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How to Make the Most of
Your Life
By Tom Brown
 The world is divided into two classes: the
"haves" and the "have nots." We may decry
this reality, but we can't change it. We can only work with it,
because this reality is the result of God's unchanging decree. God, through Jesus Christ, has declared that
"whoever has will be given more, and he will have an
abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken
from him" (Matthew 25:29).
Does this statement surprise you?
It should, because it goes against everything we have thought
about the fairness of God. Yet the truth is, this statement was
made to express God's fairness.
Jesus made this statement in summarizing the
main lesson of the parable of the talents (see Matthew 25:14-30).
In this parable we find a wealthy entrepreneur giving some money
to three individuals, who were supposed to invest his money while
he went away on business. The first man was given five talents (a
talent was worth about a thousand dollars), the second two
talents and the third one talent. After a long time, the man came
back from his trip and brought the three individuals into his
office to find out what they did with his money.
The first man proudly exclaimed, "I have
doubled your money; you now have ten talents!" The boss
praised the man and gave him more responsibility and told him to
keep the money for himself. The second was just as excited,
"I, too, have doubled your money; you now have four
talents!" The boss praised him also and gave him more
responsibility and told him to keep the money he earned. But the
last man in fear said, "I know that you are a hard man, so I
was afraid to lose your money; therefore, I hid it in the ground.
Here's your talent back."
The boss was furious and said, "Take the
talent away from him and give it to the one with ten!" And
with that, Jesus summarized the central message of this story:
"For everyone who has will be given more. And to him who
doesn't have, even what he has will be taken from him."
EQUAL BUT DIFFERENT
You understand that a talent speaks of many
things that God has given you, such as money, talents, intellect,
physical abilities, opportunities, employment, skills and gifts
of many kinds.
Notice that all three men were given something.
No one in this world is without gifts. Everyone has something to
offer. No one is useless!
This parable also teaches us that, even though
we are all created equal, not everyone has the same talents.
Let's face it: Some people are born with more
money, have greater skills, are built bigger and stronger than
others, have more opportunities, and are even smarter than
others. This does not mean that God is unfair, because he
balances out the talents with responsibility: "From everyone
who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one
who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked"
(Luke 12:48).
So the person with greater talents is held more
responsible than the person with fewer talents. Therefore, before
you wish for more talents, realize that the more talents you
have, the stricter God will be with you on Judgment Day.
I used to wish that I were much bigger and
taller, because I wanted to be a professional football player. I
played football for five years and was good, despite my small
size. One of the teams nicknamed me "Mighty Mouse." I
was mean. I would hit anyone as hard as I could. Because of my
spunk, I was first string four out of the five years and often
was team captain.
But as I grew—or should I say, as the guys grew—I could not keep up with their added size. So I quit
football and entered drama. I discovered hidden talents in this
area.
You see, I could have griped about being small,
but done nothing about it. Instead, I accepted the fact that God
made me small, and used my talents where I was better suited.
Many people are always complaining about their handicaps—their lack of money, skills, opportunities. You can't
change the fact that you may not have the same talents as others,
but you can make the most of what you have.
The thought occurred to me: Why didn't the Lord
mentioned a fourth man who ventured out to increase his master's
talents but went bankrupt?
We all know of people who took a risk, but
failed.
But as I thought about this, I realized that
there is no risk in using your talents. The risk happens when you
try to use the talents that belong to others.
People fail, not because they tried to multiply
their talents, but because they tried to steal other people's
talents.
What would have happened if I had tried to
enter professional football? I would have failed, because my
talents were not in football. So before you use your talents,
make sure that you are not stealing other people's talents and
pretending that their talents are yours. You'll go bankrupt if
you try to invest other people's talents!
You have to be totally honest with yourself and
separate fact from fantasy. What talents has God really given you
and what talents do you wish he had given you? You can only use
what you have.
THE PEANUT
Now, don't minimize your talent. It is easy to
see the little you seem to have and say to yourself, "What
can I do with this little talent, or with this meager salary, or
with this insignificant job, or with the scarce opportunities I
have, or with my lack of skills!"
