Talent Anxiety—Two2Grow, Wednesday, October 28
Talent Anxiety—Two2Grow, Wednesday, October 28
“Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you.” Matthew 20:14 NIV
By Emelie Stenhammar, MD
When I was younger, I used to worry quite a bit about the parable of the talents. You know, the one in Matthew 25:14–30, where, before the master leaves the country for a while, He gives His servants some money (talents) and then expects them to have invested it wisely and gained some more money by the time He returns. I worried that I wasn’t using whatever gifts God had given me well enough. Or that God had given me gifts that I wasn’t even aware of but that He still expected me to serve Him with. I worried that I wasn’t producing enough for the kingdom of God. I even had a name for it: “talent anxiety.”
Sometimes we can find ourselves in a situation in life where we really want to serve Jesus but don’t know how. We want to be useful for God’s kingdom, but we don’t know what we can contribute. We might pray to be used by the Lord but still worry about the lack of fruit we see in our lives.
I have found the remedy for this talent anxiety in another parable: the one about the day laborers in Matthew 20:1–16. In this story, there are a bunch of people who need to find work for the day. All of them are in the right place to be hired. All of them are ready and willing. Some get hired early and are able to get a lot done for their employer. Others stand there for hours, prepared, ready, and waiting. Then, late in the afternoon, they get hired, which means they are only able to work for a little while before the sun sets and the day is over. At the end of the day, though, they all receive the same salary.
What I learned from this is that God doesn’t only reward hard work—He rewards everyone who is willing and ready to work hard for Him. It is not always about what we do but about what we are willing to do.
So, don’t be discouraged when you look at your life and think that you are not doing much for God’s kingdom. Instead, make sure you are in the right place and that you are ready and willing to do whatever God calls you to do, whenever He calls you to do it.
Jesus, I want to serve You with my life. Help me to remain in the right place and be ready so that I can do whatever You ask me to do when You call me.
By Emelie Stenhammar, MD
When I was younger, I used to worry quite a bit about the parable of the talents. You know, the one in Matthew 25:14–30, where, before the master leaves the country for a while, He gives His servants some money (talents) and then expects them to have invested it wisely and gained some more money by the time He returns. I worried that I wasn’t using whatever gifts God had given me well enough. Or that God had given me gifts that I wasn’t even aware of but that He still expected me to serve Him with. I worried that I wasn’t producing enough for the kingdom of God. I even had a name for it: “talent anxiety.”
Sometimes we can find ourselves in a situation in life where we really want to serve Jesus but don’t know how. We want to be useful for God’s kingdom, but we don’t know what we can contribute. We might pray to be used by the Lord but still worry about the lack of fruit we see in our lives.
I have found the remedy for this talent anxiety in another parable: the one about the day laborers in Matthew 20:1–16. In this story, there are a bunch of people who need to find work for the day. All of them are in the right place to be hired. All of them are ready and willing. Some get hired early and are able to get a lot done for their employer. Others stand there for hours, prepared, ready, and waiting. Then, late in the afternoon, they get hired, which means they are only able to work for a little while before the sun sets and the day is over. At the end of the day, though, they all receive the same salary.
What I learned from this is that God doesn’t only reward hard work—He rewards everyone who is willing and ready to work hard for Him. It is not always about what we do but about what we are willing to do.
So, don’t be discouraged when you look at your life and think that you are not doing much for God’s kingdom. Instead, make sure you are in the right place and that you are ready and willing to do whatever God calls you to do, whenever He calls you to do it.
Jesus, I want to serve You with my life. Help me to remain in the right place and be ready so that I can do whatever You ask me to do when You call me.