINISH, “Talent you don’t claim turns into bitterness eventually.”
Judging by the caustic levels of bitterness in our culture, I’d say there must be a huge number of unclaimed talents floating around out there. It’s always easy to sit back and take potshots at people making any effort to better themselves or do anything courageous with their lives. It’s harder to get up off of our Blessed Assurance to get in the game.
Funny thing about talents, too. We think they’re ours. But they’re not. We have God-given potential in certain areas that are solely for the benefit of our fellow humans. Motivational speaker Lisa Nichols says, “Your talent ain’t for you, honey!” God didn’t give you a measure of ability, a talent, to make you feel good about yourself. It’s only yours to use for others.
That’s not to say that we can’t benefit from our talent and expertise. But we’ll never benefit from it fully without benefiting others with it first. All of life’s hard-earned lessons are about becoming better people so that our family, friends, and the world can be better people, too. Being egotistical about your talents spoils them for others. Let’s claim our talents, then give them away. We’ll feel better and be happier.