What Are You Doing with What You Have?

In Matthew 25:14 – 30 we are told by Jesus a parable that has come to be known as The Parable of the Talents. A talent was not an ability of some kind, but rather it was a sum of money. The master gave to three of his servants a sum of money according to each one’s ability to handle it. Because of this, the parable has been used as an illustration both for how one uses their abilities God has given them as well as an illustration of the proper handling of finances.

In this parable, we see that all three servants, though they differed in ability, were all given a chance to do something at their current level of ability and were not denied the opportunity to do something meaningful with what they were given. To one servant was given five talents and he invested them and doubled his master’s money to 10 talents. To another servant was given two talents and he too doubled his master’s money to four talents, and the master blessed both of these servants! This part ought to help us understand that, no matter our lot in life, we are given an opportunity by God to do something and we have no need to look at what someone else received and what they are doing with it.

The third servant was given one talent and, rather than even trying to do something with it, he got scared to lose it and went and hid it in the earth until his master returned, which thing really angered his master! The master even told him in Matthew 25:27  Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury (interest). In other words, “All you had to do was something…just something with what I gave you and I would be happy.” But, the servant didn’t even do that. The master called him slothful and judged him for his laziness.

Each man and woman has been given a certain amount of talents; a certain amount of riches with which to work for the Master. Your physical ability, your opportunities, your health, your financial blessings, your imagination, your intelligence level, etc. are all riches you and I have received from our eternal Master and, while we are away from Him physically, what are we doing with those riches?

Are we looking for ways to develop them? Are we developing our health through proper exercise and eating habits? Are we developing our minds through learning of useful topics? Are we developing our imagination through the use of it for God’s kingdom? Are we developing ourselves by such things as reading or listening to edifying material?

Our Master will be returning, and He, just like the master in the parable, will be looking for a return on His investment. Will we be the one who buried our riches in the earth and returned nothing for our Master, or will we be among those who not only gained a return, but gained a significant and useful return for Him? The choice is ours and with God’s help (that’s the key), we can ensure we create a return for our Master to bless!

God bless you,

Pastor Fulmer