The Profitable Servant

“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.” —Jesus
(Matthew 25:26-27)

Make the most of what God has given you. 

Be a profitable servant—for His glory, purposes and kingdom.

That's the underlying message in Jesus' parable of the talents.

And it's not specifically speaking of a 'talent' such as knowing how to play a guitar, although if you can use that God-given talent to worship and praise Him, then do so, to the degree that He has gifted you.

A talent in bible times was a valuable piece of silver, worth about $16,000 in today's economy. If God has blessed you with a lot of money, He wants you to use it for His good—not to buy yourself a huge mansion with a six car garage along the river. How many starving orphans could you help with your riches? How many missionaries could you send to the far reaches of the globe with all that money? Or feed the homeless in your own city?

A talent could also refer to your time. How much of your time that you normally spend on hobbies, watching TV, or working, have you ever given up to help someone else who is truly in need?

I'm not trying to lay a religious trip on you today. Just passing along the conviction I personally got when reading and contemplating Jesus' own words here in Matthew 25.

But He makes it clear; there will be an account we each have to give Him in the final conversation, of how well we used all that He gave us for good. Whether it be money, time, talents, or whatever, use it all for His glory and to advance His kingdom by prayerfully investing in His people and helping those in need.

Are you a good and profitable servant?

Or an unprofitable and lazy servant?

Again, we all will one day stand before Jesus and give an account of how we spent our time, money, and talents, to help others and glorify God.

How will you answer to that?

—God is Love and Love Never Fails.