Category: Articles

Talents. Our natural gifts or abilities, ranging from playing music, expertise in sport or writing articles. But why do talents matter? Why should we bother with thinking about them or even cultivating them?

It’s a question I’ve been thinking about lately. At the school that I attend, we  did a few surveys and tests to find out what our different strengths, weaknesses and talents were. Although the context was to help us pick what HSC subject to do, I was surprised (and not surprised) about some of the results it gave me.

These aptitude and talent tests cost money – and it struck me – why does the school bother spending money on tests like these? Why couldn’t the school just let us figure it out ourselves? Why would they put money, time and effort into setting these up for students? Because knowing our talents is vital to be able to live life to its fullest in serving God.

Now obviously not everyone’s raison d’etre is to serve God, but in any case, it’s important to consider what your purpose in life is and how your natural abilities and gifts fit into it. After doing a little research, I found that science says that talents are a mix of both genetics and the environment we live in. This means that your socioeconomic status and place in the world defines how talented you are. If you’re born rich and have good genes, you have a greater chance of being smarter.

I’d like to clarify that I’m not saying that your situation financially will not affect your cultivation of talents. It will almost certainly impact it. But that should not be the hindrance to us and be used as an excuse.

To a Christian, talents are not just a result of our situations and genetic patterns. Talents are a gift from God. In Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus tells of the parable of the talents. In the parable, there are three servants which are given different amounts of ‘talents’; one was given five, another given three and the last given one. Talents, in this case, aren’t literally talents as we know them. Talents were a monetary measurement, worth about 20 years’ wage of a labourer in Jesus’ time. The master basically asked the servants to cultivate and increase the money he had given them. At the end of a long time, the master came back to check with his servants and the servants with five and three talents had cultivated their portion well – this pleased the master. On the other hand, the one with only one talent became lazy and didn’t do anything. In the end, he was punished for not using the talents he was given, even though he only had one.

What can we learn from this? That God is a harsh master who forces us to do work? If we read this literally, that is definitely a conclusion that we could get to. But no, that isn’t what God is like. At the same time, however, it doesn’t mean we should slack around and not do anything about our God given gifts.

If we think back to ourselves, how can we work hard with the gifts that God has given us? In James 1:17, James writes that:

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father…”

God’s talents for us are good and for our benefit. We are encouraged to use them to their fullest, even though they are different in quality and quantity. As Romans 12:6 says:

“Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them.”

It doesn’t matter who you are – every person has talents. At the same time, we all have a different number and types of talents, yet they are all still God given. No other talent is more important than the other.

– This article is inspired by Erin. There is something about you that inspires me to also do my best in my ministries. I’ve learnt from you to be grateful for the one or two talents God gives us. Always remember, no talent is ‘greater and more useful’ than another. Instead, we all work together as one body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12–14)

How would you define the word “wisdom”? What is it, and why is it so important to us? One of the most common things people compare wisdom to is knowledge. Even when I look up the synonyms of wisdom, the most common words found are intelligence, understanding, insight and perception. However, as much as it seems accurate, wisdom is way deeper and far more important than all of those. In this article, we will delve into the meaning and importance of wisdom and discover how to become wiser ourselves, through several verses from the book of wisdom itself, the Bible.

What is wisdom?

So, what is wisdom exactly? And how is it any different to knowledge?

To us, human beings with such limited understanding, the word wisdom appeals to us as knowledge. However, the Hebrew word for wisdom,  “CHOKMAH” (חָכְמָה)  means way more than the mere knowledge that we would think of it as. This word refers not only to mental knowledge but also action or applied knowledge. As Charles Spurgeon would say, “Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. To know is not to be wise. Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool. But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.”

Let’s look at several verses from the book full of wisdom itself – most of which are from Proverbs, a book that speaks of wisdom in great depth.

1. The wise can always be wiser.

“Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;

teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,

  and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.”

• Proverbs 9:9-10

One principle that we should keep is that becoming wise isn’t just a point in your life that you reach, and then stop. The wise can always be wiser, no matter how wise this person is. Becoming wiser takes more – it’s a life-long process. The fact that King Solomon, one of the wisest Kings of all time, still made plenty of mistakes and committed many sins despite his great wisdom, proves that the wise still have plenty of things to learn through the fear of the Lord. 

