Talent Search

"But each man has his own gift from God;one has this gift,another has that." 1 Corinthians 7:7


I have been to many talent shows throughout the years. Some really good, and others not so good. But the one constant in these talent shows is the type of talent that is displayed. There is always singing, dancing, playing an instrument, acting or some other form of artistic expression. While these are all wonderful talents and are certainly worth showing off, I think that these gifts have become the very narrow scope of what is a talent.


Talent in the dictionary is defined as:

• endowment: natural abilities or qualities
• a person who possesses unusual innate ability in some field or activity

But most often in society, we limit what is a talent and what is not. There are many other talented people who would never picked up a microphone, instrument, paint brush or a piece if sports equipment. There are people who have been gifted with talents that cannot be displayed in a talent show and that may even go unnoticed.

Romans 12: 6-8 talks a lot about some of these unrecognized, but equally as important talents.

"We have different gifts, according to the gifts given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion of his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if its teaching, let him teach; if its encouraging, let him encourage; if its contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully."

God gave us all unique gifts, and not just the ones that are obvious and can be displayed. But it is so easy for us (myself included) to limit our scope of what it means to be talented. I am at a school where pretty much everyone can do something in the artistic field (many of them can do more than one) so it can become very discouraging when I remember that although I do enjoy theater, singing, and the occasional writing of a poem; these are not my main talents. But I find hope in that verse in Romans when it mentions teaching as a gift (or talent) from God. This is the talent that I fell I am truly called to use and grow. 

So don't think that because you cant paint, act, sing or play an instrument that you are not talented. The truth is that God has gifted ALL of us with different things to be good at. When we try to pick and choose our talents, because we feel like ours are not good enough, we are essentially telling God that He does not know what He was doing or that He screwed up somewhere (which, I assure you, He did not). If we spend all of our time trying to develop the talents that we find to be the most "culturally acceptable", than we are could miss out on uncovering our true talent.

Now, don't get me wrong. If you are talented in the arts, or sports, or something talent show worthy, THATS GREAT! That is what God has gifted you with. All I am saying is that, not everyone is meant to be the next great actress, musician, or pro athlete. Some of us are meant to be the next great encourager, leader, teacher, or servant. 

Figure out what your God given talent is, and spend time developing it and praying about how you can use that talent to glorify God. Do not go through your life limiting your potential, because you limited your talent.

BB