Talents

I look around at the culture and I wonder how it is we got here. All of a sudden it is not so important that we work hard, using and developing our talents. It goes back to the diamond miner/polisher discussion from a few weeks ago. There was a time that parents worked to make sure that their kids had a better life than they did. Did you notice how I said better, not easier, we'll get back to that. It seems that parents are no longer interested in mining the talents of their children, nor polishing the talents of their spouses for that matter. Somewhere along the line we've lost that. As a parent we are blessed with children, just as the people in the story were given talents. God also gives us our own talents, and hopefully with the help of good parents we have unearthed them.

So here is the issues I have:
1. we seemed to have forgotten that working hard and giving our best is how we find favor with God. Not to mention there is nothing sweeter than enjoying the rewards of your labor. We have gotten lazy and it is no longer considered honorable to do an honest day's work but rather it is considered better to do as little as possible. A better life is not necessarily an easier life, with abundance comes added responsibilities. Nothing worth having comes easily, good rule of thumb by the way.

2. We are no longer interested in developing talent, but marketable skills. When did it become more important to make money than to do something you love. As we mine for those diamonds in our children what is our motivation?

3. There is no real talent development once you get to a certain age, unless you are rich. For the rest of us, we have given up on the dream and keep chasing that all mighty dollar. What will you say to the Lord when He asks what you have done with the talent He has given?

I guess I am so sick of talking to people who would rather coast through life than give it a try. Frankly I don't get that, it's like they think if they stand in the same spot long enough no one will notice or bother them. A good theory but with one fatal flaw, life is passing them by at the very same time. So are you daring to dream, working towards those dreams and developing those talents or have you gotten stuck or too busy to notice?

If you have gotten caught up and off track, do you remember what those dreams were? Do you remember how great it felt to do the things you loved doing that came so naturally?

If you are living the dream do you have any words of advice to help others get back on course? What helped keep you focused? Are you helping to you spouse develop their talents too?

Just remember, "For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away." (Matthew 25: 29)