Use Your Talents to Build God's Kingdom

Yesterday we went to Salzburg, the city where Amadeus Wolfgang Mozart was born and raised. It's also the city setting of the movie, Sound of Music. But I'm inclined to be more interested in Mozart and how this genius came to be. I was able to visit the house of his birth and the house where he grew up.

Mozart composed over 600 works. He composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty. After Mozart's death, his older sister "Nannerl" had this to say about her brother when Wolfgang was three years old:

He often spent much time at the clavier, picking out thirds, which he was always striking, and his pleasure showed that it sounded good. In the fourth year of his age his father, for a game as it were, began to teach him a few minuets and pieces at the clavier. He could play it faultlessly and with the greatest delicacy, and keeping exactly in time. At the age of five he was already composing little pieces, which he played to his father who wrote them down (wikipedia).

Mozart was a prodigy. Yet his talent could have only come from one greater than him...God. What talents do we have? What are we doing to nurture God's gifts of talents? We recall the parable of the talents. The others did well in multiplying the talents God entrusted to them, while the one who hid it had this to say:

'Master, I knew you were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter; so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground. Here it is back (Matthew 25:18).'

This is what the talent giver had to say at the end of his reply:

Now Then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten. For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away (Matthew 25:28-29)

These are some of my realizations: We have to acknowledge God's gifts through our interests. God planted in us a feeling of bias towards particular interests. Not everyone is interested in the same things. Then, we cultivate and grow our interests so it may bless others and help in building God's kingdom on earth. Many are blessed with amazing talents but use it only to enrich themselves without thought for others. Even worse, some use it out of greed, corruption, and exploitation. If we hide our talents, (in the context that it is not used for the good of God's kingdom) we are preventing God's blessings upon us. Hiding our talents from God's intended purpose will cause us to live a life that is deprived of His goodness. Think of those who use their intellect and administrative talents to make themselves rich. At first their conscience will haunt them. Then they are able to train and tame their consciences. Then corruption becomes their lifestyle, until all these lies and deceit will turn against itself and bring them to peril. Then everything will be taken away from them, including their souls.

Mozart is considered as one of the world's greatest musicians who ever lived. But as Christians, we only seek to be great in God's eyes. Let us use our talents for His service and strive to grow them so others may be blessed and God's kingdom expanded.

Too Blessed To Be Stressed!

We are amidst preparations for the CFC Europe Conference. It's 2 days to go. Everyone's busy, many feel the pressure, and some are stressed. I gave a recollection last night and it basically focused on the blessings we have while serving God in a Christian community. It has the acronyms of B.L.E.S.S.

Through community, God blesses us with...

B - Brothers and Sisters who love us
L - Leaders who guide us
E - Events that nourish us
S - Spirit that anoints us
S - Service that empowers us

Realizing all these blessings, all the hard work in our preparations is all worth it. One can declare that, "I'm too blessed to be stressed!" I believe this is a good reminder for us whenever we feel much pressure in school, at work, or in our service to God. Noting above of the things that bless us, we also reflect on its opposite. These are things that stress us...

A lack of love in our ways.
A lack of witnessing and a lack of obedience
A lack of focus
A lack of appreciation
A lack of dependence on God

Reflecting on the above, we can therefore check on ourselves. Are we loving in our ways? Are we good witnesses? Am I obedient? Am I easily distracted? Are we honoring God's anointing? Is our service empowering us? If the answer to these questions is a "yes," then we will feel more of the blessings rather than the stress or burden.

Whenever we are feeling weary of the things we do, let us not forget to come before the Lord. Let us wait upon Him. Allow His embrace to fill us, recharge us, and empower us.

"He gives power to those who are tired and worn out; he offers strength to the weak. Even youths will become exhausted, and young men will give up. But those who wait on the Lord will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint." Isaiah 40: 29-31