Natural-born talents and gifts · 9:23pm Mar 13th, 2017

God has given gifts to all His children; everyone is born with a passion for something, be it art, sports, cooking, reading, compassion, science, computers, organization, writing, et cetera. Everyone has hobbies and skills that they are good at. Everyone has stuff that they love to do, things that they can do well.

My advice, itself coming from the pages of chapter 13 of Max Lucado’s book Glory Days, is to take what you know and what you are gifted with, and try to turn that into a profession. Ask yourself how you can use you natural abilities in a job, and then take a look at the jobs that come up and try to find the one that seems to suit you. Look up information and talk to people who know about the profession in question. If you can get paid to do what you love doing (assuming it isn't illegal or immoral), then why not take it?

I'm aware that this isn't always easy to do. A lot of dreams have been shattered, or so it seems. And society tends to ridicule the idea of dreams coming true (the example I keep thinking of is the episode of SpongeBob where our favorite sponge keeps trying to fly; he is ridiculed by a crowd, and ultimately they chase him when they become enraged that he gets upset over their mockery). No, this is not always, if ever, an easy world to live in. But that doesn't mean we should just roll over and let those dreams perish. Your chance of doing what you love for a living isn't going to come true if you don't fight and put in the effort for it. We all suffer setbacks, or what appear to be setbacks, but the good news is that God fights for us. If we don’t give up, He’ll give us the victory. It might not happen right away, but eventually, it will come to pass.

Another thing to consider is to be careful of being promoted out of the position that uses your particular knack. This might seem like counter-productive advice, but if the promotion kills your life's joy and makes you reluctant to get up in the morning, then it probably isn't worth the extra money, and stress, that comes with it. Sometimes a promotion might get you going in the right direction, where your talents are sharpened and used more efficiently and in a better paying position, but this isn't always true. As Paul writes, “Godliness with contentment is great gain (1 Timothy 6:6).” If you aren’t sure how to proceed, the best thing to do is pray first, and pray earnestly.

A final piece of advice is to not compare your life with that of other people. It's best to go at your own pace and not compare yourself to other people and their successes. Competing with other people is not the right way to go, and adds unnecessary stress and anxiety. It’s something you can do away with. God judges your performance by how faithful you are with the gifts He has given you.

I suppose the message is to be who you are regarding talents. Don’t try to be your father, your mother, or your grandparents. It doesn’t matter if your family has been farmers or factory workers for generations. Your gifts are yours to use for God. You should not dispirit yourself by what your family legacy has been in the past. Now is the time for you to use your God-given gifts wisely, as He intended.