So You Think You Got Talent?

It was time for Sunday school and as the class settled in their seats the teacher writes on the board a single word:  ‘Talent’.

“Talent” said the teacher. “Everybody has a talent.”  The teacher looked around.”Right?”  The class nodded in agreement.  Then the teacher asked, “What is your talent?”

A few students raised their hands.  As the teacher called upon them, the students beamed as they called out:

 “I’m good at football!”

 “I’m a good singer!”

 “I can dance!”

“I’m good at playing the guitar!” 

“I can draw.” 

“I can run fast.” 

“I can write stories.”

Other students did not raise their hand.  When the teacher would call on them, they would shrug their shoulders and say softly, “I’m not good at anything.”

“Truly?” asked the teacher.  “But God has blessed everyone with talent.”  She smiled at her class and continued, “The problem is, we don’t know what talent is!”  The students gave her a puzzled look.

“In our culture, we value athletics, arts, and smarts.  We think those things are talent.” The teacher glanced around the room at her class.  “But guess what.  These are not the talents God values.”

Now the students really seemed to puzzled.  The teacher smiled and explained, “God values talents such as,” and she began listing on the board, “Humility, thoughtfulness, gentleness.”

“Being nice!”  someone called out.

“That’s right!” and the teacher added that to the list.  “What else?”

“Being helpful!”

“Being Kind!” 

“Loving others!”

“Making someone smile!”

“Cheering someone up!”

The teacher put the chalk down and said, ”Excellent list!  We often forget how important these God given talents are!  You can be a great sports hero, but not a nice person.  You can be a terrible singer, but filled with compassion for others.”

“Now I am sure you can name sports heroes or artists who are compassionate people.    For example, maybe you've heard in the news that some famous football player did something great for a person suffering from a disease. But let’s think about this.   What is his talent that God has blessed him with?  Athletics?  Or kindness?”

“Both!” one student called out snickering.

“Yes,” the teacher agreed. “That person certainly has more than one talent.  And that football player is loved by society because he is good at his sport.”  Then looking again at her class, she asked, “But which talent do you think God loves?”

“Kindness” the students responded.

“That’s right,” the teacher smiled.  Then she asked the class, “So, what is your talent?” 

This time, every hand went up.

 So........What is your talent?

Romans 12:6   We have different talents, according to God’s grace, given to each of us