Talents

I sometimes think that it is unfair at how God has distributed talents. Subconsciously I am upset at God and envious of multi-talented people. Some people have more than their share of talents and seemed to have won the talent lottery. These people are smart—they can read a book in a few hours, understand, and recall what they read. And if they had to, they could articulate and write about what they read in a very entertaining and engaging way.

These people are also very clever. They could look at problems and come up with ingenious solutions with what they have available. These people also seem to have an endless supply of wisdom and have a lot of knowledge about everything under and beyond the sun. These people are physically fit and attractive, are gourmet cooks, musically (vocally and instrumentally) inclined and seem to be able to do everything well. On top of that, they seem to do everything efficiently and with great ease. All I can say is, “That’s not fair!” because I have to work very hard at everything.

However, there is one thing that gives me great comfort. When I read I Corinthians 13, Paul levels the playing field. Paul tells me that if I had all the talent in the world, but if I don’t have the love of God that originates from Christ Jesus (compare Romans 5:5-8), then all the gifts in the world amounts to nothing.

This doesn’t totally take away my jealousy of others, but it does make me feel good about God because He is willing to give me freely what He’s made available to everyone else. In other words, I can have the very best thing in life and not have to work for it—that’s more than fair and that’s Great News!