Christian Stewardship - Talent

09-22-2019Weekly ReflectionJennifer Arnold

Last week we discussed what it means to be good stewards of our time. This week, we’ll take a closer look at what it means to be good stewards of our talent.

First, we must understand what is meant when we refer to our talents. God has bestowed on each of us particular gifts, graces, and charisms which are specific and unique to each of us individually. Reflecting on the image of the Body of Christ, it is easy to understand why He distributed these gifts so diversely. A body cannot be made up entirely of eyes, for example, or it would not also be able to run or listen. A body must have all of its many parts which each have the properties fitting to that part to make the entire body work properly. So too, we, the members of the Body of Christ, must have gifts proper to each of us so His Body can function as it should, according to His will.

While it’s wonderful to notice and acknowledge all of the wonderful talents we’ve been given by God, we should ask, “What is the real purpose of these gifts He’s given us?” Certainly not for bragging rights. Listen to what Scripture says, “As generous distributors of God’s manifold grace, put your gifts at the service of one another, each in the measure he has received. The one who speaks is to deliver God’s message. The one who serves is to do it with the strength provided by God. Thus, in all of you God is to be glorified through Jesus Christ,” (1Pet 4:10-11). In other words, God has given each one of us gifts, not for our own benefit, but for the service of others. When we consciously choose to use the gifts God has given us for the good of others, He is glorified, not us. We should gratefully and humbly use them, recognizing that we are simply trying to be good stewards of the gifts He has given us. Simply put, if we properly use the talents we’ve been given by God at the service of one another, we will, all together, be most successful at building up His body, the Church.

Now that we understand what we mean by talents, what does it mean to be good stewards of our talents in terms of intentional discipleship? As previously stated, the first step is to be aware of what your talents are and to be grateful for them. We have nothing that our Lord God did not give us and we can take no credit for the gifts bestowed on us. Thank your Heavenly Father for all the wonderful gifts you have been given to help build up His Kingdom on Earth!

Second, it is clear in Church teaching that we are not to hide our gifts away, but instead, to intentionally use them for the greater good of our neighbors. We not only know this through Church teaching, but Jesus Himself tells the parable of the talents, which was our gospel reading just a couple of weeks ago. The master praises the servants who invest and grow the gifts given to them and chastises the one who buries his talent in the ground (Matthew 25:14-30). If we have a particular talent and we willingly choose to hide it away, we do a disservice to ourselves and to the other members of the Body of Christ who would all benefit from that talent. For example, Fr. Chad is very thankful to the barber and landscaper who give of their time and talents to serve him and the parish. He is also thankful for the parishioner who volunteered to reupholster the chairs in the chapel, as well as the numerous other parishioners who offer their talents for the greater good of our parish community. So, what gifts do you possess and are you using them for the good of others? Think of ways you can use your talents to serve another person, the parish, or maybe outside of the parish, and respond to God’s call to you to help build up His Kingdom.

To illustrate, I’ll use a personal example here. Once a month our family visits Maggie’s Place. We bring bagels, cream cheese, and coffee and we sit with the mothers, babies, and the Mission Corps members. We’ve done this for years and since people regularly rotate through the house, we’re simply known as the “bagel family.” When I asked my children what talent they thought we were using when we visit Maggie’s Place, they all said, “our talent for holding babies!” They may be right about that, but upon further reflection, I realized that my husband, Micah, and I are utilizing our collective talent for making everyone feel loved and worthy of our attention and gifts, regardless of their circumstances or state in life, and hopefully cultivating that talent in our children at the same time. Other talents are also used in these visits like conversational talents, humor, our children’s entertaining talents, or Micah’s handyman talents.

In last week’s article on the stewardship of time, I mentioned all of the ways you can use your time for parish ministries as well as charitable work in our broader communities. Our talents go hand in hand with our time here. Devoting our time to ministries or charities that do not benefit from or do not feed or make use of our talents would not make us good stewards of either. Therefore, we must discern where and how we use our talents in a way that contributes to the overall holiness of the Body. While you explore the various organizations represented at the upcoming “Beyond the Parish Expo” in November, pay careful attention to ways your particular and unique talents could be utilized to benefit the needy members of the Body of Christ.

Another quality of a good steward of talents is that he or she uses them out in the secular world for the common good of all. You should utilize your talents within your families, at school, in the workplace, and other places where your gifts can make a positive impact on others. Of course, it is always good to bring attention to the fact you’re Christian and you love Jesus. At times when it may be less prudent to do so in the secular world, you can still be a light of Christ to the world by being a good steward of your talents. When the Holy Spirit is doing His work through you, it shows!

The final quality of being a good steward of one’s talents is cultivating the virtue of humility. If you have a particular talent and you are using it as you should and are doing well at allowing the Holy Spirit to work through you, it is highly likely that you will receive a certain amount of praise. After all, when God does something and we let Him do it, it’s going to be done well. While praise feels great to receive and encourages us on our journey of intentional discipleship, we must always remember from where our talents come. When you are complimented, be sure to give thanks and praise where it is due and that it is to the Almighty God. When we remember that we are just simple vessels through which His work flows, it gives Him glory.

Next week, we’ll discuss the third pillar of Christian Stewardship which is Treasure.