Walking With Christ

Romans 5:3-5 (3)Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, (4)and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, (5)and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.(ESV)

James 1:2-4 (2)Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, (3)for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. (4)And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.(ESV)

Proverbs 24:10 If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.(ESV)

Matthew 7:24-25 (24)Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. (25)And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.(ESV)

Jeremiah 17:7-8 (7)Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. (8)He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.(ESV)

Gifts, Talent, or Hard Work:

Most of my life, I’ve been told that I’m talented. This is often accompanied by “if you would only apply yourself, you could become really good at that”. Here’s a secret: I’m not naturally talented. This isn’t false humility. I really struggle with many things. The things that people see me doing well are the result of countless hours of practice. I have seen true talent, and it’s actually kind of dreadful. Let me explain.

If something comes easy to a person, they often don’t spend time honing their skills in that area. They begin to expect their natural talent will carry them. This area eventually becomes a weakness due to lack of growth. As the verses above state, suffering produces endurance. Natural talent reduces suffering and struggle, which can lead to laziness in that area.

Talent is a shortcut to skills one should not possess yet. It’s like taking steroids in weight lifting. The muscles grow, but the skeleton doesn’t strengthen at the same pace, creating a weak point. Proper growth requires patience and hard work.

In the plant world, a plant that shoots up over night will fall over in the first good breeze because its haven’t grown. The roots can’t support the plant’s weight or any fruit it might produce. The plant can fall over, grow limited fruit, or delay the fruits until the roots catch up.

This isn’t a condemnation of gifts or talent. It’s a warning not to neglect the support structure for your gifts. Don’t assume someone’s ease is due to talent alone; hard work if often behind the scenes.

In the end, properly managed gifts and hard work often yield the same results. Respect the effort and dedication required to work hard without belittling the wisdom needed to manage gifts properly.