Burying It In The Ground

There is a story in the Bible about the use of what has been given to you called the Parable of the Talents.  In the well-known story, a master goes away and leaves his three servants with differing amounts of money.  To one of the servants he leaves five talents, to another two, and to the third one.  The master returns and asks each of the servants what they did with the talents given them while he was  gone.  The servant who was given five has turned it into ten, and the servant who was given two has turned it into four.

The master then asks the last servant what he did with his one talent.  The servant replies that he buried it in the ground because he was afraid of losing it.  The master reacts violently, demands that the servant give his one talent to the servant who turned the five into ten, and that the servant be thrown out.

Regardless of your theology ( or lack thereof ), this story has applicability to decisions you make.  We have a given amount of time on the planet, and we should think about how we make the most of it.  For some, this means doing work that has a purpose far beyond themselves, like Scott Harrison of Charity:Water.  For others, it means becoming entrepreneurs and starting companies, creating new creases in the marketplace, and making their mark there.  For others, it means simply having work they love to do every day.

What it never means, if you subscribe to the principles laid out in the parable, is being afraid to do what you think is right or best simply because you are afraid or perceive some level of control you have over a situation when in reality you never had it and never will.

Think about it long and hard.  What decisions are right in front of you, begging for you to do something about, that you are ignoring or putting off because of the fear of failure?