Time, Talents, and Treasures: Keeping Our Perspective, Part II
I was telling a friend recently about some of the jobs my husband tackles around the house (I like to use that verb to describe his handiwork because he’s a former football player and still loves the game). His most recent project was a really big one – painting the outside of our house! I didn’t realize how much prep work had to go into this job! I thought he just filled the sprayer with paint and would be ready to go. He actually didn’t start painting until the third day and the entire project took about a week.
As I was telling her about my husband’s latest effort, the logical question was posed, “Why didn’t he pay someone to do it?” I think that question comes up a lot for most of the jobs on our “To Do” lists.
I have a friend who has a gardener care for his yard rather than doing it himself. By his own admission, he would probably have dead and disheveled landscaping rather than the lush, beautiful yard he enjoys as a result of someone else’s talent. I can relate to that! I’m terrible at gardening and I have seasonal allergies that would make it a miserable experience. Thankfully, my husband is good at it and takes pride in caring for the exterior of our home. However, in both scenarios, all glory is given to God by using each individual’s talents to care for the grounds at our homes.
I could use the same example regarding my responsibilities on the inside of our home. Why don’t I hire someone to clean our home? Well, I’m a little “fussy” when it comes to my home and having someone come over once in a while to clean it doesn’t justify the expense to me. I have to do a little something every day to keep our home neat, but by breaking things down into daily tasks, I don’t feel too overwhelmed. While I don’t necessarily enjoy all the jobs, I am capable of doing them instead of hiring someone to do them for me right now.
On the other hand, many people earn their livelihood by cleaning homes and offer a valuable service to those that are not able to clean their own home, especially our elderly and disabled brethren. Again, whether we do the job ourselves or take advantage of someone else’s talent, we are honoring God by keeping our home environment clean and neat.
The same could be said for eating out. I enjoy cooking and baking so, for our family at least, cooking at home is a better use of our time, talent, and treasure (money). I also believe that God has called me to be a homemaker in this season of my life so I feel like I am honoring that with the planning, shopping, and cooking. But, this is not true for every family. Not everyone enjoys cooking and some schedules are too crazy to include home-cooked meals every night. Thankfully, it seems that many restaurants are offering healthier options on their menus so that the nutritional value is comparable to making it yourself. As my Grandma got older, my Aunts and Uncles paid for a service that delivered meals to her so she wouldn’t be injured by the stove (or accidentally leave it turned on). Again, many talented people have been blessed with culinary skills. We can show them our appreciation for the gifts God gave them by eating at their establishments and keeping their businesses afloat.
The ironing…sigh. I’ll just have to keep praying about that one!
“As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace.”~1 Peter 4:10
