C.S. Lewis, a name that is certainly familiar to some of us. A writer who is well known and admired. Lewis has successfully developed his writing skills, especially in the areas of children’s literature and fantasy. One of his most highly regarded works is “The Chronicles of Narnia”. The series “The Chronicles of Narnia” was very popular and has been adapted into several plays, radio plays, and cinema films. Time Magazine listed the first book in the series, “The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe” as one of the 100 best novels in English written between 1923 and 2005. Lewis’ work has been translated into more than thirty languages and has sold millions of copies worldwide. Truly extraordinary. In addition, an interesting part of Lewis’ life is that since his conversion, he has dedicated all of his works and writings to God. Lewis gained international recognition as the most influential Christian writer of the 20th century. Until the end of his life, Lewis continued to dedicate his work only to God.

We believe that his ability is a gift from God to him, either as innate or as a result of learning or training. That’s talent. God’s gift to each person, even though it isn’t the same, but everybody certainly has it. Talent is different from a gift. Gifts are only given to those who have believed in Christ, and cannot be learned. However, both talents and gifts can be developed and used for God’s glory.

A talent is actually a unit of weight (Revelation 16:21, KJV: “about the weight of one talent). Talent is also used to refer to units of money (Matthew 18:24), with a value of 1 talent around 6000 dinars, or the wages of a laborer in 20 years. However, in general, talent is understood as anything that is given by God to everyone (whether Christian or non-Christian), which can be used to please or glorify God. Thus, talent isn’t only ability, also not only money but everything that God has given to everyone.

In Matthew 25:14-30, the Lord Jesus gave a parable about the talents. In the parable, a master is depicted as entrusting a different number of talents to three of his servants. The master wants these talents to be developed and then accounted for. This too was done and managed without the control of the master. However, when the day of accountability arrived, only two servants did it, while the other did not manage it. The two servants also received praise from their master and the other servants were punished.

God entrusts the same talents to us. It could be abilities, talents, possessions, time, position, or spiritual gifts. However, like those servants, we are also asked to develop these talents faithfully and obediently for the glory of God. William Barclay said, “Men aren’t equal in talent, but men can be equal in effort.” It is true that the talents of each of us aren’t the same, but God asks us to work on it, whatever is given to us. Have we done it? So, that in the end, our Lord said, “How well you have done, my good and faithful servant.”

Rina Novita Wijayanti, M.K.
IPEKA Counseling Center