Behind Closed Doors
In life there’s a fine line between confidence and arrogance. The most confident people probably walk that line every day. But why? The why is what isn’t seen. Behind the closed doors. Behind the failures. Repetition doesn’t mean every take will be the best. It just means you took another shot. If we look at some recently popular statistics we understand that we fail more times than we make. But the interesting thing is that more shot attempts open up the likelihood of success.
In a famous Nike commercial, Michael Jordan highlights his own stats, saying, “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” Why don’t we remember these? Because he has 6 rings. But he knows what it took behind the scenes, and the amount of shots he took his whole life to get those 6 rings. There are countless statistics similar to this, where people took countless shots at something and “narrowly” succeeded.
If We Do Not Give Up
The Bible speaks about not giving up numerous times. One specific time I want to talk about is Galatians 6:9, which states, “Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” This not only reminds us to not give up, but that times and seasons are in the hands of God. Our question is if we can keep trying until we win. But one thing is guaranteed. Your season won’t change unless you keep trying. Keep doing what’s right. Keep on trusting in God’s plan. The results are in His hands. The reap only comes if we don’t give up.
According to His Ability
Another interesting moment in the Bible is the parable of the talents. One that seems unfair at face value, but when deeply understood ends up making a lot of sense. The story overview is that a master was going away for some time and gave one servant 5 talents, another servant 2 talents, and the last servant 1 talent. The interesting thing is that each man was given according to his own ability (Matthew 25:15). This may seem unfair, but first look at what a talent was in this time period.
A talent wasn’t just a little bit of money. A talent was a unit of measurement for precious metals like gold and silver. One talent was equal to about 75 to 100 pounds of gold or silver. A talent of silver was estimated to equal about 20 years of wages. So now we understand that talents are very valuable.
Further in the story, the servant who was given 5 talents traded them and gained another 5. The servant who had 2 also gained another 2. And then the servant with 1 talent hid his talent in a hole in the ground. When the master returned, they each brought back what they had. The two that gained were called good and faithful servants and were promised to be put in charge of much. The servant who hid his talent was called wicked and lazy, and his talent was taken and given to the one who had ten talents.
So now, what is the difference between them? The risk with their talents. The man with 5 talents traded and gained another 5. So did the man with 2, who gained another 2. However, the man with 1 was afraid and hid the talent.
Faithful With What You Have
God has given us talents beyond what we imagine. Talents that are valuable and unique. A hidden talent has no use to the world. Those who risk their talents gain even more. A part of me even believes that a true test of our faith is how much we’re really willing to risk with the talents God has given us. If you can trust God with your dream, the reward is greater than what you risked. If Michael Jordan didn’t risk all of those shots, there would still be another Michael Jordan, just with a different name. The more you try and make progress, the more confident you become.
Now I’m not saying hustle until you die. So many times I’ve reminded myself that rest is good and beneficial. Even God rested on the 7th day. But that means get your work done on the other 6 days. Be confident in the talents and gifts God has blessed you with. You don’t need an extra budget. Just be faithful with what you have now and watch God expand it for more. And remember, your due season is on the way.
