I have heard it said that most people only use 10% of their talent. This means that 90% of our potential lies dormant and unfulfilled. If this is true it is certainly a sad and disturbing statistic.
Why do we fail to develop and use our God-given gifts and talents? In The Parable of the Talents which we find in Matthew’s Gospel (25:14-30) Jesus seems to mention two reasons. One is fear. Fear is a very powerful emotional force in our lives. It makes us cautious; it paralyses us; it prevents us from doing the things we know are good for us. Someone once said to me that the devil has no power but fear. The devil uses fear to hold us back, to keep us from changing and growing. The devil certainly uses fear to stop us developing our potential. If there are fears in our lives it is important that we name what these fears are. When we are willing and able to name our fears they lose much of their power over us. It is with good reason that Jesus is constantly saying to us: “Have courage, do not be afraid. I am with you.”
The other reason for not developing and using our gifts and talents that is mentioned in the gospel parable is laziness. What can we say about laziness? It is certainly easier to make a case for fear than for laziness! Laziness possibly comes from a lack of motivation and self-confidence. It is also linked with poor self-discipline. Significantly, we tend to have a negative reaction to the person who is lazy. Perhaps this is because those who do not pull their weight offend our sense of justice. But perhaps it is also because we do not like wasted talent. It is awful to see talent going to waste because the person who has it just cannot be bothered. The lazy servant who buried his talent in the ground in the gospel parable had it taken away from him and given to someone else who would use it.
In a welfare society it can become too easy for people not to use their gifts and talents. There are people who genuinely need the benefits the State gives them, especially at particular times in their lives. But when dependency on State benefits becomes a way of life it tends to deaden initiative and bury much needed talent.