Bible Reading: Romans 12:6-8
"I heard the kids' choir at church is holding auditions next week," Mom said as Milo set the table for dinner. "Why don't you try out? I know how much you love to sing, and they could sure use you."
Milo shrugged. "I'm sure those kids are way better than me, so why bother? I'll just stick to singing in the shower."
"I found out more about badgers!" Anna announced when they sat down to dinner. "Have you ever heard of a honey badger?"
"No, but I'm guessing it's called a honey badger because it likes honey," said Milo.
"Right!" said Anna. "The honey badger has a bird friend called a honeyguide. When the honeyguide finds a beehive full of honey, it leads the way to it. Then the honey badger uses its claws to break open the hive and eat the honey."
"Does the honeyguide get some of the honey too?" asked Milo. Anna shook her head. "Well, that doesn't seem fair!" said Milo. "The honey badger should share the honey."
"But the honeyguide doesn't want the honey," said Anna. "It wants the beeswax and the bees' eggs and larvae in the honeycomb, and that's what the honey badger leaves behind."
"Interesting," said Dad. "So each one helps the other, and by helping each other they both benefit."
"You know, we're supposed to do the same thing as Christians," said Mom. "Just like the bird is able to locate honey and the honey badger has claws to open the hive, God has blessed us with different talents and abilities. He wants us to use them to help others and point them to Jesus. When we keep our gifts to ourselves instead of sharing them with others, everyone misses out--both us and the people who would have benefited from them."
Milo sighed. "You're talking about me trying out for the kids' choir, aren't you?" He put down his fork. "Okay, maybe I'll give it a try--I wouldn't want to keep a gift God gave me all to myself when I could use it to help others. I might make new friends and learn more about music too. That sounds better than just singing in the shower!"
–Tanya Ferdinandusz
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