“The one who had received five talents came forward
bringing the additional five.
He said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents.
See, I have made five more.’
His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant.
Since you were faithful in small matters,
I will give you great responsibilities.
Come, share your master’s joy.”
(Mt. 25)
“Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”
(Lk. 12:48)
Not long ago, I came across a blog post that asked, “How big is your plate?” She was reflecting on busyness and how we prioritize our commitments. How to set limits, to say enough is enough, I can’t do any more. I thought of my mother telling me, “You can do many ministries consecutively, but not necessarily concurrently.”
Among people of faith, there’s a strong predisposition to encourage women to focus on the vocation, or ministry, of motherhood, and to lay the rest of it aside until that commitment is largely fulfilled. But as I was pondering last week, if we’re given gifts—talents (how interesting it is that the word should be translated that way!)—are we not meant to use them all? And if we simply ignore them for a couple of decades, aren’t we, in effect, burying them?
That is the question each one of us faces. Where do we draw the line between giving back/paying forward the gifts we have been given, and thinking the world can’t possibly get by without our particular charism? One is stewardship; the other is pride. And it’s really easy to stray across the line.
A few years ago I probably would have built a big soapbox and tried to tell the world how to tell the difference. But like another blog friend, the more I learn about God, the less certain I am of anything except that absolute certainty is more likely to be a harbinger of pride than stewardship. I can’t claim to know where anyone else’s line is drawn. I can only do my utmost to stay on the right side of it in my own life…and to correct course when it becomes clear I’ve wandered into the path of oncoming traffic.
Kathleen M. Basi 
I know I;m a dude but I’m also a a church going Christian. For the past 5 years I’ve vounteered a variety of capacities at my old church (we changed churches exactly one year ago). I foudn myself overworked, feeling underappreciated, and well, just miserable. I was missing my personal relationship with God because I was busing wranging kids, volunteering, helping, and doing whatever.
This is a really good post for men and women of Faith to understand their “place” in a church setting.
I worked in the Church for several years and I know how easy it is to come to depend on the same people, because they never say no. The hazards of the situation, I suppose. I also had people come to the point where they had to simly say, “Enough. I can’t do any more.” Often it caused a real headache for those of us trying to wrangle volunteers…but I couldn’t blame them, either. You do have to see to your own spiritual needs.
So true that the more we learn about GOD, the less sure we are of our little soapbox stands…thankfully!
Thankfully, indeed.
Hi Kathleen, I found your blog through the Hear It, Use It community and appreciate your honesty in this statement: “the more I learn about God, the less certain I am of anything except that absolute certainty is more likely to be a harbinger of pride than stewardship.” So true. Thanks for getting my Monday morning off to a good start.
Kathleen,
Such truth and wisdom here. Love your post.
It is so very easy to stray and the straddle the line. The more I learn as I travel along my journey with Christ the more I am reminded to stay in my own lane, to stand on my soap box and preach to the audience of One, Jesus.
Wise words here, Kathleen – thanks so much for sharing them in the Hear It, Use It community.
This is so good. I think my brand of Christians tend to do the opposite. They think that women can do it all. Full time ministry, homeschool the kids, and cook gourmet healthy meals, keep a perfect home and maybe even have a small business. There must be balance. If we are neglecting our gifts, we are neglecting God. If we are trying to do it all in our own strength, we are neglecting God. Oh Lord, help us all…sigh.
This is very true…and I think your “brand of Christians” is the same as mine; I just lump it all in under that perfect wife & mother label. I remember someone online saying balance is impossible, that there will always be one side of our lives that requires more at any given time, and it’s always shifting which aspect that is. No resting on our laurels…must always be on guard to pull back when we stray too far one direction or another.
Great thoughts on this post. I meet with women all the time who really don’t know what they are called to do outside of raising children which I think speaks to burying gifts for later instead of using them during the season of motherhood. Lovely words to ponder. Found you through Graceful.
This makes me want to say, “Lord, don’t let me miss Your call.” For me, letting go has been hard, but keeping my eyes on God’s will for me at this time has allowed other gifts to flourish.
My question here is: does using your gifts/talents mean that you must use them in your church?
That’s a good question, Trina. I’d say we need to use them in the service of God, but that is much broader than using them in a church setting. It’s harder, and therefore even more worthy in some ways, to use them in a secular context in a way that glorifies God. That’s my take, anyway.