Simple Strokes for Different Folks

Passage:  Matthew 25:23 “Well done, good and faithful slave!  You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.  Share your master’s joy.”

In 1972 it was quite common maybe even expected for girls in my high school to take business classes.  I was not an exception to that practice and took every business class available to me.  These classes included typing and “shorthand” (a more appropriate term would be stenography). I became very good in typing and shorthand and even represented our school in district competition in both subjects. I loved using that steno notebook – the faster someone would talk the faster I would fill my book with squiggles and symbols. While most of the jobs I was trained for have completely gone digital, there are some jobs today that still use stenographers but I don’t think I will hurry to apply!

In all of the free time I have in retirement (ahem) I have been cleaning out boxes and I found some of my notes I had taken in a college class and guess what- all my notes were written in shorthand.  The problem is – I don’t have a clue anymore what the notes say.  It has been years since I have used shorthand and those notes are completely useless (except to show the grandkids a funny type of writing.)

Have you ever held on to something so long it became absolutely useless to you?  I imagine most of us have many things we thought would be worth our time someday so we tucked them away in boxes only later to have those things tossed in the trash.

I remind myself quite often of the parable of the talents in Matthew 25: 14-30.  There is so much in that one parable or lesson but just look at one part of it--While varied, we are all given possessions, talents, and abilities. It’s not what we have or what we are given but Jesus teaches it’s what we do with it.  Both servants who used what they had been given were commended.  They invested.  Good for all.  The servant who hid his talent was chastised.  He interred.  Good for no one. 

When we hold on to things too long, nobody benefits.  When we share what we have been given, we have endless benefits of blessing others.   Don’t “short-hand” them!  (Pun intended!)

Lord, help us to be wise stewards of what we have been given.  Help us to remember we are given so we can give.