Recenlty I have been asked about this blog and complimented on some of the posts I’ve made. This made me very uncomfortable as most compliments do and I’ve had trouble sitting down to write a new entry. At the risk of sounding like a complete #humblebrag, I didn’t know how to deal with people connecting to what I was putting into the world. But tonight I realized something about myself and shoes.

You may have seen recently seen this picture of a NYPD officer kneeling down to give a barefoot homeless man a pair of boots. A tourist snapped the photo and put it online and it went viral immediately. In the cold weather, that story warmed our hearts and maybe it was helped by the “holiday spirit” marketing angle, sure, but it was something true and good in a world where true and good aren’t so easy to find.

The police officer was identified and  interviewed on national television. He said was good people say – that he felt compelled to act and he knew he had to do something.

But this is why we can’t have nice things.

It came out Monday that the New York Times tracked down that homeless man who received such an important gift. They found him wandering the streets of New York… barefoot.

Did you feel that little sinking feeling? Did you have the same reaction I did of instant, “Darn, that is not a happy ending.” It was the same feeling I felt when the homeless guy with the golden voice turned out to be a human with real addiction problems. It was the same feeling I felt when someone I trust admits a failure. We don’t get neat tidy happy endings in this life. Stop looking for them.

As it turns out, the man told the news reporter the shoes were too nice and they were hidden away. Whether or not that’s true, it got me thinking of a story told a long time ago…

So this boss is going out of town. Picture Donald Trump, but not bat-shit crazy. He gets his three managers together and gives each of them some of the business funds to take care of while he’s away. I guess this guy didn’t have a smart phone. Anyway, he’s gone for a bit and when he gets back he calls them to the conference room for a presentation on the finances.

The first two guys get up and say they invested the funds they controlled and they doubled the investment. This story obviously took place before 2007. The third guy is sitting there nervously and when it’s his turn he gets up and says, “Well, sir, you are a really tough guy and I really didn’t want to lose your money so I just locked it in my safe. So here is all the money you gave me.” This angers the boss who expected some return on his money instead the guy was so scared of losing it that he didn’t do anything – not even put it in a savings account to make interest.

Ready to have your mind blown?

When Jesus first told that story back in the day, the measurement of money wasn’t dollars… the unit of money left to the workers was called a “talent”. And our definition of the word today comes straight from that story.

See, we’re all given gifts in life just like the homeless man was given a pair of shoes. But also like the homeless man, we get scared and want to hide our gifts or talents. It’s much easier to “bury my shoes” so I know that I’ll have them if I ever need it. But life isn’t about how much you have hidden away. We’re compelled to invest our talents in others and get so much more in return.

Tonight I’m thinking about that foolish, barefoot man shuffling around the streets of New York and how much we have in common. But tonight… I’m digging up my shoes.

So the question for you is what is your talent? Is there a passion or skill that you hide away and don’t invest in the world? When the boss comes back he’s going to call us to the conference room and he gave you that talent for a reason. My hope is that you overcome the fear of failure and show it off to the world.