Use your talents or lose them! - Chapter 3
In my first article “Roadmap to Eternity” I covered the parable of the talents. I showed that Jesus actually taught that those people he has called were expected to multiply the talents they had been given by God. Two did actually multiply their talents and were given big rewards for doing so. The other didn’t, and had what he had been given taken away from him, and was cast out to a not very nice place.
God places great significance on numbers. Twelve tribes, twelve apostles etc. The number seven for completeness, seven days, seven church eras, seven times seven for the Jubilee year, seventy times seven for forgiveness etc. There are a great many. Including the 19-year time period. (I intend to cover a more detailed look at numbers in a future article.)
As such I always pay extra attention when a specific number is mentioned. Could one out of three mean that a full one third of those that were called didn’t make it in to the Kingdom? They missed a thousand years with Jesus, ruling as kings and priests. What a time to miss! Are you safely in the two thirds group that is now busy multiplying your talents? Can you confidently stand before Jesus and hold your head up knowing you actually did the very best you could?
In my second article “By Their Fruits” I covered the multitude of differing opportunities I had to utilise my talents. I tried to show that we all have the potential to go to bed at night knowing we had achieved something significant since we awoke that morning. We had made something, repaired something, helped someone. To actually have made a difference.
Matthew 5:16
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Did your light shine today?
It’s about time I offered some practical guidance, rather than writing just academically. If you know someone that needs a push to multiply their talents, then hopefully I can offer some lessons to pass on.
I had a close friend that I spent many hours with each month. For 25 years we produced the local church monthly news magazine together and I also travelled round with him to various congregations when he spoke in other church areas.
I consider that my friend can be accident prone. If it can happen to someone, it usually happens to him! One day I discussed this observation with him. Whether it is a valid view of the pickles he seems to get himself into or not, I don’t know. But pickles do seem to follow him closely.
On one foreign trip he visited Dubai. He wanted to take a look at the Burj Al Arab building. This is the iconic hotel that looks like an enormous sail. This he did.
He went up in the lift and wandered around unaccompanied. After some time, he discovered one of the hotels residential rooms was unlocked and the door was open. So being adventurous and bold, he stepped in. He then decided to step out on to the balcony to admire the view. And what a view it was! He stayed looking for some time. Then when he turned around to go back in to the room, guess what? The patio door had closed behind him and he was trapped!
So, after many hours out there he finally managed to attract the attention of a staff member, and he got rescued. It wouldn’t have happened to me because I wouldn’t have been brave enough to go in to the room in the first place. I would still be in the lobby.
Another thing he did that I am sure I am too smart to do: On one of his speaking trips to another church (I wasn’t with him, I might add), he closed his tailgate door and realised that his ignition keys were in his jacket pocket. Inside the trunk. What to do? Well, after some considering of options, he did it his way and broke a quarter light window and pulled his jacket through the hole. A solution, but a costly one.
On another occasion he drove off with his satnav on the roof of his car and needed to buy a new one.
These three examples may be just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the unfortunate things that seem to befall him regularly. So, I told him of my observation regarding these incidents and asked him how he copes with them.
His answer I have integrated in to my daily lifestyle. I hadn’t ever considered it before, as such.
FIND A SOLUTION AND TAKE ACTION AS SPEEDILY AS POSSIBLE.
The reason I have found this so useful (and you will too), is that you don’t have time to dwell on the misfortune that has overtaken you. You fix it quickly. You then get back to your life on an even keel. Perhaps poorer in time or money. Perhaps you even have to change direction or the people you associate with. But whatever needs to be done. DO IT NOW. Then move on.
My life has been really enhanced by that one helpful action my friend takes on a regular basis as calamities befall him!
Perhaps you wondered about the title of this piece. “Plan For The Unexpected”. It’s probably an oxymoron (definition - a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction). How does one plan for the unexpected?
My answer would be to integrate my friend’s advice in to your life too. Be ready with a solution for whatever may happen to you. Be like a prepper. Know that nasty things CAN and WILL HAPPEN. Then know what you are going to do WHEN it happens. If it doesn’t happen, then you are blessed. But, if the worse does happen then you can cope because you have thought about it and are as prepared as you can be. It will make the event less traumatic. In planning, just think of the worse thing that would happen if a situation turns out bad. Then figure out just what you will do, then, if that happens. You are then ready if things turn bad, but hopefully not as bad as your worst case scenario.
When I was around 11 or so I had a friend called Roderick. He lived in the housing estate behind my house. My house was on the main road which was a bus route.
He had a younger sister called Tina. She was a lovely girl. One day she had been to town to skate. When she returned on the bus, she ran across the road without looking properly, right outside my house. She was killed.
Probably the worse thing that can happen to anyone is to lose a child. I would be completely devastated if one of my cats was run over. But losing a child must be a thousand times worse. The tragedy was compounded because her mother couldn’t cope with the loss. One day, shortly after, she turned on the gas oven without lighting it and put her head inside. That was her solution to the loss.
Although that is one of the most extreme things that can happen, planning how you would cope with the worst happening can alleviate some of the pain and help stop anything worse happening by being unprepared.
I’m going to leave you with just this one thought, this time. Back again soon with some more things that other people have taught me. Things which help me cope with life and be productive. Being unprepared steals your time when you don't have a solution and then spend time worrying about how you will get out of your "pickle" situation.
BE READY - BE PREPARED - PLAN FOR THE UNEXPECTED!
You can find out another valuable lesson that I learnt from a friend in "Getting Your Ducks In A Row".
