For the remainder of this message I want to concentrate on three areas:
1. Talent maximization
2. Work
3. Responsibility
There are so many directions that I can envision taking this message, it is difficult for me to stay focused on just a few. You see vision is one of my talents. Focus is not. But I’m working on it.
Talent Maximization
There is a reason that the most talented players do the best in sports. Typically it is because they understand that the clock is ticking, and one day their physical talent will begin to diminish, so they work hard and maximize their abilities while time is one their side.
We’ve all known very talented people from our youth who never became a professional athlete. It probably wasn’t because they couldn’t have made it; they simply lacked the drive, desire and motivation to reach higher.
Some of these folks have no regrets about it. They’ve turned other gifts and talents into a life of value. Others live in the past, the “good old days.” Like Napoleon Dynamite’s Uncle Rico they’re stuck “back in ’86.”
It is my opinion that having a talent and not using it maximally is a slap in the face to the one from whom the talent was received. When one wastes a talent, whether by disuse, neglect or sheer abandonment, the receiver not only deprives the giver the joy of seeing their gift used as hoped, but they potentially deprive others of the gift.
What if Mozart or Beethoven had decided not to use their talent? What if Picasso or Monet had decided not to paint? What if Tim Duncan or Lebron James had decided not to play basketball? Others, who draw enjoyment and pleasure from listening, watching and experiencing the benefits of their gifts, would never have been able to do so.
Maximizing ones talent first stems from gratitude. Cicero once stated, "Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others." When one is grateful for one’s position in life they are inclined to maximize their abilities to produce and be more.
America is the embodiment of potential. Here, anyone can rise above and become just about anything they put their mind to. Many immigrants who come here from other lands do very well because they recognize the potential and are grateful for it. Sadly, many who do not capitalize on this same potential are folks who’ve lived here all of their lives.
They aren’t grateful for what they have because they either don’t know, or don’t really care,
how good they have it.
I have long contended that every man, woman and child should travel to another country south of the U.S. border, just once, to recognize just how good we actually have things. Seeing people who sleep on dirt floors, bathe in creeks and eat very minimal portions, and are grateful to have it, is a very humbling and life altering experience.
Why wait to be grateful for the talents that God has given you? Thank Him for them, dedicate their use to His glory and maximize them.
Coach John Wooden puts it this way, “You have little say over how big or strong or how smart or rich someone else may be. You do have, or you should have, control over yourself and the effort you give toward bringing out your best in whatever you’re doing. This effort must be total, and when it is, I believe you have achieved personal success. Remember; never try to be better than anyone else…but always strive to be the best you that you can be. That is under your control…the other isn’t.”
Work
As in the story, maximizing ones talents takes time, and work. The first two men worked to grow their talents, and over time they did just that. The third man did no work, other than to bury it. My guess is he didn’t do much of anything in any other area of his life either.
The Bible has a whole lot to say on the subject of work. Here’s one of my favorites:
“For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither
shall he eat.” That’s from 2 Thessalonians 3:10.
Here’s another, “Where no oxen are, the trough is clean; But much increase comes by the strength (work) of an ox.” (Proverbs 14:4 NKJV)
Now this one is a little deep, but what it means is this: If you do nothing, you have nothing. Sometimes you’ve got to get dirty and get in the trenches to get the job done, and the result is increase.
Work is a part of life. That is the problem with welfare. If people had to work to earn it they’d feel better about themselves and where it came from. I know from personal experience. I was on welfare for about six months many years ago. I hated it. I felt dirty, like I was cheating someone or something. I wasn’t earning it, and it wasn’t a charitable donation.
I also wasn’t a Christian at the time and the rest of my life was a mess as well. Once I came to the realization that work was a necessary component of life and that doing something was better than doing nothing, I found employment and quit the welfare system.
Looking back, I am grateful for the food that it put on my table to feed my children. I am grateful for the hard working men and women who allowed me to benefit by their own hard work. I simply believe that if I had to do something to earn that money, I would have felt differently about receiving it.
It is the same with talent. You must work to develop it. You must earn it.
I once worked with a former professional football player. He was a big man; six feet six inches tall, two-hundred-ninety pounds. He had been drafted by the Dallas Cowboys, played one season and was injured. He claimed he wanted to get back on the team, but would not work hard enough to earn back his spot. He thought his original level of talent would get him back.
He was wrong.
Having great talent also requires a great deal of character. Many have neglected to develop their character to coincide with the benefits and accolades of the talents they possess. Dr. Edwin Louis Cole put it this way, “Your talent can take you where your character cannot sustain you.”
How often have we seen men and women rise to great levels, only to fall because they committed to building their talent but neglected building their character as well?
Michael Vick and Tiger Woods come to mind. Lindsey Lohan and Britney Spears do as well.
Work is essential to progressive growth, in all areas of life. Do not shun work and the rewards will be fruitful and many.
Responsibility
As in the story, the master gave responsibility for the talents to his servants. He held each man accountable for them upon his return. The two who acted responsibly were rewarded handsomely. The one who did not was rebuked.
Assuming responsibility for ones actions and life are a basic precept to maturity and personal growth. Here are three things to think about with respect to responsibility:
1. Dr. Ed Cole taught that you cannot be responsible for success until you are first willing to be responsible for failure. Success is often cultivated in the dung of failure. (Remember the clean ox trough?) When you accept responsibility for your failure you can make the necessary corrections and move toward success. Tryon Edwards said it this way, "Right actions in the future are the
best apologies for bad actions in the past."
2. Dr. Cole also taught that you live by preference or conviction. It takes responsibility to live by conviction. Preferences weaken under pressure, convictions grow stronger. You can be negotiated out of your preferences, convictions are non-negotiable.
3. Maturity is not a factor of age, but of the acceptance of responsibility. How many people do you know who are mature at fifteen because of their level of responsibility? How many more are still maturing at forty because they can’t or won’t accept full responsibility for their lives?
On the night of December 9, 1977, Kermit Washington almost (though unintentionally) killed the
Houston Rockets' Rudy Tomjanovich with a single, face-shattering punch. In the years that followed, Washington’s life slowly deteriorated. He was traded often and booed everywhere he played. After his playing days were over, he couldn't find work in the league, even though he offered to work for free.
Why? My guess is because he never accepted full responsibility for his actions. You see, each time he gave an account for what happened, he always stated it this way, “I’m sorry, but…”
The acceptance of responsibility for the use of ones talents, gifts, accomplishments AND failures makes for a life of triumph, free from guilt, doubt and shame.
The Last Word
The parable of the talents is an in-depth look into the love of God for obedience, responsibility and the success He wishes for all of us. I encourage you in this: Take the talents you have and use them to glorify God. Give Him credit for them, and then work to make them grow so that His glory may be magnified.
Then, one day, he will call you to Him and hopefully proclaim, “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.”
God bless you,
Steve Payne