To become wise means that we have to learn to fear God. To fear the Lord means giving your undivided attention to God and always directing your heart towards God; to be more Christ-centered. May we pray the same prayer in Psalm 86 – to fear God more and grow in wisdom. 

2. Living a wise life.

“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”

• Ephesians 5:5-7

Through this verse, Paul urges us to be very careful in the way we live. We must ensure that the ways of our life are not unwise, but wise. Paul emphasises how the days we are living in right now are evil, making it harder for us to ignore the world’s evilness and live in the way that God wants us to. We have to be careful that our lives are not wasted on unwise actions. Even though living wise is undoubtedly hard, we need to ask God daily to help us make wise decisions throughout the day. 

3. Taking advice.

“Where there is strife, there is pride, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.”

• Proverbs 13:10

Let’s be honest. Taking advice is something that everyone struggles with. Whether it be advice from parents, friends or anyone else, our pride seems to kick in and make it extremely hard to accept advice. However, Proverbs warns us that pride will certainly not get us anywhere. It will instead stir up conflict and strife in our lives. Something that should always be kept in mind is how wise people become wiser by listening to others’ advice. So, how do we become wise? To gain wisdom, we must humble our hearts and listen to the people God put in our lives to correct and rebuke us.

4. Influence of those around you.

“Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.”

• Proverbs 3:20

Another very important thing is the people you decide to hang around with. This is something that many of us don’t realize impacts us. However, the people you hang around with will surely impact you – from the way you act to your whole lifestyle. Proverbs tells us to walk with the wise and not fools. Each friendship we start is something that should be thought through thoroughly, to ensure that we are not being around people who may impact us for the worse.

5. Prayer.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”

• James 1:5

Finally, wisdom is something that the world cannot give: it’s something that only can be received from God 

 through true prayer and willingness of heart. When we examine our prayers, how often do we ask for worldly things? For money? Fame? Relationships? The list can go on and on. We must remember to pray for the things that the world cannot offer – that includes wisdom.

Let us learn together, whole-heartedly, not to live this life as unwise, but wise, and learn to take advice through true and humble prayer.

Imagine you just took your driver’s test. Before you took the test, you studied and practised driving, remembering all the rules and signs. You then hear the words, “You pass.” 

Now, you have  the privilege to drive, but passing the test doesn’t give you the right to just drive however you want, neglecting all the rules and responsibilities you spent time remembering. 

Getting the privilege to drive also means taking responsibility and obeying the rules. 

As we get older, we realise nearly everything we do comes with a certain responsibility, and that includes our relationship with God. 

When we receive the privilege of being God’s child, we take the responsibility of choosing faith over fear. His love for us has been set into our hearts, so it is our responsibility to share it with others, to help others with their relationship with God, and to set His name on high in our everyday lives. 

“Because he has set his love on me, therefore I will deliver him. I will set him on high, because he has known my name.” (Psalm 91:14) 

Following the rules, as in the previous driving example, is not the only aspect of taking responsibility; it also involves being willing to answer for your actions and accepting accountability for what you have done (or have not done). It is taking responsibility for your actions and commitments.

But since we are flawed human beings,  we often  refuse to accept accountability for the things we do. In fact, we tend to put others to blame, trying to shift the burden of accountability to someone else, and, when faced with our mistakes, we immediately start to defend our actions. 

Blaming God

It is common for people who are going through a hard time to blame God for it. We find it very easy to see God as cruel and disconnected – after all, we can’t see Him!

One  biblical example can be found in Job’s wife, who attempted to persuade her husband to curse God and hold Him as responsible for the disasters that befell them (Job 2:9: His wife said to him, “Are you still maintaining your integrity? Curse God and die!”)

Instead of blaming God, we should thank Him for everything that has happened to us, even when it feels really hard. He is working for our good through both the bad and good times, though we might not be able to comprehend His plan in the midst of it. As Creator and Ruler of all, God knows what He’s doing. He takes great responsibility for even the smallest part of our personal lives. 

