Do everything for the glory of God & to further the Kingdom of the King.
Every good & perfect gift comes from above from the Father, who does not change like the shifting shadows (James 1:17). Everything from our spiritual gifts to talents, skills to knowledge, money to resources—comes from the Lord. God doesn't create bad or evil things. Everything God made "was good"(Genesis). The way mankind decides to wield & use God's creation is where evil comes from. We fail to consider how this applies to the talents that we are born with but believe it or not, God doesn't give us gifts & talents to become rich & famous. God is the potter; we are the clay. We are His poeima, His masterpieces. Humanity has a sick & twisted nature of taking credit where no credit is due. How can the clay take credit for its own beauty & artistry?
To whom much is given, much will be required (Luke 12:48). The parable of the talents in Matthew 24-25 is an example of two stewards who're praised for putting their talent to good use, multiplying them in return. To the wise steward, God says, well done, you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much (Matthew 25:23). The foolish steward who hid his talent like buried treasure was punished & scorned.
One of the things my parents prioritized was the development of any God-given talent they saw within me; they invested in it so that I could grow up & use it in various ways. The first talent my parents saw in me was singing. I started singing at church at a young age & was the youngest child in the church's Christmas musicals for a while. Every year after that, until I was a teenager, I auditioned for every solo & was always asked to sing at church events. I loved it; it was one of the ways I connected to God & it's how I began to understand the gospel's message. Unfortunately, I stopped nurturing my talent & I regret it immensely (I was 11 in this video). The good news is I still see God turn my mistakes into new mercies every day. If we are given talent, the best thing we can ever do with it is to invest it into the Kingdom of the King. It is the only investment that will ever return anything remotely profitable.
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