Talent: The Seed that was Planted

Talent: The Seed that was Planted

A Reflection on the Parable of the Sower

            It’s difficult to understand somebody when he or she starts to compare talents. Some thought of themselves that they have nothing good to contribute to the community or to the society. They admire one’s talent and yet they can hardly look into their potentials. It is confusing to identify either they envy or admire somebody.

            I believe that I was not born as a gifted person like a genius of anything. I am not a geek. I am not a nerd. And, I am not an imbecile. Instead, I believe that I have potentials to do great things. It turns out that one’s skills and talents are rooted from how one has developed and improved them. It depends on how the seed has been planted and taken care of. The seed that was thrown into the good soil would not grow into wheat unless the farmer has not taken good care of it. Still less if he has not watered it, he won’t know the result. The effect comes after the cause. The same thing goes to other seeds thrown into the barren and rocky grounds. No matter how the farmer waters, the seeds won’t really grow.

            There are at least two salient points that the parable mean. For a seed to grow into a wheat, one needs first of a good soil to plant it and second, he needs to take care of it. It is like planting rice seedlings into a well-prepared soil but one does not water them by irrigation. Nature speaks the same thing too. If without rain plants won’t grow. Nature is both the ground and farmer.

            Nevertheless, talents are like the seeds that were thrown into the good soil. For the seeds to reach being wheat, one needs to water them regularly. Even genius persons are improved in order to achieve their greatest potentials. For a talent or skill to develop, one must nurture and strengthen it. To do a leap without taking the precautionary measures, it would likely be a suicide.

            My talents and skills would not be like what it is now if I stopped exploring and developing them. In eight years, my knowledge and skills grew that originally started from scratch. As it grew, it even reached a bigger potential. The playing field also grew. I consider this playing field as to the people whom I helped. Before, my talents were only limited to committee involvements. Now, my talents have been involved into the international arena. This outcome has not crossed my expectations. I just simply do things out of love and out of service.

            Because of love and service, I was able to hold on to the demands of the responsibilities attached to my talent. I underwent also struggles and hardships. Maybe like the wheat, different insects and birds would come over to the field to destroy and pester.

When harvest time comes, the wheat can now be served to the people. The fullness of one’s talent can later be of greater helped for those who are much in need.

The parable of the sower was narrated by Jesus, in this manner God also plays an important role in the story. It was God, who threw us into the good soil. We were created out of his love in the beginning. Our being human depended on how much we use our freedom. It is a responsibility that was given to us. It is how we freely use our talents in order to fulfill its real end, which is to serve the good of the community.

            It is indeed a two-way process. It is always an interaction between God and human beings. God plants and we maintain. God has given each one of us different kinds of talents, but to reach its fullness depends on how we have handled the responsibility well.