Christians Must Take Great Responsibility 

As Christians, God wants us to be responsible.God has given us laws that lead us how we should behave and act towards others. Even though there will be times when we fall short, we must repent and make changes. Don’t stay stuck in your own failures – we have faith that Christ has already paid the price of all our sins, and that includes those past, present, and future.

All good things, including our responsibilities (as tiresome as they sometimes feel)come from God. And if it is God who guides us, we will always be with Him, and be able to draw on His strength to fulfil these responsibilities, even in the deepest part of the journey. Sometimes even, God orchestrates the events of our lives so that events beyond our control determine our next steps. However, in all this, we are still called to fulfil our responsibilities to the best of our ability. For example, you may be fired through no fault of your own, and the next step (your new responsibility!) is to find another job.

However, God gives us the freedom to be faithful. We can choose to undertake the responsibility He gives us faithfully and willingly, or we could choose to grumble and get angry at God for it. Take it back to the job example, we now have a responsibility to write a resume, connect with others, and do our best towork, even if it’s less comfortable than our previous job. In all circumstances, we must take up our responsibility whether that be work, school, family, or anything else. Part of God’s guidance in our lives is allowing us to work in His time and will, even when we don’t want to and prefer to work in the job and with the colleagues we choose. 

But even as we work towards our responsibilities in these circumstances, God uses them to shape us. Maybe this new job that God calls you in will  change your career path or make you learn a new skill. It may bring to light in you a hidden talent or gift and or provide you with opportunities to serve God for years to come. We give God control of our lives even if we never really know where He will lead us next, because, if we trust in Him and His promises, we know it’ll be a place that is for our ultimate good. But that doesn’t mean our responsibility is over, and that we should automatically expect good things from Him and so not do our part. It is out of a heart that truly knows God, and has experienced the joy of His salvation for themselves, that longing and determination to persevere in the responsibilities He has given us comes. 

We must also remember that God’s plans for each of us are different, and our responsibilities will often become much more personal, and target the deepest parts of our heart, because God deals personally with all of us. 

So, Why Is Taking Personal Responsibility Important?

1. God created each of us in His own image, and has a certain calling for each and every one of us.

“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness… God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:26-27). 

2. Each of us will have to explain why we do what we do before God’s judgement seat.

 “For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10).

3. God’s grace for us is bought with a heavy price (with Christ’s blood)

“How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?” (Hebrews 10:29)

4. Each of us will receive a reward from Him 

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:7-8).

How Do We Become Responsible?

1. We must know the will of God for our lives

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). This means we musn’t forget to spend time studying and reading the Bible.

2. We must follow the will of God  

“But prove yourselves to be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves” (James 1:22). We must learn how to obey, even when it becomes hard, and feel impossible. But that’s not where this command ends. God doesn’t only instruct us to obey Him and that’s that, but He gives us the strength, willingness and joy to do it through the Holy Spirit.

3. We must avoid sinning against Him 

“No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). God promises us a way out so that we can resist temptation. We receive the strength to resist temptation because God has already saved us – we know that sin and death have no more hold over us. 

4. The ultimate responsibility of Christians, wherever we are, is to be a light to the world 

“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16).  We must point people to the real light, Christ, and help them grow in their knowledge of Him.

In the blink of an eye, the summer holidays have come to an end, signifying a new start to the school year. As I enter the senior years of high school, I can only imagine how soon I will be swept up in the busyness of routine, with the seemingly never-ending assignments and the dread of the approaching HSC. In this busyness, I realise how easy it is for us to neglect our Christian identity. We unknowingly start to become like every other teen out there, only reserving our faith for Sundays as if Christianity is a sticker we can peel off. 

But if we are living in this way, how are we fulfilling our calling to be representatives of Christ? 

Daily Spiritual Warfare 

Our pastor frequently uses the analogy that us teens are at the forefront, fighting spiritual warfare against today’s culture in our daily lives at school. How can rows of desks in a rustic school building be a battlefield? But school is where countless opposing worldviews and ideologies are thrown at us, testing our faith daily. 

