Serving the Master

In Matthew 25:14-30 Jesus compares God to a master who gives his servants money to invest.  One servant received five talents, another received two talents, and then another received just one. The servants who received the five and two talents went “at once” and put the master’s talents to work.  Both of them doubled their investment.  They had a healthy and strong relationship with their master, so much so that they knew that their master rewarded bold action and loyalty.  They knew their master’s expectations and His spirit of grace, therefore there was no fear of failure.  However the servant who received one talent had a distorted view of his master; he saw his master as hard and vengeful.  With that distorted view he did nothing but bury his talent.  The master was indeed pleased with the bold behavior of his first two servants, but when it came to his servant who did nothing but hide his talent, he was angry.  It was not so much about the lack of results, the master was angry at the lack of effort and loyalty to his wishes. 

How do you view God?   Our view of God guides our behavior.  Do we see Him as an angry God that waits for us to fail, or do we see Him as a supportive God that rewards faithful obedience? 

When it comes to serving God, which servant are you more like?  Are you using your resources to serve Him and His church, or are you burying your resources in mundane activity?  God wants us to take our resources and serve in His kingdom, but he also wants us to know Him as a loving master who rewards our faithful desire to connect to Him.  So if you are ready to put your talents to work, start by using every resource you have to connect with Him.