I WISH I HAD...

For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.

Matthew 25:29 NIV

If only I was taller if I would be able to, I wish I was smarter, I wish I was slender, I wish I was darker, I wish I had more money then I would be able to pay my tithes. There are so many things that allow us to feel insecure, unhappy and uncomfortable with ourselves. And because of this, we may not recognize the gifts and talents God has given us. In the story of talents, there was a man that went on a business trip and invested in his staff before leaving; each of them got a different amount based on their staff review. He left with the certainty that they would invest in themselves. Upon the man's return, he checked in with staff eager to find out what they had done.

I remember when I got inspiration about my business, I was eager to begin (there is always excitement in the beginning). I put my thoughts on paper with no idea of what was next, much later reviewing it with a business advisor. Many things were good but not good for the business, my business plan well written and on paper profitable. As I continued I knew that this idea was great and someone would want to invest in it. I applied for grants and start-up capital. There was this particular organization that was known for helping the small man but I did not get the grant through that organization. I was disappointed, wondering why? I reviewed the business plan and spoke to the advisor who checked out the website and my social media and could see absolutely nothing to let her know why she would choose my business over any other business. She said, "Mekelle I actually don't see a business, just an idea." This business mogul invested in people that showed effort, I spent time looking at other business pages what were they selling, what did they do? There was a lot of work I needed to do, to show that I was 'worthy' of being invested in. For months I had a business plan but had nothing to show, it was time to put my hand to the plow. I complained and frowned at how I was being overlooked but what happened was I was not doing anything and got no results. Not until I started putting in the foundational work did I start seeing fruits, I began being noticed, I started having more likes, more followers, more customers. I was given the original investment which was the idea now God was waiting to see me put in the effort. One day I retreated and took time to focus on what I needed to do. If I would be doing a training program I needed an actual program. After my retreat I had my first course (it took more than the day to proof read) but I showed God he can trust me with this idea. As I sat there typing away that day I remember more ideas and thoughts coming to me (make the first step). The master gave a gift, a talent, a great business idea but He is waiting on you to put your hand to the plow, to spend some time birthing the idea, to solidify what He has given you. It is time to get that idea out of your head and actualize it. Write that book, create that online store, sell those shirts whatever it is start working. The master came back to His staff looking to see how they were doing with their businesses and two of them used the money in shares and got double on their return. The other did nothing with it. He sat there letting the enemy tell him lies. "I cannot do anything, I don't have any talents, my boss is mean anyway let just give him back the money he gave me. Okay, maybe you have never verbally said this but based on the fact that there were ideas given to you, you dreamt it, you saw it in a vision or you feel it so strongly about it but never acted on it. That is similar to the latter staff. You are looking at what God has blessed you with and devaluing it, you are saying to God what you have given me is insignificant and not good enough. I can't sing, write, or dance. That may not be your gifting or maybe it is and you need to invest in that gift by going to classes, studying online or asking someone for help. I never knew that I would blog, I never imagined this being a talent nor did I think that I had the ability to write. When I was thinking these thoughts I had never written anything other than my signature lol. Seriously, I did a self-evaluation, what did I have? I was a great massage therapist, I liked to chat with friends and family, people always said I was bossy and I loved to travel, when I was in high school and college I loved to write articles and short stories. I used what God has given me into business and ministry. I was thinking it had to be one of those major ministries like the praise team (but the praise team would not want that talent from me lol, it was a gift for me not to join). Many times we are looking at other people and devaluing ourselves, measuring ourselves to people who are probably noticing your talent and measuring themselves to you. To build the body of Christ we all would need different tools, talents or gifts. Imagine everyone working in AV but no one to record, or everyone being an usher but no one to seat. Understanding what tools God has given you will help you to enjoy, nurture and invest in that gift. Honestly, I never thought about using the gifts for the secular world, think about the many doctors, actors, comedians and models that are children of the Kingdom. Our gifts are not only tools for the 'church'. I have a very close friend who was fortunate enough to have so many gifts and talents and was uncertain of which gift God wanted her to invest in. If someone asked her to do almost anything she could do it and do it well. But she was not satisfied, she cried out to God many times feeling like she was unheard. Until one day as we spoke I noticed how awesome she was at teaching. She would take a bulk of information and break it into bite-size pieces. It was amazing the way she would articulate the information. When I told her what I noticed it confirmed something that she had already gotten from the Holy Spirit but did not know it was God. She has now structured a business being able to use the many talents she had been given, not lacking or disregarding the other but it helped in every aspect of the business. God does everything well! There is another friend of mine she could sing, when she opens her mouth it is as if heaven has opened. She is very hype, eager and has this great ability to gather a crowd. She is an evangelist. When I think of evangelists I thought of people over-enthusiastic about Christ and preaching all the time. Well God showed me that I shouldn't and couldn't put Him in this small box that I created thinking He could fit in. God is concerned about every fraction of our lives and He has it all accounted for. The person you would marry, the church you attend, the business you would work for, how long you will work, if you will work and your children. I heard a testimony of this person getting a business deal based on what they wore when they met their investor. Imagine the Holy Spirit telling you to wear a particular color or suit that would attract your spouse or someone interested in partnering with your business but you did not obey it would only take God's mercy (love) to still allow things to work out.

“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much." Therefore, the little things you have are there to prepare you for bigger things. The key is to trust God while possessing the little things.

I went to elementary school with a girl who in my opinion was beautiful from the inside out, she was such a sweet girl but from a young age, she was in extra-curricular activities and was got many awards. She travelled often and soon got a scholarship and moved from the school. I had not seen her in years but often thought about her. I recently was reintroduced to her. She had written a book, travel the world for work and was known among celebrities, I thought 'Lord this girl is so talented.' I began following her on Instagram (the love of social media keeps you informed about people's lives lol). As she was very active on social media and wrote these incredible posts. In one of her posts, she spoke of her shortcomings and how insecure she was. I was amazed, this beautiful talented well-travelled, posh lady was feeling what I felt but she knew the blessing God had given her and used it to her advantage in the secular world while being able to use this as testimony drawing people into the kingdom of God. In the parable of talents, the man did not tell his staff how they could use the gift and blessing he had given them but he had expected that they would do something with it, invest in themselves. The one staff member said you are mean, rowdy, hard to deal with and you do not want to work yourself but make others work and reap the profits; I did nothing I kept the money here and figured I should give it back to you when you return. Well, that man took the money and reinvested in the other two more profitable staff members, which seems to me to be good investments. God places amazing people around us who notice our gifts, invest in our talents, that help us cultivate and build upon our blessings whether we are working for a company or ourselves. Sometimes we may not notice or know our gifts because we do not see it as a gift. God in His infinite wisdom created the earth, created you and I and said I love them so much I will give each of them something different to be a part of this kingdom. God knew you before He formed you in the womb, He does everything well in spite of those insecurities. Like the other two staff use your talents and gifts to help others, to bring return on the investment. To build your business. Your gift or talent may be something that you have a knack for like cleaning, reorganizing, decorating, speaking or hosting.

#theparableoftalents #spiritualgifts #unityinchrist #trust

Scripture Reference: The Parable of Talents: Matthew 25:29, Spiritual Gifts: 1 Corinthians 12, Luke 12:7, Luke 16:10, Jeremiah 1:5, Mark 7:37