Guarding Your Genius: When Talents Are Misused
Introduction
“Your greatest asset, your gifts and talents, are also your greatest vulnerability—especially when they are put to work with the wrong intentions and on the wrong things.” This compelling statement forces us to confront a harsh reality: the misuse of personal gifts and talents can have devastating effects and it can destroy ourselves, our loved ones, and everybody around us if we don’t correct this sooner than later.
Personal Experience: A Story of Try and Error
Every gift and every talent that we possess comes from God. I am not talking about skills. Those we can acquire along the way any day of the week. I am talking about those things that you are naturally good at. Things that you do with passion. Things that you are willing to do even though you don’t make money out of it. Those things that people always ask you about. Or those things that people tell you that you are good at. Things that are second nature for you and are very easy to understand, do, and teach to others. The things that perhaps you don’t want to do, but deep down you know that your contribution can help someone else, and that brings you mixed feelings of joy and fear.
You see, to me, for reasons that I still don’t understand, God has blessed me with a few gifts and talents. I am ashamed to admit that for most of my life, I have used those gifts and talents for the wrong reasons doing the wrong things. One of my gifs is that I know how to talk to people. In a term that perhaps you can understand better, I am a great salesman. If I want to get my point of you to prevail and influence a conversation to go my way, there is a good chance that I will get it done. And the crazy part is that I am a loner. I enjoy being by myself and I don’t really like talking to people. But when I do, I am good at and is easy for me to connect with others and others connect with me.
People that I just met, will tell me their live stories and ask my opinion on things that they are going through. As you can see this is a great gift to possess because we all need a set of ears once in a while that can listen to our complaints, frustrations, and problems, and give us some advice or show us a different point of view so we can grab life by the horns and take control of the situations that we are facing. But when this gift is misused it can be devastating for you and everyone around you.
I can talk my way out of any problem. I can also talk myself into many more. You see, instead of using this particular talent for good, for the majority of my life, I have used it for evil. I have used to lie, manipulate, and cheat in life so things will go my way. So I can get what I want when I want. And trust me, there is no such thing as a free meal like the saying says. Ask yourself in what areas you are good at, but you keep failing over and over. If you are trying to do something that you know you should be succeeding in and you are not, and despite that, you are trying over and over and you keep failing; there is a good reason that you are using your gifts and talents on the wrong things and in the wrong ways. Perhaps even in the wrong place.
Like I said before, because I know how to communicate with people, most of the time I have used this gift to manipulate others and for the wrong reasons. An example of this bad behavior was when I convinced 3 different lending agencies to lend me around $750,000 so I could grow my used car dealership despite the fact that at the time I had failed my first bankruptcy 3 years prior. And I got my way. I got the money. I mismanaged that money and that manipulation led me to my second bankruptcy within 5 years.
The crazy part is that I didn’t need that money. My business was making money and I was fine. I didn’t need anything. I just wanted to be rich and make a lot of money as fast as I could. Especially because I already had a bankruptcy and I wanted to prove to others that you can become rich fast even though you had a bankruptcy. How ignorant and selfish I was. Trying to impress people who don’t know me nor care about me at all while sacrificing and destroying myself and my family.
But because God’s Grae and Mercy is something unesplanable, here I am still. God took it all away and let me hit the bottom again. Not to punish me, but to give me an opportunity to start all over again and do it right this time. Trusting Him as my provider and trusting His time and His way. That doesn’t mean that I will sit and do nothing. What it means is that I will pray more so He can give me the wisdom and the desires of my heart so I can do his will and do what needs to be done.
Now I am trying to put those gifts and talents to work for good. Here is one of those examples. I don’t like to write these blogs at all. Trust me when I say that. But for some reason when I start writing, the words keep jumping out of my brain, and once I start writing it gets easier for me to continue. So much so that many times I lost sense of the time and when I realized I had been writing for hours. Am I a writer? Absolutely not. But I believe that I have a gift for communicating with others and God is encouraging me to acquire the skills of writing so I can communicate with people this way.
You see God already has done His part in my life and yours but He will never do your nor my part. He already blessed us with gifts and talents but it is our part to acquire the necessary skills and to practice so those gifts and talents can flourish and be put to good use. We are equipped with what we need to fulfill our purpose in this life. We come to this world with all the bells and whistles that we will ever need. It is our job to discover them and align our hearts with God’s heart so we can do His will.
The Impact of Talent Misuse
We all have so much potential. But that potential without action, perseverance, and the right intentions will get us nowhere. I see all of us and the entire world like we are a huge network that is connected with each other some way somehow. The way that we need the oxygen that the trees produce, the way that the trees need the water to survive, the water that goes to the ground and eventually to the sky so it can go back to the ground. How our food chain works too. It may be a little crazy and a little discosting to think about but analyze this thought; if we eat something, we will defecate, in many cases that will become fertilizer that will help grow more food, and that food eventually we will eat it again. It is a full circle. good luck getting that picture out of your mind 😅.
The same way I think about all of us humans. I think that we need each other more than we think. Your life and your life stories’ have enormous value. There is someone out there who needs to hear what you have been through and how to overcome it so they can be encouraged and see and do it too. There is someone who can take advantage of your experience so they can get and do better in this life. There is someone who needs to hear your testimony so they can overcome their addiction, depression, marriage, and family troubles, financial setbacks, etc. It is our moral duty to discover our gifts and talents; combine them with our life experiences and put them to good use. By praying, seeking God’s heart and wisdom, and helping others while fulfilling our life’s purpose.
The Problem: We Think That We Are Not Qualify
For many of us, I think that 2 of the major problems are that either we think that we don’t have what it takes or simply we are too busy trying to get ahead in life that we don’t pay attention to what God is trying to do in and through us. And perhaps, we are right. I know that I am not qualified to do any of this. But I know that the one who called me, God, already deposited in me all the gifts and talents that I need in order to succeed. All I need to do is pray and seek Him so He can show me how to develop them and use them properly. We need to slow down a little bit. Many of us all we try to do is make more money to buy stuff that in the end, we cannot take with us. Not that making more money is a sin or it is wrong. Nowadays we need money for everything. But it should not be our number one priority. Seek God and His Kingdom and everything else will be added. That is what His good word says.
The Solution: Slow Down, Pray, and Meditate
To find out what gifts and talents you possess and how to use them, consider the following steps:
- What am I good at?: Ask yourself this question and answer honestly. What can I do every day and even if I don’t get paid for it I will do it happily?
- Ask family and friends what are you good at: Ask your loved ones, coworkers, and friends, what they think you are good at. Ask them to be honest with you and you should be able to receive good feedback from them. This should help you discover how others think and perceive about you.
- Get closer to God: Read the Bible, Pray, and meditate on His word. Every good thing comes from God. So if you get closer to Him, He will reveal to you the plans that He has for you since you were in your mother’s womb.
These are 3 very easy things but I believe very powerful practices that can help you discover your gifts and talents and how to put them to work.
Conclusion: Reclaiming and Respecting Talent
In conclusion, remember that you already have what it takes. God gave it to you since you were in your mother’s womb. It is our job to discover those gifts and talents and to put them to good use. And in reality, it should not be that hard because they should come naturally to you. If you don’t know what they are, ask your loved ones what you are good at. Read the Bible, Pray, and Meditate in His word. And don’t think that you don’t have what it takes because we are not doing this on our own. We are doing it with the strength of the one who called us. And if you have used your gifts and talents for the wrong things, don’t worry. Ask God for forgiveness and ask Him to show you how to use them for good instead of evil and He will give you the wisdom and guide your steps.
