LESSONS FROM MY CAMCORDER (1): DO NOT HIDE YOUR GIFTS 

Just before I got admitted to the University, I had my dad’s friend buy me a video camera. It remains one of my most memorable gifts as a teenager. Out of fear, I kept the camcorder at home for about a year. I did not want anything to happen to my precious toy, so I hid it safely at home.

One semester, I eventually summoned the courage to bring it to school. I would take it along to class at times and keep memories of my classmates and others. Over time, people became aware that I had a camcorder. I started having some doors open to me simply because of that gift from my Dad’s friend. 

Beloved, you also have a gift from your Heavenly Father. He has blessed you with a gift that you can use to bless your world. Do you remember the Parable of the Talent? There is not one of us who lacks a gift from the Lord- even if it is just one. 

“And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.”

Matthew 25:15 NKJV

You may not be the five-talent man, but you have at least one. He did not leave you without a gift. The gift of a man is meant to make room for him, but if the man keeps and hides his gift, he remains small and stranded. 

Just like me, many are hiding away their gifts. It is not and will never be a wise thing to do. Stop hiding in fear like that servant who was given one talent: 

“And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’”

Matthew 25:25 NKJV

He called it “fear,” but the one who gave the talent saw things differently: 

““But his Lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant…” Matthew 25:26 NKJV

The one who endowed him said it was an act of wickedness and laziness to have hidden that gift. If all you know how to do is keep spaces clean, build it with confidence. That simple gift of recognizing when things are out of place can be given expression in many ways. Do not hide it away. You can groom yourself in the art of understanding protocol. You can take that skill into project and event management. 

This season, would you sit down and ask yourself, “If I were not afraid, what would I do?” Now that you know, why don’t you do it in spite of the fear? Courage is not the absence of fear; it is the ability to act in spite of the fear! 

You owe your world that gift. Do not let it gather dust hidden away under your fears.