As Catholics, we must be stewards of our talents

Intermountain Catholic

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The Most Rev. John C. Wester, Bishop of Salt Lake City

All of us like to be recognized for our talents, our abilities and our accomplishments. As children, we make no bones about it: "Look, Mom! No hands!" or "Look what I made in school today!" As we get older, we become more subtle but no less adept at getting people to notice us and what we have to offer. The sad truth is that many of us do not believe that we have many gifts and the one we are really trying to impress is ourselves. Surrounded by advertising, we are constantly bombarded by perfect smiles, perfect hair and perfect waistlines, all of which contribute to our poor self image. We find ourselves saying, "If only I could draw like that, speak like that, play sports like that." Deep down we are not at all convinced that we have anything worthwhile to offer the world, nothing with which to make a difference.

If this sounds like a depressing scenario for us, imagine what God’s reaction must be! After all, He is the one who has given each of us all the gifts and talents we will ever need and then some! Every unique and unrepeatable human being is endowed with a myriad of abilities that will help us mature as fully alive and fulfilled persons. To doubt this is to insult the giver of the gift. As the bumper sticker of the ’60s reminded us, "God does not make junk!" God loves each of us and cares for us with great attention to detail. He would never leave us alone or without the wherewithal to find true happiness in our lives. The question is not whether we have the gifts, the question is whether we believe that we have them.

Stewardship as a way of life involves us in an ever-deepening awareness of all that God has given to each and every one of us. As you are reading this article I invite you to stop right now and make a mental list of your gifts and abilities. I will wait for you here.

You are back so soon? Hopefully it took you a long time to make a list of all your abilities and gifts. Every person reading this article has far too many to count. Our provident God makes sure of that. And when we really believe this basic stewardship principle, we begin to live a life of sheer gratitude and security, knowing that we have all that we need in life for complete happiness. Furthermore, the petty jealousies and the stress of competition ebb away and we find ourselves actually delighting in the talents of others, complimenting their accomplishments and rejoicing in their successes. We come to understand the meaning of St. Paul’s insight that all of our gifts work together for the glory of God. As the Body of Christ, each of us contributes our unique gifts to make the whole Church complete and rich in talent. We complement each other as we together compliment God!

Of course, this reality demands that we accept the gifts God had given us, grateful for their uniqueness in each of us. It also implies that we share them with the whole Church, indeed the whole world, so that our talents might become part of the whole and hence be truly efficacious. Failing to acknowledge our gifts or failing to share them means that we will not be satisfied and the Church will not benefit from God’s plan wherein we all work together as one people, giving thanks to the giver of all our gifts.

As our diocese prepares to start Stewardship: Our Way of Life, I invite you to review the list you made a few moments ago of some of your gifts and talents. Thank God for them and resolve to share them, as a sign of your gratitude, with others. And get ready to feel like a little kid riding a bike with no hands!