Mirrors and Windows

This reading has been a wake-up call for me. I have heard it hundreds of times and have not heard it at all. This morning God knocked on the door of my soul and said, “Pay attention this time! There is something here for you.”

The story is of a master of a large landholding who is going away.  He gives each of his servants a part of his treasure to take care of while he is gone. One gets five treasures; one gets three, and the last gets one. 

The landowner returns, and the one who got five gives him back ten, the one who got three returns six, and the one who received one produced only the one. His fear made him hide the treasure for fear he would lose it. The upshot of the story is, those who had made more of their holding received praise and more responsibility. In fear, the one who hid it away had what he had been given taken from him.

This is called the parable of the talents. The treasures represent the talents we each receive from God. So what! There is no great mystery here. Or so I thought.

My first realization is that God’s talents are not valued in terms of the rank of importance. There is no value or worth placed on the gifts. They are equivalent in God’s eyes. That is learning number one. All talents in God’s eyes are of equal value and are distributed according to ability. 

Often, we place value and worth on talents— we judge, using a worldly standard, the value of the gifts we have been given. We think about who is more or less gifted. Measuring becomes a guide we use not just to value our talents but also to then value and love ourselves. There is no ranking and no measuring in the Kingdom of God. 

All God’s gifts are of equal value.  A musical virtuoso, an accomplished artist, a good listener, a welcoming presence are all equally  preciousness in the heart of God.  

God gifted each of us to build the Kingdom. We are each responsible for taking the precious treasure we are given, knowing that God gave it to us in particular, for a specific reason, and use it to create His Kingdom. 

In the parable, the talents came from God and are returned to God. The gifts given were God’s all along. The tenants were only caretakers. We are the caretakers of both the extraordinary and humble gifts that God has given us. 

I question myself. Do I use God’s gifts to me? Do I value them as less important than someone else’s talents and become discouraged or resentful? How freely do I share my abilities? Am I hiding my gifts or using them to build the Kingdom?

That brought me to the heart of my reflection. Using our talents should enable others to see God more clearly. If I use my gifts, and people see and praise only me, they lose, I lose, and most importantly, God loses. The talents become a mirror; I end up magnifying myself, not God. That is burying the treasure.

If I use my talents instead, and I am a window, others will see the tremendous gift God has given and be astounded by God’s goodness and graciousness. My use of my talents becomes a window to the face and heart of God. My gifts point to the author of all blessings. People see the good, and they glorify God.

God is a gracious and generous giver of gifts. We embrace what he has given, whether extraordinary or humble. In God’s eyes, each gift is perfect and most precious. When we return it to Him, may we return it well used, worn, and bearing the mark of love that is only gained when the gift has been shared and thus multiplied a hundredfold.

 In God’s Unending Love,

Gwen