Gifts and talents to share
Why do we choose the jobs we choose? Is it to make a lot of money? Is there some expectation on the part of our parents? Do our natural gifts and talents lend themselves to this particular profession? The reasons we give are probably as numerous as the people answering the question. The more interesting question might be, “Are you happy doing what you’re doing?” Chances are the answer to the second question will depend to a large part on the answer to the first.
Another question. Rarely a day passes without a request in the mail to send money for some good cause. What do you do with all those requests? Do you toss them in the trash? Do you sit down and write out a check so that the recipient can “… go … and buy …” whatever it is they need? Certainly it’s easier to write a check than to “… give them some food [our]selves … .” Besides, most of these places are hundreds of miles away. How can we possibly respond to their needs?
Perhaps the place to begin is with our job. For example, there’s the dentist who offers free dental care to people who couldn’t afford it otherwise. If you’ve ever had a toothache you can appreciate how much pain his gift has alleviated. Or the lawyer who does pro bono work helping the poor to deal with governmental and legal red tape. There’s the grocer who takes canned goods and day-old bakery items to a local food pantry, the pharmacist who teaches oncology students how to help cancer patients deal with pain, the carpenter who builds affordable housing. These people aren’t just writing checks. These people are inviting the hungry to eat “… without paying and without cost” right here at home.
We are surrounded by a “… vast crowd …” of the lonely, the hungry, the confused, the ill. Jesus says to us “… give them some food yourselves.” He invites us to bring him the work of our hands so that he can bless and distribute it. What do we choose to do, and why? What gifts and talents do we share?
Van Benthem is a member of the Secular Franciscan Order and a longtime pastoral minister, retreat leader, spiritual director and published writer and poet.
Related Posts:
- What do you see, bring and share?
- What gifts do you bring?
- Allow God to ‘give you rest’
- The struggle between good and evil
- Co-workers in God’s divine workshop
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