Stewarding Your Talents
Part 1
The enemy loves to take what we’re good at and get us in trouble with it. Our sinful nature loves to oblige him. Together they tempt compassionate, well-spoken women straight into “pastors’” positions and entice artistically-inclined women down the rabbit hole of wokeism.
We see and acknowledge our gifts and turn them into idols. We’re inclined to certain sins that just so happen to work in tandem with our talents. The naturally neat and tidy mother becomes a neurotic clean freak who snaps at any child who dares drop a crumb on the floor. The naturally creative mother dives into her projects to the neglect of her home, making it inhospitable both to visitors and to her own family.
Certain skills give way to false humility or conceit. The woman bringing the from-scratch pie to the potluck looks down on the store-bought cookies and at the same time says to the lady who complimented the pie, “Oh, I barely had any time. It’s usually much better than that.”
The natural man, that sinful creature we’re meant to strive to put to death every day, whispers to you about fabulous ideas, saying, “Look what you could do for God’s Kingdom,” when really what he’s showing you is something you want for yourself. These grand ideas, hidden right below the surface of a well-meaning heart, with their unchecked motives will lead you to use your gifts inappropriately, foolishly, or even sinfully.
Sometimes you catch onto the tricks of the devil and the bad intentions of your sinful self quickly enough to learn the easy way from your mistakes. Other times you crash and burn. Either way, you feel it. You begin to examine yourself, and your sinful nature can take over then, too, building up walls and preventing you from doing anything, burying your talents in the ground. The Accuser will come along and tell you you’re not good at anything and you’re stupid for ever thinking you were.
Remember that Satan is the father of lies and will do everything in his power to corrupt what is good. That includes the good gifts God has given you. “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you,” James 4:7-8.
As we consider our talents, let’s consider where we got them. They’re called “gifts” for a reason; we didn’t do anything to deserve them. God gave them to us because it pleased Him, and He means us to glorify Him with them. Consider the rich young ruler in Luke 18. This ruler was sad at the prospect of giving up his possessions to follow Jesus, and Jesus warned his disciples that it was exceedingly difficult for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. Count your talents among your riches and remember that we neither make ourselves nor even direct our own steps (Proverbs 16:9).
We see and acknowledge our gifts and turn them into idols. We’re inclined to certain sins that just so happen to work in tandem with our talents. The naturally neat and tidy mother becomes a neurotic clean freak who snaps at any child who dares drop a crumb on the floor. The naturally creative mother dives into her projects to the neglect of her home, making it inhospitable both to visitors and to her own family.
Certain skills give way to false humility or conceit. The woman bringing the from-scratch pie to the potluck looks down on the store-bought cookies and at the same time says to the lady who complimented the pie, “Oh, I barely had any time. It’s usually much better than that.”
The natural man, that sinful creature we’re meant to strive to put to death every day, whispers to you about fabulous ideas, saying, “Look what you could do for God’s Kingdom,” when really what he’s showing you is something you want for yourself. These grand ideas, hidden right below the surface of a well-meaning heart, with their unchecked motives will lead you to use your gifts inappropriately, foolishly, or even sinfully.
Sometimes you catch onto the tricks of the devil and the bad intentions of your sinful self quickly enough to learn the easy way from your mistakes. Other times you crash and burn. Either way, you feel it. You begin to examine yourself, and your sinful nature can take over then, too, building up walls and preventing you from doing anything, burying your talents in the ground. The Accuser will come along and tell you you’re not good at anything and you’re stupid for ever thinking you were.
Remember that Satan is the father of lies and will do everything in his power to corrupt what is good. That includes the good gifts God has given you. “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you,” James 4:7-8.
As we consider our talents, let’s consider where we got them. They’re called “gifts” for a reason; we didn’t do anything to deserve them. God gave them to us because it pleased Him, and He means us to glorify Him with them. Consider the rich young ruler in Luke 18. This ruler was sad at the prospect of giving up his possessions to follow Jesus, and Jesus warned his disciples that it was exceedingly difficult for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. Count your talents among your riches and remember that we neither make ourselves nor even direct our own steps (Proverbs 16:9).