Don't Waste Your God-given Gifts

By: Sarah Martin

I want to discuss the matter of God's gifts. Not our own gifts, but the gifts God has entrusted within us. When God created each one of us, He did so with a unique purpose in mind. He equips us with those gifts and tools so that we may use them to fulfill the assignments He has appointed us to and ultimately to fulfill His divine plan. God gives us gifts, but it’s up to us on how we use them. I find that a number of people out there don’t know the importance of knowing the gifts God has trusted them with. I don’t just mean having knowledge of what they are, but how to operate to their fullest potential in them. Unfortunately, because of this lack of knowledge it can cause one to sometimes use their gift(s) for selfish ambition or to not use them at all. The illustration of Eli’s sons and “The Parable of the Talents” actually reveals the severity in misusing the gifts God gives us and the responsibility that comes with them.

We can so easily take our God-given gifts for granted. 1 Samuel 2:12-26, talks about Eli’s wicked sons. Eli’s sons were priests and they had a call and responsibility from the Lord. Rather than using their position for God’s glory and to serve others, they fell into the trap of serving themselves and they took advantage of their place of authority, using it to their own benefit. Eventually, Eli’s sons died because of the sin they engaged in and the responsibility was handed over to Samuel.

Next, I want to take a look at “The Parable of the Talents” in Matthew 25:14-18. It says, “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one with two talents gained two more. But the man who had received one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money”. Later in verses 19-29, we see that the master returns and says two times, “Well done, good and faithful servant” to the servants with five talents and two talents, and then He increases what they already had been given. But to the servant to whom he only gave one talent, he said “You wicked, lazy servant”, and from him everything was taken away. As the master who entrusted his talents of money to his servants’ care, God also entrusts us with His gifts and if we bury those gifts like the unfaithful servant, God will give the responsibility and reward to someone else.

Now why is using the gifts God gives us and how we use them such a serious matter? As we have learned from the two stories, it’s because we will actually be judged on how we use them here on earth. Eli’s sons were judged and so they faced death and the wicked servant’s one talent was taken away, given to another and was separated from his master. Going back to “The Parable of the Talents”, it says in Matthew 25:19, “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them”. As we know, the servants with five and two talents of money were faithful in what they were given, but the servant with only one talent was not. Because the servant with one talent was unfaithful with what he was trusted with, the master said “Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’” (verses 28-30). Like the servants with the talents that had to give an account before their master, the Body of Christ will also have to give an account before our Lord for the things that we have been trusted with.

The reason why Eli’s sons and the unfaithful servant weren’t able to carry out the responsibility they were given was because they didn’t take that time to seek God. In 1 Samuel 2:12 it says, “Eli’s sons were wicked men; they had NO regard for the Lord”. In Matthew 25:24-25, the unfaithful servant said to his master, “I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you”. Because these men didn’t seek God, they didn’t truly know Him and neither did they have a relationship with Him and so they couldn’t operate in their God-given gifts to their fullest potential. In order to discover our God-given gifts and prevail in using them for God’s Kingdom, we must follow three primary steps: seeking God, getting to know Him and building a relationship with Him. When you make it your main priority to do these things, not only will you discover the gifts God has planted within you, these gifts will build, grow, flourish and unfold into something supernatural and amazing! I encourage you to take time to know your Creator and our Heavenly Father and to seek out those gifts planted within by seeking Him daily, because He has a powerful, wonderful, and divine plan for you!