Bernie Borges [00:00:00]:
Hello, my midlife friend. This is Bernie Borges, your host to the Midlife Fulfill podcast. And this is episode 129, a takeaway episode from my conversation with Tim Washer on episode 128. As a reminder, you know the drill. My takeaway episodes are not a replacement for the entire conversation. So if you haven’t listened to episode 128, I suggest that you pause this, go back to the previous episode first, and listen to my full conversation with Tim Washer. And before I get to my 1 takeaway that I wanna cover with you, I’m gonna recap 3 key points that we discussed on episode 128. Number 1, making a connection.
Bernie Borges [00:00:47]:
Tim Washer shares his insights on starting a conversation and how building trust through a simple moment of humor can open doors and create meaningful relationships. Number 2, the power of laughter. Laughter is not just about entertainment. It’s a powerful tool for building trust and for creating positive connections. And number 3, finding purpose. Tim overcame resistance and fear to find his true calling, which is leading him to a fulfilling career that combines comedy and communication. And this is where I wanna land for my takeaway for this episode. Tim shared his experience that stems from a devotional that asked him to identify his spiritual gift.
Bernie Borges [00:01:41]:
His response to the question was making people laugh. In other words, comedy. And then the follow-up question in this devotional is on a score of 1 to 10, how would he grade himself on how good of a steward he was using this spiritual gift. This question really shocked him. He had no choice but to score himself 0. He says that he was not using his spiritual gift to any degree that would warrant any score above 0. This was a watershed moment for Tim. I mean, he had a real life moment.
Bernie Borges [00:02:22]:
He says that in that moment, 1 word consumed him, and that word was obligation. Tim felt that he was disobeying an obligation to use his spiritual gift. Hearing Tim share the story reminded me of another story, and I’m gonna share the story with you that speaks to this issue. Namely, the issue of obligation to use one’s spiritual gifts. Now if you prefer to think of spiritual gifts as talents that you were born with, go for it. That’s your choice. The story that I’m going to share with you is from the Bible And at the end of this story, consider the lesson that it’s teaching even if you’re not a reader of the bible. The story is known as the parable of the talents.
Bernie Borges [00:03:08]:
It’s a well known biblical passage and it underscores the concept of using one’s gifts for talents wisely. This parable is found in the new testament. It’s in the book of Matthew, specifically Matthew chapter 25 verses 14 through 30. In this parable, Jesus teaches about the responsibility of using the resources or talents that God has given to each of us. In the parable, a master and trusts 3 of his servants with different amounts of money, also known as talents, before he goes away on a trip. Now 2 of the servants invest and double the money that they were given, while the other one servant who was given the least amount buries his talent and doesn’t use it at all. He later told his master that he buried it to protect it. And when the master returns, he joyfully commends the 2 servants who applied their talents, and he rewards them.
Bernie Borges [00:04:14]:
But he strongly strongly rebukes the servant who buried the money that was entrusted to him. The key message of this parable is not about making money which some believe. The message is that each of us should use the gifts, abilities, talents, and resources that we’ve been given by God Wisely and Productively. This parable emphasizes that faithful stewardship and the productive use of our talents our expected and rewarded while neglecting or burying those talents is not acceptable. Let me repeat that. Faithful stewardship and the productive use of your talents are expected and rewarded, while neglecting or burying those talents is not acceptable. Now the parable of the talents in the Bible serves as a moral lesson about being responsible and faithful in using the abilities and the opportunities that God has provided to each of us. It encourages us to use our god given gifts for the benefit of others and to honor god in the process.
Bernie Borges [00:05:26]:
Now you might be very familiar with this parable in the bible. And in that case, let this just be a simple reminder of the obligation to use your god given gifts. Or maybe you’re not familiar with this parable from the Bible. I encourage you to go read it. I’ve only paraphrased it here. The actual text is very dramatic. It will grab your attention. Now you may not be open to a Bible passage.
Bernie Borges [00:05:53]:
And if that’s you, I encourage you to recognize that whatever talents you were born with happen for a reason. And it’s your obligation just as it’s my obligation to use our natural born talents for good, and that can include earning a living with them. You know, as a sports fan, I appreciate when a baseball player hits a home run and when he’s crossing the plate, he points to the sky giving thanks to God for his talent. Some football players do the same thing when they score a touchdown. When Coco Gauff won the 2023 US Open Tennis Women’s Championship at the age of 19. She knelt at her chair and she prayed. Now, she was on international television, and she prayed in public after she won this prestigious tournament. And during the television interview with her, she was asked what her faith means to her, and she responded by giving thanks for the opportunity to use her god given talent, win or lose.
Bernie Borges [00:06:57]:
Whatever you choose to believe, I wanna encourage you to ask yourself the same question that Tim Washer asked and answered. On a score of 1 to 10, how do you grade yourself in using your god given talents. Tim’s moment of awareness that he has an obligation is a moment that can happen to any of us. And after my recording with Tim, I asked myself this very same question. And while I didn’t score myself a 0, I thought hard and honestly about it, and I arrived at 5 or 6. While that’s not terrible, there’s a lot of room for improvement. And I’m sharing this with you openly and honestly because this is in part what I wanna do with this podcast is to share a piece of me with you. And it’s my hope.
Bernie Borges [00:07:52]:
It’s my prayer that I can use my god given talents through this podcast to reach men and women over 40 who are struggling with something that’s holding them back from thriving as much as they wanna thrive. Tim said that he’s at peace now now because he’s aware that comedy is his spiritual gift and his calling. And he’s confident that doors will continue to open for him to use his gift of comedy and communication to help people connect and wherever needed rebuild or strengthen relationships. And he’s doing this now, and he plans to stay on this path following the calling that he’s been given and experiencing fulfillment from it even if some days are a struggle because we all struggle. I struggle. Don’t you struggle? We all struggle. And Tim knows that in the grand scheme of things, he’s on the right path. He’s at peace with the path that he’s on whether today is a struggle or a good day.
Bernie Borges [00:08:55]:
As long as he’s following his calling, he’s on the right path, and that’s all that matters. I’m so thankful to Tim for sharing his journey and reminding us reminding me that I have room for improvement in my obligation to use my spiritual gifts. Hey. I wanna remind you that you can watch my entire conversation with Tim Washer on episode 128 on my YouTube channel, and it’s linked up in the show notes page. While you’re on the show notes page, don’t forget to download my midlife career reboot workbook whether it’s for you or for a friend. Hey. My next episode’s gonna be a little bit different. I’m not gonna give you the details now other than this.
Bernie Borges [00:09:41]:
I’m planning to share a recent experience that I had on my next episode. I hope you’ll tune in to hear about this experience. I think you’ll enjoy it. You know what time it is, my midlife friend? It’s that time when I remind you that if you’re 80% fulfilled, you’re doing great. If you wanna know how I know this, listen to episode 100 where I explain this. Hey. I’ll see you on my next episode, episode 130 featuring my recent experience. I’ll see you then.
