Sometimes I look at my two kids and wonder who thought it was a good idea to put me in charge of the well-being and proper upbringing of two lives. Sometimes I look at the more experienced and more engaging teachers, and I wonder how it is that I am qualified to teach when there are so many who are better at it than I am.
There is a phenomenon known as the Imposter Syndrome that is experienced by many. People who experience this often doubt their own skills and successes. They may feel that they are not as talented or worthy as others believe, and may even be afraid that other people will realize that they are frauds.
Whether it's imposter syndrome or a genuine lack of skill, it is important to note that all our abilities are God-given (John 3:27). As good stewards of God, it is our duty to do our best to make use of them (1 Peter 4:10) regardless of how terrible we perceive them to be.
This concept brings to mind the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30). In this parable, the servants with 5 and 2 talents used what the master had given to them and reaped double of what they were initially given. The servant with 1 talent, however, was scared, hid his talent instead of using it, and was reprimanded for his actions. Years ago, when teaching this parable, teachers would ask us what our talents were and encourage us to think about how we can use them for God. I never had an answer because I always struggled to think of something I was good enough at to be considered a talent.
Now that I am older, I have begun to view this parable from a slightly different perspective. Instead of 1, 2, and 5 being the number of talents given to each servant, I think of it now as being given skills of differing levels of proficiency. For example, if I can intuitively whip up a dish using what is left in the fridge, I could have a Level 5 talent in cooking. If I get stage fright and find it impossible to form a complete sentence whenever I have to give a speech, I might have a Level 1 talent in public speaking. By reframing this parable, we can start to appreciate every single 'talent' God has given to us - those that shine, and those that we would rather bury. After all, skill levels are not categorized in absolute terms (ie. just simply good or bad). Rather, they are on a spectrum, and can very often be improved with time and effort.
Using our Level 5 talents
It is said that we should ignore our weaknesses and focus on improving our strengths. This is because our strengths are things we are naturally good at and so we would require less effort to work on and get better at them. It is no surprise then that the servant with 5 talents received the greatest increase, gaining 5 more talents after trading with them (Matthew 25:16). Using the abilities we are good at to serve God is a no-brainer.
Using our Level 2 talents
I see Level 2 talents as the ones you are average at. You may not be very good at them, but they are good enough. Perhaps you are confident enough to give a lesson in front of an audience, but your lesson, while biblically sound, is not very engaging. Or maybe you can cook well enough to contribute to a potluck, but your food tastes just alright. If you are someone who feels that you are not particularly good at anything, it could be that God has blessed you with a bunch of Level 2 talents. Keep using these talents to improve them, and your Level 2 talents just might get upgraded to Level 5 talents.
Using our Level 1 talents
Nobody likes doing things they are not good at. And yet, we were given these skills by God. Although we may be terrible singers, should we not sing hymns during worship? Although we may be poor at time management, does that mean we stop trying to be on time for worship? Even though it seems counter-intuitive, we should still try our best to use our Level 1 talents for the glory of God (Colossians 3:23), because everything that God gives to us is good for use in His work.
This is not an exercise in rating your various skills, because if you have noticed, the conclusions for all levels of talent are the same: we should use them for God. The servants in the parable were not judged based on their talents and the amount they reaped, but on the effort they put into making use of them. All our skills in their varying degrees of proficiency are God-given, and it would not be right for us to decide that they are not good enough to be used for God's work (James 1:17).
The perfect illustration for this can be found in the story of Moses. Moses is well-known as one of the great, God-fearing leaders of the Israelites, and so, many forget that when he was asked to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, he actually really did not want to. In Exodus 3:11, he says, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?" He then went on to ask God exactly what he should say (Exodus 3:13), and what he should do if they did not believe him (Exodus 4:1). Even after multiple reassurances from God, Moses told God that he could not do it because he was not eloquent and did not speak well. God responded by telling him that He was the one who made man's mouth, and that He would be with Moses to help him know what to say. You might think that Moses would feel comforted by that answer, but instead, he told God to pick someone else to go (Exodus 4:10-13). Maybe Moses did have a Level 1 talent in public speaking or maybe it was just self-doubt. Whichever it was, it was a wonderful thing that he eventually went to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, and went on to become the leader that God wanted him to be.
So, in moments of self-doubt, we should still trust in the abilities God has given us to do what needs to be done, because it is God who gave us these abilities. Moreover, God will be with us and will only give us what we are able to handle, as He did with Moses (1 Corinthians 10:13; Romans 8:31). We should not judge ourselves inadequate, nor be afraid to use our abilities to do God’s work.
And of course, it was God who thought it was a good idea to put me in charge of two kids, and He has blessed me with such. So, who am I to question this?
Comments