September 20, 2011
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RWOTD {Wasting}
It is always amazing to me how God uses repetition to get through to me.
Like He knows that if I hear something just once…it won’t sink in. But if I hear it three or four times and less than that many weeks, I will start to connect the dots.
Yeah, I guess I tend to be a little slow like that.
Rewind about two or three weeks, and our Sunday School discussion at church was about the parable of talents. (It is found in Matthew 25:14-30 and Luke 19:12-27).
In case you are not familiar with that parable, it is where the Master gives three different servants some talents. One has 10, one has 5, and one has only 1. The first two guys both make good use of and doubled their talents. The last guy who has only 1 talent hides it in the earth and does nothing with it because he was afraid of the Master.
We talked about how, practically speaking, it is NOT about how much or little we have in the way of talents, it is about our being willing to use them and about our attitude towards the Master. (One of respect, awe and love, not of fear) We are not to waste what God has given us, no matter how insignificant we think it is. EVERYONE is good at something.
Then Jeremy preached that morning about how when we REALLY believe something (for instance, saying we believe in Jesus and that we are a Christ-follower), it WILL make a difference in our actions and people will be able to tell that we are serious about what we believe. Belief is followed by action!!!
Fast forward to this past Thursday evening at our “Element” group Bible study. The discussion was out of Mark Chapter 6 and it was in regards to the story of the feeding of the 5,000. Where Jesus miraculously turned 2 loaves and 5 fish into enough food to feed a crowd of 5,000 men plus women and children!!
Now, that doesn’t seem very related, but wait…
it was!!
The challenge issued to us, which I am passing along to you, is to use our “little” to fill a need this coming week. We had to all go around and say something we are good at (have you ever tried this? It feels really vulnerable for some reason) and the others in the group gave us ideas of how we could use that particular talent instead of making excuses or thinking that it wasn’t worth much or thinking someone could do it better. Instead of wasting what we have, we are to look for opportunities to use our talents to meet a need…no excuses!
How about you? What are you good at?
Are you wasting what God has given you because you think someone else can do it better?
Or are you using the talents that you have for His kingdom?
This whole subject has really got me thinking:
What am I good at? and am I using these talents for His glory?
(By the way, the thing I said I was good at?? Typing. And one other one I can think of is Hospitality.)
PS – Coming up later this week. I am taking on a photo challenge (presented by my friend Christy) tomorrow to take a picture of my day every 1/2 hour. You will learn WAY more about me and my life than you ever wanted to know! Ha, ha.
Comments (15)
This IS kinda hard. I was hoping that other people would have commented already . . . ha. Is it cheating to say that I’m good at reading? ?
this reminds me of being in a beth moore study where we were to say to our neighbor, “God loves me.” and we all liked changed it, saying, “God loves you.” i’d rather just tell you what YOU are good at. cuz i do know.
and really. like you said. there is something so.very.vulnerable. about this. i am aware of how i view myself. and how it feels like what i have to offer is nobigdeal. which means that all that talking i do about not wanting to measure and judge…is still something that i am doing with and to myself.
great thoughts! i’ll be back.
Hospitality? Ok, we’ll be right over. ;)
I don’t think I’m doing as much as I can be for others. I keep blaming busy on my Dis-organization. =/
I’ll get to it! Thanks for the boost Audrey.
Happy Tuesday to you.
@bethro78 - beth! i seriously was thinking about putting that! i was an amazing speed reader as a kid with a very high comprehension and retention of info. now i just read too fast and don’t remember a thing. this isn’t my blog. duh. but i want to know what ELSE you’d say…
i know beth to be compassionate. oh and Passionate. that. and your sense of humor just kills me. love it.
I’m looking forward to the every half hour picture post coming up. I’m just nosy, I mean, curious enough to enjoy that kind of thing. haha.
Seriously??? Is everyone too modest and shy to say something they are good at? C’mon People!!
Ok, I’m good at talking….but sometimes I think I talk too much. Or wasn’t I supposed to add that? And I think I have the gift of teaching and hospitality, too. You can stop in and see.;) But please wait till I get my dirty house cleaned.
Good thoughts. Neat list of imperfect people and how God used even the ones we’d have crossed, off for his glory!
I don’t have time to read it all, but that picture really gets me! Wow. God can use anyone.
Such modesty! And I just kind of wanted to peek in here and see what everyone else was good at and duck back out. But then you might see my footprints and wonder why I didn’t say a word when you always so kindly comment me. (even when I write about exciting things like canning) But hardly a one answered your question.
I dunno. I’m good at baking cookies. And I hope I’m good at welcoming people that come to visit our church. And I can clean toilets very, very well.
i said that i’d be back…so here i am.
this was a great idea audrey. so where IS everybody?! 
i know what makes this hard for me…whatever i think of, like say my sense of adventure and spontaneity, i realize that there are at least 5 people in my life that could testify to the contrary. and how the very things i am good at seem to bite me and/or others in the butt. i don’t say that to be all blushing and shyly demure, providing a subtle cue for you to pat my head. nono. just aware. i think. maybe.
of how i trip. and not sure how i want to splatter publicly. does that mean i’m good at pride? 
so…besides the aforementioned. i am good at providing opportunities for my kids to connect with history. there’s that.
@quiet_hearts - cookies, huh? works for me!!! as does a warm welcome at a church. i know that you are good at encouragement too. and posts that make me feel like we could hang out.
Man, everyone got all modest, now didn’t they? I can relate to Cindy’s paragraph a lot (about feeling like there are always people who would testify to the contrary). It kind of feels like some people allow you to be a certain kind of person and other places you feel expected to be a different way so you change to meet the need …. not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing, but I think it’s kind of true with me. Anyhow, what I am good at? I am good at organizing events. I love working out all the little details. Although my skills have kind of declined since I have children and now sometimes I come across scatterbrained. I am kind of good at writing; but it’s something I should develop more, I think. Oh, and I’m pretty good at painting. Walls, not artistic stuff.
I’d like to visit Lucy’s house. Someone who is good at cookies and good at keeping clean toilets is my kind of girl. ;)
well, i’m pretty good at spending money..
yeah. i think it’s hard to say publicly what you think you’re good at..
though at the moment, and after the day {s} i’ve had, all the great things about myself just aren’t spilling to the top of my mind.
good post. great thoughts.. like always.
and i’ve heard that quote in the picture – but wow! such a reminder.
lazarus was dead, eh? well.. there’s hope for me!!
@down_onthefarm - Yes! You nailed it. I could write that I’m good at being meeting new people, but then you’d find the group of people that scared me so badly that I couldn’t think of a thing to say to them and came across as snobbish. Or I could say that I’m good at working with kids and then my own 6 could tell you that I’d way rather read than craft with them.
And thank you, Cindy. One of your strongest gifts is finding the right words for the right person at the right time.
@smilesbymiles - I will bake lots of cookies for you. Dozens of them. What I need is someone who is good at painting walls. Someone with a vision of the end product. Someone who organizes and makes decisions and knows what looks right. Would that be a deal?
@grace_to_be - You are good at photography. And writing. And you are insightful. These are things I know, even though I don’t know you. And I notice that you are saying ‘eh’, which is really cool.
@quiet_hearts - That would be SUCH a good deal for me!