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Saturday, August 31, 2013

How are you using the gifts God has blessed you with? Be careful not to use them against His will - Daily Reflections August 31,2013

YOUR GIFT — A BLESSING OR A CURSE?

 
A Christian is expected to be productive. The parable of the talents tells us that when the time comes, the Lord will ask us to account for the gifts He has given us. It also reminds us that all of us were given gifts. The different circumstances of the receiver and what they did with their gifts distinguish God’s requirement.
       First, we must acknowledge that God gave us gifts. There was nothing we generated on our own. Life itself is a gift. Anything coming out of living the life we were given should be attributed to God’s generosity. Do we recognize those gifts? No one can say that he has no gifts at all. If we look closely at ourselves, we will see that God has given us something that we can use to serve others: our time, talent or treasure. Even a poor person can be of service and, thus, become fruitful.
       Merely recognizing our gifts is not enough — we must use them. We have a saying in Filipino,“Aanhin pa ang damo kung patay na ang kabayo?” (For what good is the fodder if the horse is already dead?) Some people know they have talents but do not use them for one reason or another. I always share the story of a friend who has a good singing voice. He elected not to join the choir because of “over-humility.” One day, he woke up with a very hoarse voice, making his singing voice disappear. A curse? Maybe, maybe not. But he realized how selfish he was. So, he vowed to make amends once he recovered. And he did!
       But it is not enough to use our talents; we must use them for the good. It was God who gave them, so we should use them according to His will. We see women endowed with beautiful bodies who display them with abandon. And there are those who have propensity for numbers but they use their talent to cheat or shortchange others. A gift that is used against God’s will becomes a curse. Fr. Benny Tuazon

REFLECTION QUESTION: How are you using the gifts God has blessed you with? Be careful not to use them against His will.
 
Lord, thank You for Your gifts. May I learn to use them to help build Your Kingdom on earth, not tear it down.

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