Living Stewardship

Using Your Talents

What do you do well? Are you surprised when you learn that something you do or some trait you possess is not held by everyone? You might think that your ability to create a beautiful craft is no big deal, but then you probably haven’t worked next to me at Advent Parish Night! I always thought keeping a steady rhythm was something everyone could do until I tried clapping next to someone whose initials are JZR.

Put modesty aside and admit to the abilities you possess. My next question is obvious. What are you doing with your talents? I’m sure you use them in your work career; that’s how we select our career paths when we’re young. You are good at science or math or writing so you enter the fields of medicine or accounting or advertising, for example.

But in what other ways do you “let your light shine?” If you are reading this article, you most probably believe that the abilities you have come from God; and as I do, you thank God every day for them. But a good steward develops those gifts and returns them to God. This doesn’t just have to happen at church. Coaching a youth athletic team, working with Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, volunteering at the medical center, and serving on local governing boards are all ways to use your talents wisely.

There are so many opportunities to use your talents for the church, and Zion is eager for your help. Do you work well with children; do you like being with older people? Are you handy with repairs; do you play an instrument? Do you like meeting new people; are you a good cook? And what about that secret ability you have – the one only you and God know about because you’re not sure how to reveal it. Look around Zion and God will point to the task where that special talent will shine. And the really amazing thing is that the more you use the abilities you know you have, the more talents you will find that you didn’t realize you had!