February 1, 2012

Matthew 25:14-30 (NIV)

   “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

   “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

   “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

   “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

   “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

The first time I ever read this story, I thought to myself, aww man, that’s not fair. The guy was just afraid of losing the money so he saved it instead. Why did he get punished for that? But then I realized the bigger moral behind the story: the servant wasted what God gave him. A lot of times, God gives us talents and responsibilities according to His purpose for our lives, but instead of making use of them and developing them for His glory, we hide or neglect them out of laziness or fear of what others might say. But always remember that you’re not working for them, you’re working for Him and He wouldn’t entrust you with the talent if He didn’t know that you could handle it. So, don’t make excuses for why you’re not using what God gave you. Rather, start today if you haven’t already and trust God’s judgment. If He trusts you, who are you to say that He’s wrong? Do you know better than God does? If not, heed to the call and get to work! In doing so, you set yourself up to receive more talents and more blessings because as verse 23 says, when you are faithful in little things, God will bless you to be in charge of bigger things. :)