It’s definitely hard living a counter-culture life, but I hope that the two following points can be a reminder and encouragement for us to live out our true calling as we head back to school. Or should I say, back to the battlefield. 

1. Sacred vs Secular – is there a difference? 

As someone who likes to block out her life on the face of Google Calendar, I have no doubt been guilty of making a distinction between the sacred and the secular in the same way. There always seems to be a divide between the two, and so we persuade ourselves that God is only relevant in the sacred parts of our lives while we are the rulers of the secular parts. 

We stuff going to church on Sundays, serving in ministry and reading morning devotions into the ‘sacred’ box. But doing homework, hanging out with friends, washing the dishes – those are ‘secular’. After all, how can God possibly be involved with our math homework or chores? 

However, we must understand that there should be no difference between the so-called sacred and secular. An activity cannot be sacred or secular in itself, only the attitude of the doer can be. 1 Corinthians 10:31 tells us ‘whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.’ There are no separate compartments: God is and should be a relevant part to all aspects in our lives. We are called to be his representatives in everything that we do – even, and especially, in our daily lives as we go to school, do our homework and study for tests that we previously thought were secular. Thus, we must act the same way in school as we do in church, exhibiting our faith and leading others to Christ through our character, work ethic and how we interact with others. 

All things we do, including schoolwork, should be for the glory of God. 

2. Denying ourselves and carrying our cross daily – what does this mean? 

‘Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it’ (Luke 9:23-24, NIV) 

Although we may seem far from spiritual giants and missionaries that make radical decisions to leave their past behind for their cross, this verse does not apply to us any less. Let’s delve deeper into what ‘denying ourselves’ and ‘taking up the cross daily’ means for us as Christian students. 

In our school lives, we are faced with many temptations, especially through our friends where we may be tempted to simply forget about our Christian identity and join them to indulge in the ways of the world. Living counter-culturally can be awkward and embarrassing, more so if it seems you’re the only one sharing or standing up for God’s truth. But Jesus’ calling to ‘deny ourselves’ refers exactly to these awkward and embarrassing moments. He calls us to say no to  sinful desires and our longing to be accepted by the world. He calls us to put away our pride and fear and boldly evangelise His gospel. He wants us to leave behind our sinful lives to follow in His holy ways. 

‘Taking up the cross daily’ requires our whole-hearted commitment and sacrifice to living out and sharing the truth, surrendering our whole lives to God’s will. 

Not only on Sundays, but in school – every, single, day. 

This calling is not an easy one, and many times we will fall or feel like giving up. But He promises us a life with Him that is far greater, and we can have the assurance that He will be with us in our struggles. 

So as we head back to school, with whatever worries and goals we may have, I hope that we may keep these reminders close to our hearts. I pray that we may all grow together to be bold representatives of Christ in our everyday school life, and fulfill our callings as Christian students.

What comes to mind when you hear the word leader? Perhaps you think of headmasters at school, ancient royals, modern day politicians or current world leaders. But does this idea of leadership match with what the Bible calls leaders to be?

First, let’s establish what a leader is and why leaders are important. A leader is someone who leads a group, organisation or country. Furthermore, leaders are important because they guide their people and set the standard for them to follow. This implies that a leader must both uphold a strong standard and a clear direction in which to take their followers. On the other hand, the leader also needs a team and in turn, that team needs to follow the leader fully.

For example, let’s take Alexander the Great and his army. Without his army, Alexander the Great would not have been able to overcome any other army, let alone a different country. Alexander the Great needed an army if he wanted to succeed. However, without Alexander the Great’s guidance and leadership, his army would not have been able to coordinate itself to conquer another country. The army needed to listen to guidance from their leader in order to succeed.

In this same way, leaders need a clear direction and to uphold a strong standard. For Christians, we uphold the Bible as our standard and our direction is to fulfil God’s Will for our lives. However, here we arrive at a difficult question: how do we know what God’s will is for our life? Or in other words, what is our calling? This is a whole other topic which I’ll leave for another article. In this article however, we’ll explore a Biblical character who God used as a leader for His people, Israel, and identify the characteristics of a Christian leader.

