Devotional--Money, Part V

Matthew 25:14-30

14 ‘For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; 15to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. 17In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. 18But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 

19After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, “Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.” 21His master said to him, “Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” 

22And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, “Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.” 23His master said to him, “Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.” 

24Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, “Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; 25so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.” 26But his master replied, “You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? 27Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. 28So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. 29For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 30As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

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  I believe this parable is the easiest and clearest way to look at money through the lens of Scripture.  Each and every one of you has been blessed with some amount of money.  Some of you have large amounts, some small, and for most of us, those amounts have changed and will continue to change over the years.  

  The important thing is not how much money we have--whether we have $10 million or $10, we are called to be good stewards of that money, recognizing it as a gift from God and using it as such.  What does that mean?  

  It means we look for opportunities to share our financial blessings, just as we look for opportunities to share our other blessings.  If you are a great cook, you like to cook for others.  If you're a good listener, you listen to others.  If you have money, you look for places to give money away to help change the lives of others.  If you only have $10, you obviously can't give away a lot of money, but you can have the same generous spirit that someone with $10 billion has--what matters is not the size of the number on the check, but rather the size of the generosity in your heart.  

  Do you see your money as a blessing, to be used to bless others?  A good cook will cook for themselves and won't starve to death while giving away everything, but they will constantly be on the lookout for places and opportunities to cook for others.  May we who have money, no matter how much, be on the constant lookout for chances to help change someone's life, either directly or through charitable organizations or through other opportunities, through the gift of money.

Blessings