Living Your Dream
But the one who had received one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. Matthew 25:18
The verse above comes from the Parable of the Talents. That parable has been brought to my attention several times lately. I’m still not sure why but I thought about it again the other day while listening to a song on a “classic” rock radio station, the only station that I can get in my back yard.
The singer of the song was bemoaning his fate, on the road, being misjudged, having to take the stage night after night. I’ve heard that song more times than I care to count. I sort of like the music but the lyrics make me crazy. Poor pitiful him! He has to live his dream. Doesn’t that just break your heart? Listening to him I thought about my own dream. I am much older now than that man was when he wrote that song and he had been singing and performing for quite awhile by the time that song was written. I wonder some days if I will ever be able to see my dream fulfilled. I’ve had a little taste but not what I really want.
A day or so after that train of thought ran by, I heard a song with a similar theme. The announcer told a story of how the artist was disgruntled because his album wasn’t as well received as he’d wanted it to be, so he wrote this song, this dreary self-pitying song that has by now sold a bijillion copies. That artist is even more successful than the first one I mentioned and the song in question is incredibly well known and popular, albeit dreary and self-pitying. So there it was again. Another boo-hoo from a rich, famous man who, oh poor, poor baby, gets to do exactly what he loves to do to earn a living, a very nice living.
Thinking about the two of them was starting to make me a little, okay, a lot, aggravated when it occurred to me. My day job is okay, I actually enjoy it most days. It is not my dream. As I said, I’ve had a tiny taste of my dream and I really, really want more. The talent that God has given me is not being buried in the ground. I am trying hard to use it and I promise you, if I get the opportunity to live my dream, full time, I will not write sad, self-pitying drivel. But, in the meantime what I have that those two men clearly do not, is a close personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
When one realizes that everything they have comes from God, that apart from Him they have nothing, everything is a gift. When we appreciate those gifts we use them wisely and well. Those men have a level of success that evades me. They live their dream while I am still dreaming mine. Those dreams, however, can be taken away in a heartbeat and even while they are living them, they are not happy or fulfilled. I am still chasing my dream but I know contentment and joy because my life and my dreams belong to the Lord. I have a much bigger success story because I have been welcomed into the family of God and to this point, they have not. Nothing this world has to offer is enough. Even the biggest success obtained without God by our side will not taste sweet but with God as our center even the tiniest success can feel like a huge victory. The joy is in the Giver not the gift.
The verse above comes from the Parable of the Talents. That parable has been brought to my attention several times lately. I’m still not sure why but I thought about it again the other day while listening to a song on a “classic” rock radio station, the only station that I can get in my back yard.
The singer of the song was bemoaning his fate, on the road, being misjudged, having to take the stage night after night. I’ve heard that song more times than I care to count. I sort of like the music but the lyrics make me crazy. Poor pitiful him! He has to live his dream. Doesn’t that just break your heart? Listening to him I thought about my own dream. I am much older now than that man was when he wrote that song and he had been singing and performing for quite awhile by the time that song was written. I wonder some days if I will ever be able to see my dream fulfilled. I’ve had a little taste but not what I really want.
A day or so after that train of thought ran by, I heard a song with a similar theme. The announcer told a story of how the artist was disgruntled because his album wasn’t as well received as he’d wanted it to be, so he wrote this song, this dreary self-pitying song that has by now sold a bijillion copies. That artist is even more successful than the first one I mentioned and the song in question is incredibly well known and popular, albeit dreary and self-pitying. So there it was again. Another boo-hoo from a rich, famous man who, oh poor, poor baby, gets to do exactly what he loves to do to earn a living, a very nice living.
Thinking about the two of them was starting to make me a little, okay, a lot, aggravated when it occurred to me. My day job is okay, I actually enjoy it most days. It is not my dream. As I said, I’ve had a tiny taste of my dream and I really, really want more. The talent that God has given me is not being buried in the ground. I am trying hard to use it and I promise you, if I get the opportunity to live my dream, full time, I will not write sad, self-pitying drivel. But, in the meantime what I have that those two men clearly do not, is a close personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
When one realizes that everything they have comes from God, that apart from Him they have nothing, everything is a gift. When we appreciate those gifts we use them wisely and well. Those men have a level of success that evades me. They live their dream while I am still dreaming mine. Those dreams, however, can be taken away in a heartbeat and even while they are living them, they are not happy or fulfilled. I am still chasing my dream but I know contentment and joy because my life and my dreams belong to the Lord. I have a much bigger success story because I have been welcomed into the family of God and to this point, they have not. Nothing this world has to offer is enough. Even the biggest success obtained without God by our side will not taste sweet but with God as our center even the tiniest success can feel like a huge victory. The joy is in the Giver not the gift.
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