Be Faithful with Your Talent - Laurie Kiel
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’” (Matthew 25:21 NIV).
One of my passions is writing and performing original dramatic monologues of Biblical women. Sometimes I find that the person most convicted by my monologues is me.
One, in particular, is “Anna Almost”, the story of a woman who was ‘almost’ in the Bible. She was almost the woman who Jesus praised because she gave two small coins at the temple — the woman who almost gave everything she had in the offering but it was too little, and she was too ashamed. And her little boy was almost the boy who gave Jesus his lunch for the miracle of the fish and loaves. But she told him not to be silly as he was a growing boy, and he needed his nourishment. And then came the time when her little boy got sick and she almost asked Jesus to “please heal” him. But she lost her nerve, and then she lost her son.
I end the monologue as Anna saying, “Anna – almost that’s me. I ‘almost’ made a difference in my life. Every time I perform this monologue, that last sentence strikes me in the heart. Am I living my life ‘almost’ in God’s will? In the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), the servant is lambasted for burying his talent instead of taking risks.
Just like the servants in the parable who receive varying amounts of talents, (1, 5 and 10) we all have differing amounts of talent. God only asks us to be faithful in what He has given us.
Dear Lord, Thank you for the talents you have given us. May we fully use these talents so that at the end of our lives we will hear “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Master.”
Laurie lives in Tucson, Arizona with her sister Diane and their two adorable Shih Tzu. Contact
