We all know the story. The master goes on a journey and calls for three of his servants. To one he gives five talents, to another he gives two talents and the last servant he gives one talent. Upon his return the first two servants have doubled their talents and the master is pleased. The servant with one talent buries it and returns the one talent back to the master. The master's response? "You wicked, lazy servant... Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten talents." I know the talents here were probably monetary or property but let's apply this to artistic ability God has given us. Uh oh, now it's going to get personal.
I think one of the lessons we sometimes over look here is very pertinent for artists. We easily see how we need to use the talents God has given us. But we miss the statement "You have been faithful in a few things; I will put you in charge of many things." We want to skip the few and get to the many. We want our service to be on our terms. We know what is best and if it doesn't happen that way, we tend to blame someone else. "They aren't letting me use the God given talent I have." Let's get a little more practical here. If you want to be a soloist, sing in the choir first. If you want a big acting part, be willing to take a small part or work behind the scenes. This is a hard lesson for me personally. I would love to see Distinctive Notes take off and grow into something more but I have to learn first to continue to be faithful with where it is now. I have seen it happen in the ministry God has blessed me with at Christ Community. We started fairly small with a small choir and not much else. We now have a Creative Arts Ministry that seems to expand a little more each year. Like in the story of the tortoise and the hare... slow and steady wins the race. God rewards us when we are faithful in the small things. The lesson here is faithfulness. Are you being faithful with what God has entrusted to you?
SCRIPTURE READING
Matthew 25:14-30, Luke 19:12-27
BOTTOM LINE
Being faithful with our talents means letting God use them HIS way, not us using them OUR way.