If I had a hammer

There is a saying common among software developers.  "If all you have is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail."  It means that you have to figure out which tool is right for the task at hand.  If you need to set a nail, or severely bruise your thumb then a hammer is the perfect tool.  If, however, you are trying to cut a board, or paint a wall you will discover there are other tools bettter suited for the job.  The job becomes much easier if you know what tools are available and how to use them.

In Matthew 25 there is a parable taught by the Savior known as the parable of the talents.  In this parable a man prepares to go on a trip.  As part of his preparations he calls in his servants who will be responsible for taking care of his goods while he is away.  To one servant he gives 5 talents.  To a second servant he gives 2 talents and to a third servant he gives 1 talent.  It is widely believed that this scripture is the first instance of the word talent implying skills or gifts.  In New Testament times a talent was a unit of measuring mass, particulary the mass of precious metals.  It was approximately equal to the mass of water required to fill a container known as an amphora.  Each society had their own definition, but if we assume the parable refers to a Roman talent then we're talking about roughly 71 pounds.  If we further assume the precious metal in question was gold then, using a little trick I call "math", we find that a single talent would be worth $1.7 million dollars in today's market (assuming a price of $1,500/oz).

Now we know that upon the master's return he called in his servants to give an account of what they had done with the talents given to them.  The first two were deemed "wise" servants because they had managed to double the talents given to each of them.  The third servant was not so "wise" because he hid his talent for fear of losing it.  We tend to side with the master on this one and blame the servant for not seeking to increase his wealth, but let's be honest.  What would you do if you were put in charge of nearly 2 million dollars?  I'd be fairly afraid of losing it too. 

I think we have more in common with the third servant that we'd care to admit.  It's hard to go outside of your comfort zone and learn new things.  We feel vulnerable when we share our gifts with others.  It is not easy to put yourself in a situation where you may not be good at something or were someone may belittle you, but that is how we learn and how we grow.  In my last post I talked about the Infinte Loop we're all stuck in and one of the things that makes the Loop worthwhile is trying things we've never tried before.  Sure you may fail at first, but with each cycle you'll get a little better until you've mastered that particular skill.

Life is about growth and progression and learning how to overcome challenges.  The more tools we have in our toolbox, the better prepared we'll be to deal with whatever comes our way.  Don't get me wrong.  I love a mangled thumb as much as the next guy, but I don't always want to use my hammer.