(ThyBlackMan.com) If I may quote the title of a popular reality-style game show: “America’s got talent.” Although this may initially foster a sense of pride and optimism amongst the hopefuls – those who are waiting for their breakthrough into the public eye – it is not meant to be.
Starting with the 14th verse of the 25th book of the gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells a parable about “talent” and how its use will dictate what each of us does in the afterlife of new heaven and new earth. Although all of us are made in the image of God, each of us has been uniquely crafted with a common goal of ushering in the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. We who believe call our uniqueness in life our “divine purpose” – heavily ascribed and influenced by Rick Warren’s Purpose Driven Life.
We who have been divined purposely are also said to possess attributes that assist us in achieving said purpose which we call our God-given talents and/or gifts. These gifts designate a vested interest that God has in us as He has loaned a portion of Himself to us with an expected return. As such, it would seem (super)natural that if we are given said gifts by God, we should work to maintain them in such a way that we can give them back to Him with a decent return on His investment, no?
But as it would seem, in typical fashion, we’d rather sow our seeded talent into the seedy allowances of the world. We’d rather produce vainglory and put faith in visible riches that will surely fade away over investing in what is unseen yet more permanent in God’s as yet invisible realm.
~
Childish Allowances
Seeded talents should
not be sown in the earth’s seedy
allowances.~
If I am honest with myself, I can admit that although I’ve always known that the talent I have for poetry was something granted to me by God, I have plenty of prose that is self-serving and gratifies my flesh more so than my spirit. That being said, I can both relate to and be convicted by what Jesus had to say when He metaphorically addressed talents and their relationship to the Kingdom of God.
It would make sense that being the Word of God made flesh, Jesus was not without irony and wordplay when He spoke. Case in point, in Matthew 25:14-30, He speaks on a certain man who gave a portion of his riches to three of his servants before going on an extended journey. The money that he gave them was in the form of coins which were weighed out according to an ancient unit of measure known as a “talent.”
The story as it is told is a familiar one: two servants who are given two and five talents double them to four and ten, respectively; thus bringing a return to their master of double portion. To them it is told “Well done good and faithful servant! You have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many!” They are then allowed to “enter into the joy of their lord.” (verses 21 and 23).
However, the third servant is scorned for returning the talent to his lord as it was portioned to him with no further yield. This servant who is called “wicked and slothful,” has his talent given to the servant with ten talents and is thrown out of his lord’s presence; cast into “outer darkness… where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth” (verses 26 and 30). While we do not know how the other two servants managed to double their investments, we are told specifically what the third servant did with his single talent: he put it “in the earth” (verse 25).
Did you catch that, America? He put it IN THE EARTH.
~
Underground Talent
America’s got
Unbalanced talent that’s been
Buried underground.~
How many of the entertainers that we admire for their skills and philanthropy have placed their talents in the world as we applaud them?!! Actors who commit themselves to scripts of debauchery and immorality (which sometimes bleeds over into their real lives) over scriptural righteousness. Comedians who curse to prove a point that they have nothing to say. Musicians who embrace spiritualism, beliefs in carnal knowledge and misplaced pride instead of humbly committing themselves to a relationship to God.
Or even worse – those that have a sense of Who God is and thank Him at ceremonies where they’re recognized for the misuse of their talent? What about rappers who come from and often return to the “underground” where their off-record fan bases swell and amass misplaced allegiance to the talent they possess?
What’s worse is that in an attempt to emulate such “success,” too many of our youth are set to repeat the same pattern of putting their talent into the earth/world.
The results from such a lack of return has already been made clear. The question becomes the following: “What becomes of an entire nation of people that have buried their talent when the Lord returns to collect what is rightfully His?” The answer will determine what we will do for the rest of eternity. The answer begins with what we do with our talent(s) today. Weigh in.
Staff Writer; Reggie Legend
One may visit him online; InkWellSpoken.
This Godly man can be contacted at; ReggieL@ThyBlackMan.com.
