Think back to my 8th grade dance class. Do you remember me explaining what good dancers they were and how good they were as a group? Do you remember me saying how they acknowledged how good they were when they saw themselves on video? And do you remember me detailing how they refused to showcase their good dancing as part of our school's Christmas program this year? I remember days in class when we were preparing for the program that they would give me EXTREMELY poor performance, little to no effort, just so we could move past that portion of the class and on to something else. They refused to use their skill because they were more concerned about themselves and their feelings and their fear of embarrassment. They didn't care anything about contributing to the success of the program or the enjoyment of those who would watch. They forgot their whole purpose for being a part of the dance class and their reason for learning all that they had learned. Their purpose was to perform, but they sat down on it.
Now think back to the man with 5 talents, the man with 2 talents, and the man with 1 talent. The man with 5 talents and the man with 2 talents took what they had and invested it in others. They didn't sit on their gifts. Their Master gave them tools to dig into the lives of others and then He left them for a time to let them do their work. When He returned, He expected to see many lives affected by the men's work, and He did! He was well pleased! He told them both,"Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things."
The man with the 1 talent was given the same expectation: to use his tool to dig into the lives of others. He did no work. When the Master returned, He was not pleased. He said to the man, "You wicked, lazy servant!" He went on further to say, "Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents."
This is what God does with us. He creates us and He gives us purpose, and when we give our lives to Him, He shows us exactly what that purpose is. He gives us talents (tools) and assigns us to a specific work where we are to dig into the lives of specific people. He gives some of us 6 talents, some 4, some 3 or however many He sees fit, according to our ability. And while we're here, as long as we have life, He expects us to work. He doesn't expect us to sit idle with our tools in our hands. When He returns, and He WILL return, He's going to ask us, just as He did the men from the parable, what we did with our tools and our time. That's His main concern. He gave us tools and He gave us time. What work did we do with our tools to dig into the lives of others?
Will He be pleased when He returns to ask you what you've done with your tools and your time?
Maybe you didn't understand that you were here for purpose. Maybe you didn't know that your gifts were tools or that you were even supposed to be using your gifts to dig into the lives of other people. You can get to work now. It's not too late!
And maybe you did know that you are here for purpose, but you haven't been doing much "digging". Your performance has been poor. You haven't been working up to your full potential. You've been sitting on your gift(s)...your talent(s)...your tool(s), and like the man with 1 talent, you KNOW what the Master expects of you upon His return, but you still don't work. I urge you to get to work! You don't want to hear "lazy and wicked servant" from the Master. And you don't want Him to take the tool(s) He gave you and give it/them to someone else who He knows will put it/them to work. Or even worse...
The scriptures actually go on to say that the Master said of the man, "And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Don't let this be you. Nurture your gifts and become disciplined and intentional in using them to "dig into" the lives of others. This is how we build God's kingdom; you're expected to play a part in it. There are people waiting to hear about who God is and how they can know Him through a relationship with Jesus Christ, and YOU are expected to use YOUR tools to reach them. There are people your tools will reach that mine never will, and vice versa. Don't cause people to miss out on an opportunity to know God because you're sleeping on the job.
Complete the Assignment
Take a look at your list from yesterday's assignment. You're going to look at each of your natural gifts (tools), and beside each one, you're going to tell how you can use it (work) to dig into the lives of other people to teach them about who God is and how they can know him through a relationship with Jesus Christ. You can write down what you're already doing if you're already doing something, but I want to challenge you to think of another way you can use that tool.
Iantha's Example
God was VERY strategic in giving me tools that I could use all together in one place. Because He knew before He even formed me in my mother's womb that He was going to create me to be the director of Praise Movement School of Dance, he gave me EVERYTHING I needed to do whatever He wanted done through the ministry. He wanted me to dig into the lives of girls and teach them how to know Him through a relationship with Jesus Christ, and I LITERALLY use EVERY tool He's placed in me to do that.
dancing - I dance to songs that teach people about the love of God through Jesus Christ. I create a visual representation of the song so viewers can see the message. Many times, it has a more lasting impression than merely hearing the words of the song.
choreography - I create pieces that teach people about the love of God through Jesus Christ. The pieces are visual representations that allow viewers to see the message in the song.
singing - Ha! I sing to teach. I can make my Praise Movement dancers and my students from school remember ANYTHING by creating a song to help them. They remember scripture this way; they remember choreography this way; they remember anything I want them to remember this way.
writing - I write to teach. This blog is an example of me getting a direct command from the Lord because He wanted me to say something. Even if only one person reads it, I know that person is getting what s/he needs because the Lord told me to do it. He gives me the ability to write clearly and break His word down so people can understand. I also write lessons for the dancers when we are studying to minister a song.
budgeting and planning - Our summer dance camp and fall dance tour are our biggest annual ministry tools. We serve hundreds of girls each year between the two. The planning that goes into each is REAL, but because this is a tool that the Lord gave me, it gets done with joyful ease. The same with budgeting for each. I'm a money manager because that's a tool He gave me. I make sure every minute is planned for purposeful instruction and that every dime is being used toward that instruction. I use planning and budgeting to make sure girls everywhere can know who God is through a relationship with Jesus Christ.
We Develop Laziness (Slothfulness)
No comments:
Post a Comment