Hello and Happy Thursday!
Throughout the past couple of weeks, I have been reading the book of Matthew. One of the things I love about this book, along with the other gospels, is the large amount of parables included within.
One parable I read this morning was entitled, “The Parable of the Loaned Money”. In this parable, there is a master and his three servants. The master decides to go away one day, and leaves each of his servants with some money to invest with while he is away. The first servant receives 5 talents, the second 2, and the third 1. The first and second servant make use of the money while their master is away, and end up being able to double the amount they were originally given. The third servant however, takes the 1 talent he was given and hides it in the ground because he was afraid of what his master would do when he returned. When the master returned, he was very pleased with the first two servants, placing them in charge of much since they were faithful with the little that he gave them. But, when he found out what the third servant did, he became very angry. He punished him for not being a good steward of what was given him, and for hiding it away when he could have invested it and used it for gain.
“So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.”
Matthew 25:25
The cool thing about parables is that they can be related to real life circumstances. In this case, we are like those servants in the story, and God is the master. He gives each of us unique gifts, talents and abilities for a purpose—to use them in furthering his kingdom on Earth. His desire for us is to behave like the first two servants—using our talents for the greater good, and multiplying what has been entrusted to us. But, so often we behave like the third servant. We see the gifts and talents that we have, and instead of using them to glorify God, we use them for personal gain—or maybe we don’t even use them at all. We become selfish with our talents and abilities, and choose to ‘hide’ them from the kingdom of God. When we do this, we are not able to fulfill our true purpose and calling in life. Instead, we end up living a half-life—full of selfishness and bitterness. God has given each of us special and unique abilities for a reason. It’s our job to use them in ways that are glorifying to him, and assist in furthering his kingdom here on Earth.
What about you? Do you have a God-given talent that is being used only for personal gain? OR maybe you have a talent that isn’t being used at all. God wants to use you and your talents to further his kingdom, and reach the lost—are you ready and willing to let him in?
Hope you all are having a great week so far! God Bless:)
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