I was reminded recently that there is a great difference between talent and character. Jesus touched on that subject in the Sermon on the Mount.
“Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit…. just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.” [Matthew 7:15-17, 20 NLT]
We live in a society that glorifies talent. We are enamored of those who have the talent to do exploits the majority of us cannot do. We put talent on the highest pedestal, and we pay highly for the privilege of watching them exercise their talent.
But there is a vast difference between possessing talent and possessing character. Character involves traits such as honesty, compassion, courage, patience, generosity, responsibility, and accountability—and more. Those traits seem to be harder to develop than talent and seem far more susceptible to corruption.
Jesus said we are to identify people according to their fruit – to their character. It is their actions which speak far louder than their talent.