One of the greatest movies about running is Chariots of Fire. It follows two Olympic athletes from the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris. Eric Liddell is a devout Christian missionary who views his speed as a gift from God. When he is supposed to run on a Sunday, he struggles internally to reconcile personal faith and conscience with his competitive spirit and desire to represent his country. When he discovers his best event - the 100-meter race - is scheduled for Sunday, he must choose between his Olympic ambitions and his religious conviction. He feels that his speed is a gift from God and that he should use this God-given talent.
I believe God made me for a purpose - but He also made me fast. And when I run, I feel his pleasure.
He ultimately decides to race another event to
We should all work to discover our talents and take advantage of them, as Jesus speaks about in today’s Gospel (cf. Mt. 25:14-30). Liddell doesn’t simply recognize he is fast; he knows that he has received a gift from God. Each one of us has received many talents from God. In the Gospel, the man going on a journey entrusts his property to three servants, each one according to his ability. He praises the ones who build up his wealth, while he criticizes the one who is content to just hide his talent. We can learn a few lessons from this parable.
Achievement as a Product of Work
Achievement is a product of our work. We work intentionally, with the goal in mind. We work toward something meaningful, as St. Paul expressed in his first letter to the Corinthians:
I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing (1 Cor. 9:26).
Success in the Christian life is not measured merely by what we accomplish, but by how faithfully we put our talents to work. The idea is not to merely punch a time clock but to make sure that we are fulfilling our objectives.
God Gives Us What We Need
I ran into a fascinating question the other day. “What do athletes pray for before a game?” We talked about different possibilities. Some probably pray for victory. Others might pray to avoid injury. God doesn’t watch the game as one more fan - it is not as if the victor in the contest is the one with more fans praying for the desired outcome. We ask for what we want, and God gives us what we need, and not always in the way we might expect. We might not have the talent we would personally prefer, but we are called to bring our talents to bear in our mission of being holy and building up the Kingdom of God here on earth.
God Wants us for Himself
We are called to work for the Master, not our selfish purposes. The talents we receive are entrusted to us. We can think of them as time, talent, and treasure. These “three t’s” are elements that are given to us so that we can invest them. We do this by dedicating time to others, by developing our talents so as to serve others, and by donating from our treasure to support others. It is a good attitude to think of everything that we have as borrowed. This helps us avoid thinking that we are the center of the universe. We are here to glorify God and to fulfill his will with our lives.
All for the Good of Others
Reflecting on this parable, St. John Chrysostom said that we are called to contribute wealth, and
diligence, and protection, and all things for our neighbor’s advantage. For the talents here are each person’s ability, whether in the way of protection, or in money, or in teaching, or in whatever thing of the kind. Let no man say, I have but one talent, and can do nothing; for you can even by one approve yourself (St. John Chrysostom, “Homily 78 on Matthew”).
There are so many talents we receive, in the forms of time, talent, and treasure. It is good to pause from time to time and see if we are being good custodians or stewards of our talents. How much time do we dedicate to spreading the Good News, as opposed to how much time we spend engaging in brainrot? Accumulating riches cannot be our sole purpose in life. Even as we hopefully enjoy success, we should always be looking for ways to support the Church and those less fortunate than us.
Accountability
We will be held accountable for how we deal with the riches of this world. We want to hear Jesus say:
“Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy” (Mt. 25:23).
This can only happen if we work diligently to make our talents bear fruit. They have been entrusted to us, not given to us absolutely. Let’s take some time this week and make sure that we have a proper balance in how we are managing time, talent, and treasure. Find your talent and run with it, feeling God’s pleasure.