Talents: Controlled by Other or Me?

This weekend at church we were asked what one of our favorite parables that Jesus taught while in his ministry. I responded with the Parable of the Talents. The story of the talents, is that a man gave another man talents, and in this time they were money, so he gets these talents and goes and does as he pleases with them. The man gives talents to others. One man buries his talents in the ground and then the man who originally gave the talents returns and asks what they have done with their given talents. One man invests his talents and has increased his fortune ten fold, the giver of the talents is pleased. The next man says he used his talents but had nothing in return. The giver is still pleased that he put his talents to use. The third and final man says that he buried his talents not using them and keeping them safe. The giver is furious that man did not use what he was given and put it to use in any way. 

This parable teaches us of the talents and gifts we have been given. We should not bury these talents away, but use them even if we have a gain or loss in our life. We should not let others keep us from using our talents, we were made and developed this way to be special, unique, and different then our neighbor or even our family member. 

In Their Eyes Were Watching God Janie's grandmother throughout her life has been holding her life back. Everything that Janie does her grandmother has an input and not wanting to be rude or upset her elders, she does what she asks. As the story progresses and at the end, Janie says no, she finally say no to her grandmother and runs away with Tea Cakes to have a long happy life. As people we crave what we crave, we want what we want, it's just part of our lives and who we have been shaped into being. Everything else that isn't helping us is holding us back. We should not let others make our decisions for us, we are our own person capable of making our own decisions and living with the consequences.