The One Talent

my daughter's drawing

                      "What a waste of paper!" remarked my father when he saw me drawing in a paper. As long as I live, I shall remember this remark because my father told me this when I was very young. Probably when I was 3 or 4 years old. When I heard my father's remark, I felt stabbed in my young little heart. To me, my little scribblings were masterpieces. But my father saw them as a waste of time and paper. In fact, he kept telling me that whenever he caught me drawing.  My mother, on the other hand always encouraged me in the drawing. Despite the financial needs in my home, my mother would always buy me crayons, watercolours, and sketch pens. This sacrifice did not make me a renowned artist but surely kept me from burying my talent in the ground. Many of my readers are Christians and therefore might have heard "the parable of the talents". It is found in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 25. 

the socks I crochet
 when I was pregnant

                    In this parable. the master of the household gave 5 talents or denarii to one servant, two to another and one talent to yet another. And the master leaves on a journey. After His return, he calls his servants to find out what they had done with their talents or money entrusted to them. The one who received 5 denarii came back with 5 more. Likewise, the one who received 2 came back with 2 more. However, the one who received one talent came back with his one talent and returned it to his master. He said that he had kept it safely hidden in the ground, fearing he might lose it. For he believed that his master was a hard man, reaping where he did not sow and gather where he had not scattered the seed. His master became furious on hearing this. He did not correct his servant's perception about him but instead told him that he should have at least deposited his money in the bank to gain interest. And he punished that servant severely. 

             

the dress I sew for
 my niece and daughter

      This parable has deep spiritual meaning and many interpretations. I am not going into those details now. Rather, I want to share what the Holy Spirit impressed on me recently through this parable. I love to write. And the Spirit of God has many a time spoken to my spirit to write books. But I never gave in to this leading because I wondered who is ever going to read what I write. There are millions of books out there on every topic under the sun. And whatever I write might be something that someone else had already written. I had read many books in both fiction and non-fiction. And a considerable amount of spiritual books too. Some of my favourite Christian authors are Joyce Meyer, Derek Prince, Kenneth. E.hagin, A.W.Tozer, Andrew Murray, Watchman Nee and the list can go on. There is no way in the world for me to give something that these spiritual giants had not given. If I wanted to share something with someone, I can simply refer their books to them. I didn't see any need for me to write. 

                    However, when I was reading this parable recently, the Holy Spirit clearly impressed on me that I was hiding my talent in the ground comparing it with those who had received more. And the Lord was right. Many times we don't use what God has given us because we compare it with what others have got. Many hide their talents like singing, dancing, eloquence, drawing, writing, sewing, cooking, etc; because it is not as good as others. We remain in the shadows to escape criticism, negative commands and dislikes. Deep down we think that we might never become famous like others with similar talents. And therefore, we put no effort into using it. While few people try for a while but when they receive a negative command, they fall back. 

                    The Holy Spirit told me that the gifts He gave me were not for name or fame but to bless others. Even if it was to bless only one. You might think that your talent might not be a blessing at all, not even for one. You may be right or you could be wrong. Either way, we are under the obligation to use what was given to us no matter how we feel about it. I usually try doing different things, many of them are of no use. I practised crocheting and crocheted socks, but my daughter never wore them. I drew many pictures and they ended up in the bin. On the other hand, I learnt to sew and sew many dresses for myself and others. I crocheted a few handbags that I gave away for auction in a church and the proceedings were given to the church treasury. The Lord reminded me of these things and exhorted me to write. As a result of it, I started this blog. I don't know if it blesses anyone, I don't mind being not a famous blogger. But, it gives me immense pleasure and satisfaction in using what God has given me. 

my little artist

                     I exhort you to do the same. There is a talent in everyone, at least one. Use it. Don't mind what others say, don't care what others think. Don't worry about name or fame. We are using it for the glory of the One who gave it to us and on the last day, it will be to Him that we will need to give an account of what we did with the talent HE gave us. If I had listened to my dad, I might have stopped drawing. But, thank God I listened to my mom. Today, I might not be an artist, but I have inspired my little daughter to draw. And I am sure I have multiplied my talent thus. I don't care if my daughter does not become famous for it. But, I am going to do what my mom did by encouraging her to keep her from burying her talents.

               And I would like to do the same for you. To encourage you to use your talents. Though the talent you have might be one and seem insignificant to you and others yet it is God-given, so use it for His glory and He will make it a blessing to others.