Terrel Owens and Christianity

Matthew 25:14-30

Terrel Owens is possibly the most dynamic wide receiver in the National Football League. He has all of the physical gifts necessary to be the best. Owens is a dynamic athlete with good size, runs crisp routes, and ability to catch in traffic. On paper, this is the type of player you expect to be the cornerstone of your franchise, your star player. You build your team based around a guy like this. You market and advertise with his face on every bit of media that you can possibly stick it on. So if all this is the case, why is he possibly the best receiver rather than the definite "best receiver"? This man has a knack for squandering his talent. He is the best only when he feels like it. He creates drama in the locker room and drama when he's no where near a football. Terrel Owens is a egotistical headcase. All of that talent put to waste.

We are blessed beyond measure. Maybe not all of us are Terrel Owens caliber athletes but God has give each person talents, abilities, and gifts. However, people also have the ability to squander them much like the aforementioned athlete. As in the parable of the talents, a master gave his servants money. Upon his return, two of the servants invested the money and were able to give their master more than they received. The last servant did nothing with the money. He was lazy. He didn't act upon the blessings of his master and to make the most of the opportunities in front of him. In so many ways, I find myself like that last servant. I have so much and yet I do so little with it sometimes.

Last night, a friend of mine talked to me about squandered opportunities this past week. I prayed for change in my life and God gave me the chance to put my faith in action and I failed miserably. The opportunity was there and yet I did nothing. From this, I took away a few things.

The first is that when I pray, I need to prepare for God's answer and actively seek Him. God answered my prayers and I wasn't ready. It's like praying for rain and not bringing an umbrella with me. I was passive and didn't seek God after I prayed. Habbakuk said that he was "on the ramparts waiting" for God's response. Such should be the model after we ask God for things. Our faith should be active and constantly seeking.

The second was a gentle reminder. These talents that God has given me are not of myself but are from God. It is my job to be a good steward and to make the most of them. I need to be a faithful servant. In the parable, the master entrusted more to the servants as he saw that they could handle what he had previously given them. How can God trust me with more in the future if I can't utilize what He has already given me? I need to stop living for myself and within my own desires as that leads to a great deal of misdirection and complacency. I am not called to be the Terrel Owens of spirituality and yet that's where I find myself way too often.