God will show you how to make the most of your
talents.
George Washington Carver was a genius. As an
African-American living in the South, he came across a discovery
that would change his life and revolutionize the Southern
agriculture industry.
One day he prayed: "Mr. Creator, show me
the secrets of Your universe."
God replied, "Little man, you're not big
enough to know the secrets of My universe. But I'll show you the
secret of the peanut."
From the universe to the peanut. "Oh,
well," Carver thought, "better the peanut than
nothing."
"Take the peanut apart," God said.
Carver did, and discovered several hundred components in the
peanut.
God continued, "Now, start putting it back
together again—this time in different forms."
As Carver did, he discovered that from the
little peanut he could make plastic, paint, oil, and foods of
many kinds. He became rich by maximizing the potential of a
peanut.
THE ICE CREAM CONE
Many years ago, a man bought a little ice cream
stand at a state fair. The hot weather boosted sales until the
man ran out of bowls. He approached other ice cream vendors,
asking for bowls, but none were willing to part with theirs for
fear of running out, too.
Dejected, he walked back to his little stand to
close up for the day until he could purchase more bowls. Walking
back, he spotted a man doing poorly with his waffle stand. After
all, who wanted to eat messy waffles on a hot day?
He had an idea! The ice cream man asked the
vendor to sell him the entire waffle stand. The man agreed.
He joined together his newly-acquired waffle
stand and his ice cream stand. He immediately began to make
waffles, shaping them into cones. He increased his price and
started selling the world's first ice cream cone.
What appeared to be a setback turned into a
stepping stone!
Sometimes periods of crisis are simply
opportunities in disguise. Don't miss those opportunities.
God expects us to make the most of our
opportunities.
USE IT OR LOSE IT
What has God deposited inside of you?
The Word of God says, "You have a treasure
inside of you. This treasure is the kingdom of God." The
kingdom is rich with potential, faith, and great power. But God
gives you only the raw material, and you have to turn it into
usable material. This is your job!
You must take what you have and turn it into
something good and profitable. This takes work!
The human body is a perfect illustration of
this "Law of Use" that Jesus taught. We all have
muscles, but some have big muscles—not because they were born
with them, but because they exercised. Others look scrawny
because they don't use their muscles much.
If you don't use it, you'll lose it.
GOD USES SMALL THINGS IN BIG
WAYS
The real question is not "How much have
you got?" but "Are you willing to use what you've
got?" Even if it seems small? The fact is, God seems to take
real delight in using small things in big ways.
Consider the poor widow woman who had only a
jar of oil and a handful of flour. God used the little she had to
feed her entire family for three years.
What about the little stick that was Moses'
rod? God used it to split the Red Sea.
Gideon's little trumpet—when blown—defeated
the Midianites who fought with Israel.
Samson slew a thousand Philistines with only
the jawbone of a donkey!
David's bantam harp drove out demons from King
Saul.
Elisha took the cloak Elijah gave him and
struck the Jordan River. And the river dried up—all because
Elisha used a little piece of cloth.
Seventy yea rs after Solomon's temple was
destroyed by the Babylonians, the prophet Zechariah told the
Jewish governor Zerubbabel, "What are we waiting for? Let's
rebuild the temple!"
"How?" Zerubbabel wondered. "We
don't have permission to do it!"
"What's in your hands?" the prophet
asked.
"A little plumbline used for measuring the
height of buildings," Zerubbabel answered.
"That's all you need to get started,"
the seer replied. "Who despises the day of small things? Men
will rejoice when they see the plumbline in your hands!" And
with a little measuring rod in the governor's hand, the temple
was rebuilt.
Don't despise the small things you possess.
They can be used by God to bring great results!
Shakespeare said, "To be or not to be,
that is the question." I like to rephrase it this way:
"To have or not to have, that is the real question."
You are either going to be part of the
"haves" who get more, or the "have nots" who
keep getting less. Use what you have, and you'll have more!
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