David was a famous leader in the Bible that was used by God to fulfil his purpose for Israel. Originally, humans were created to showcase God’s glory. Psalm 19:1 writes that “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” Why is our purpose to ‘declare the glory of God’? “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him.” – Colossians 1:16.

In his many war victories, David led Israel to turn back to God by setting his standard and direction in God’s Word and Will. However, it wasn’t always this way. The Bible records that David had humble origins and was never destined to be king at birth. In fact, he was a shepherd boy, coming from an ordinary family in a small town.

To everyone around him, he was nothing special. But God had plans for David, as he does for each and everyone one of us. From a young age, unbeknownst to David and his family, he was being prepared to shepherd the people of Israel. While David’s brothers were warriors in the battle field, David learnt to protect his sheep from wild animals. Lions, bears and threats to his flock were no match for David. I think we can imagine that it was beyond David’s dreams to one day defeat a giant enemy warrior and later become the king of Israel. 

However, when the time was right, God sent His prophet Samuel to anoint David as Israel’s next king. To the human eye and even to Samuel, David was just an ordinary kid. Definitely not a king. It was clear David’s warrior brothers would suit the role much better. But here God reminded Samuel:

 “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

– 1 Samuel 16:7 (ESV) – 

What a powerful, encouraging reminder! Though sometimes we don’t feel as if we have any chance of being something great, God has a plan for each of us that is beyond our thinking.

As the story progresses, we can see how David grows closer to God. It wasn’t perfect, but in everything, the ups and downs, David still clung to God. In short, David’s life ultimately fulfilled God’s purpose for Israel: to show God’s glory on Earth. So, how was David shaped to be a Christian leader? What was his standard and what was his direction? Psalm 86:12 and Psalm 119:15-16, which David wrote, reveals his answer:

“I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.”

– Psalm 86:12 (ESV) –

“I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.”

– Psalm 119:15-16 (ESV) –

God’s Word was David’s meditation (constant thought) and delight. Spending time in God’s Word helped David to stay on track and fulfil his purpose. God’s Word was David’s standard and God’s Glory was David’s clear direction.

Before finishing this article, I would like to note that not every person is called to be a leader. Yes, God has a plan for each of us, but that doesn’t mean everyone is called to be in the spotlight. Remember Alexander the Great and his army? Without an army, Alexander the Great, the leader, would be powerless. But without Alexander the Great, the leader, the army couldn’t function. To some, God calls them to be a leader on a grand scale, such as a politician. To others, God calls them for ordinary roles, but to lead small groups of people to lead them back to God. Not all of us can be the leader. If that was the case, there would be no army. To many, God calls to be members of the army, just like the multitudes of soldiers in Alexander the Great’s army.

This analogy of the army can also be likened to a human body. There are many parts to the body; the eye, the nose, the mouth, the ears etc. Every part is important in its own way and no part is ‘more important’ than the other. In the same way, soldiers in an army are of equal importance to their leader. Read about this in 1 Corinthians 12:12-30.

David was an excellent leader in the Bible, but if we look further, Jesus was the perfect leader. We should look at Jesus’ actions towards others as our example. Jesus was humble, servant hearted and disciplined for godliness.

Being a leader doesn’t mean we make everyone do the work and we simply make the decisions. Being a leader means also getting on our knees and washing other people’s feet (John 13). Leaders should lead and serve. Leaders not only lead the battle, they fight it too. If I was to write about Jesus’ as our example, this article would not be finished. So, take time, like David would, and meditate on Jesus.

Now remember:

– God’s word should be our meditation (constant thought) and delight

– The Bible should be our standard and God’s Glory our direction. This applies to leaders as well as everyone

– Not everyone is called to be a leader but God still has a plan for each and everyone of us

I hope this article can be an encouragement both to those who are leading and those who are following.

– This article is inspired by Tim. Always remember to look to Christ as the perfect leader. Sometimes you will fail and sometimes you will do amazing. But, in all this, remember who provides for you and who gave you the gift of leadership (Matthew 25:14-30). Remember your army, remember your God.