Talent and Exercise

Matthew 25:21
“His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”

In another Creation Moment, I described the natural ability of a sportsman like David Beckham and how his work could be defined by math. When we consider great sportsmen, we consider the link between talent and what they have done with that talent.

A great soccer player like Beckham, for example, has a God-given talent, whether or not they acknowledge this. I have the ability to describe the bending free kick by math, but I could not actually kick the ball this way even if I practiced for hours every day. God has given me one talent, and Beckham another.

In any sport, however, we occasionally come across players where we think that their talent has been wasted. I can think of one British soccer player of the past who showed early promise but who developed an unfortunate and public addiction to alcohol.

The relationship between talent and the work done to develop that talent is a biblical concept. In the parable of the talents, the man who started with two talents and who brought back four was commended as highly as the man with five talents who brought back ten. Both men had started with talents, which they did not earn, but were given to them, but both men developed those talents further. It was the man who simply buried his talent who was condemned.

Both the abilities that God has given us and our exercise and development of them are important factors in our lives and in our witness.

Thank You, Lord, for the talents that You have given me. I pray that You will help me develop my talents and not bury them so that You can use me more effectively for the furtherance of Your kingdom. Amen.

Author: Paul F. Taylor

Ref: Spurgeon’s sermon on the Parable of the Talents, , accessed 8/30/017. Image: Adobe Stock Images, licensed to author.