Use It Well
Imagine This
The owner of an investment firm is leaving for a month-long expedition to a remote part of the world where communication will be extremely limited. Before he leaves, he calls three junior stock traders into his office. To one, he entrusts $500,000 to manage. To another, $200,000. To a third, $100,000. Each receives an amount based on their experience and ability.
Over the next month, the first trader works hard, researches opportunities, and grows the account significantly. The second does the same. But the third trader becomes afraid. He worries about making a bad trade and losing money, so instead of investing anything, he moves the funds into a basic account where they earn almost nothing.
When the owner returns, the first two traders present strong results and are praised for their faithfulness. Then the third trader steps forward and says, “I knew you expected results. I was afraid of losing your money, so I made sure not to lose any of it.” The owner is not impressed. The problem was not that he lost money. The problem was that he never truly used what had been entrusted to him.
Read Together
Read Matthew 25:14–30 together.
As you read, notice that the servants are not judged by how much they were given, but by what they did with it.
Scripture Overview
Jesus tells this parable while teaching about His return and the responsibility His followers have while they wait.
A master entrusts different amounts of money to three servants before leaving on a journey. Two of them immediately put the money to work and produce a return. The third does nothing with what he has been given.
When the master returns, he settles accounts. The first two servants receive exactly the same praise:
“Well done, good and faithful servant.”
The servant with five talents is not praised more than the servant with two. What matters is not how much they received, but how faithfully they used it.
The third servant is different. Fear keeps him from acting. Rather than risking failure, he chooses inaction. The tragedy of the parable is that he preserves what was entrusted to him, but never puts it to work.
Jesus' point is not primarily about financial investing. The talents represent everything God has entrusted to us: our abilities, opportunities, resources, relationships, influence, and time.
One day God will ask what we did with what He gave us. The question will not be whether we had as much as someone else.
The question will be whether we used it well.
Talk About It
Why do you think the third servant was so afraid to act?
How can fear keep us from using the gifts and opportunities God has given us?
Why does God care more about faithfulness than comparison?
What has God entrusted to you that you may not be using fully?
Practice This Week
This week, take inventory of what God has placed in your hands.
Ask yourself:
What abilities has God given me?
What opportunities am I currently overlooking?
Where has fear kept me from acting?
Am I comparing my gifts to others instead of using my own faithfully?
Choose one thing God has entrusted to you and intentionally put it to work this week.
Don't focus on how much you have.
Focus on whether you are using it well.
Prayer
God, thank You for everything You have entrusted to us. Forgive us for the times we waste opportunities, compare ourselves to others, or allow fear to keep us from acting.
Help us to be faithful with the gifts, resources, and responsibilities You have given us. Teach us to use them wisely and courageously for Your kingdom.
May we one day hear You say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”