Here’s a surprise: Quite many people have differing views of the Bible, either in its’ contextual authority, its’ legitimacy as an accurate account of historical events, the validity of its precepts and principles or its author…Almighty God.
I have no such quandaries… but I may be biased.
Jesus is Lord.
I can’t top that. Be that as it may, I often look to the Bible for references and guidance on everyday events, life structure, and lessons that I can learn as well as pass along.
One such set of lessons is “The Parable of the Talents” from the book of Matthew, chapter 25:14-30:
14 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. 15 And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. 16 Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. 17 And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. 18 But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money.”
How many times have you pondered the gifts and talents you’ve been given by God?
These talents are very valuable things. In the story referenced above, the value of a “talent”
was about a thousand dollars in that day’s money. In today’s money it would be more like a
million. So you can imagine what a thousand dollars was like two thousand years ago.
Likewise, your talents are valuable things as well. As in the scriptural reference, they are given according to your ability. As an example, are you blessed with strength to move heavy objects? Do you have the ability to dunk a basketball? Can you throw a 90 mph fastball with accuracy? Is your 40 time less than 4.5 seconds?
I am not saying that you are less than valuable if you are not physically imposing on the court, field or rink. Just because an individual is able to capitalize on their talent monetarily does not make their value any more or less special. I am merely pointing out one area of talent.
Physical gifts such as these aren’t dolled out in uniform fashion to the masses across the board. If they were, we’d all be like Reggie Bush, Lebron James, Roger Clemens or Michael Johnson. The game of football wouldn’t be as exciting, baseball would be just another pastime and basketball would be nothing but a high scoring dunk-fest.
And just because you possess such physical gifts does not mean that they will grow of their own account. There is a reason that the aforementioned sports figures draw the kinds of salaries they do. Most recognized their talent at an early age and worked to perfect it. They developed a work ethic and discipline that allowed them to grow what they had and turn it into something more. Let’s read on:
19 “After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 “So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ 21 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ 22 He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ 23 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.”
24 “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.”
26 “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.” 29 “For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
This story has an obvious message that beautifully illustrates the gift of Jesus Christ to the believer, and our responsibility to share that “talent” with others. It is a privilege and honor to do so, but, regrettably, one that many do not fully comprehend and employ. If you are a follower of Christ, I encourage you to share the Gospel with others.
But we’re talking today about sports, fitness and physical talents.
Therefore, what can we infer from this story, with respect to that? Let’s reflect back
to the beginning for a moment: “to each according to his own ability…”
What talents have you been given? Really ponder them and write them down. You could have a talent for weight lifting, running, high diving, hitting a baseball. It may be cooking, self discipline, instruction, or guidance. Whatever the talent, write it down.
You will notice that it says, “After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.”
After a long time…
As I stated earlier, it takes time to fully develop a talent or skill. Do you think that Michael Jordan played basketball at ten years of age the way he did at twenty-five? Do you think that Tiger Woods was always so good at golf?
No. And why is that? Because they, like all the great sports figures, work at being the best they can be. Michael Jordan’s work ethic was renowned. Tiger Woods is becoming known as much for his training regimen as for his skill on the links. And it took a long time.
In the second portion of the story we see that the first man took his talents and worked them into five more. He doubled them and was rewarded with an abundance of both gifts and responsibilities.
The second man also doubled his amount, from two to four. He was also given more in terms of gifts and responsibilities. These men and their example should be the focus of the story. The message is this: value your talents, dedicate them to your Lord and maximize them through intelligent, hard work and reward will come your way.
The third man, well…that is another story. He hid his talent and did nothing to maximize it.
Because of that he was punished, chastised and what he had was taken from him.
For the remainder of this message I want to concentrate on three areas:
1. Talent maximization
2. Work
3. Responsibility
Next time...
Steve
