CHAPTER ONE
EVERYONE HAS TALENTS
“Wherefore he saith, when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.”(Ephesians 4:8)
In the verse above, the Apostle emphatically states that everyone has been given gifts or talents from God. Why? For the establishment of a God-predetermined agenda! God has plans, but He uses human vessels. Everyone matters to God. You are central to a divine plan. No farmer goes to his farm without his implements. Similarly, God couldn’t have sent you down here on missions He hasn’t equipped you for. Therefore, you cannot be without gifting, endowments and special abilities.
You did not determine where, when and why you were born. God determined all that before your parents even met each other (Jeremiah 1:5). You are born at an appointed time, in an appointed place, with specific gifts to solve well defined problems. Everyone’s assignment differs.
When I was young, I used to wish I was an American or a European, living in London, New York, etc. Growing up however and discovering more about myself, I can say with every sense of audacity that I’m proud to be a Nigerian, born in Nigeria and Gifted to solve specific problems.
I’ve studied a bit about Nations. In every Nation, there is a natural resource. In Nigeria for example, there is Crude Oil, in Ghana, there is Gold. In England, there is Coal. In Germany, there is Uranium, etc. Each Nation draws from its natural resources to produce wealth for its citizenry. Nations differ in wealth depending on the level of utilization of their resources.
Similarly, every human being has a gift, a potential, a natural endowment and a special ability. The level of your success depends on the level of your utilization of that talent.
In every discipline and area of Endeavour, there are specialists. In sports, there are talented athletes. If you don’t have the gift, don’t try to be an athlete by all means. Look out for your own potential. Some people have the voice to sing, some have the personality to encourage, some; the hands to write, some; craft, some; drawing, some; talking, and so on.
Know also that it’s possible to be endowed with two or three or even as many talents as possible. Some people can do several things perfectly, you almost wonder if they are from another planet. The Bible said “God is able to make all grace abound to you…” (2 Corinthians 9:8). That means you can have abundance of gifts.
‘Benjamin Franklin’ was an author, printer, inventor, scientist and politician. ‘Leonardo Da Vinci’ was not only the best artist of his time; he also came up with ideas for the helicopter tank, solar power, calculator and the theory of plate tectonics. ‘Paul Robeson’ did not only have a beautiful bass-baritone voice, he was also a great athlete, writer, multi-lingual orator, scholar and lawyer. ‘Isaac Newton’ was a mathematician, physicist, theologian, astronomer, alchemist and philosopher. ‘Albert Schweitzer’ was a musician, peace activist, physician, philosopher and theologian. ‘Aristotle’s’ writings covered poetry, metaphysics, logic, physics, music, theatre, politics, biology, ethics and zoology. ‘Thomas Jefferson’, former president of the United States was an inventor, architect, politician, writer and wine maker. ‘Isaac Asimov’, having written 500 books and 9000 letters and post cards, said, “Never think that you’re not good enough yourself. People will take you at your own reckoning.”
I can go on and on. The summary of what I’m saying is that you have a talent and there is a possibility that you have multiple talents that are yet to be discovered. But it’s absolutely impossible for anyone to exist without a talent because everyone has a purpose and there’s a resource deposited in you for the fulfillment of your purpose; and that resource is called ‘Talent.’