Many of the people I talk to feel that they deserve more out of
life. They can express the reasons why they believe this should
be true, yet they have no insight into why it isn't working out
that way.
The answer is quite simple - they can't be trusted with more.
I'm sure they would disagree, but it is a universal law that
your level of maturity in the area of stewardship of all your
resources will largely define how much you have in life.
Does that sound harsh? Consider this: it is estimated that 80%
of lottery winners wind up declaring bankruptcy within 5 years.
When people have the mindset of deserving something for nothing,
money is the least of their problems. And since they are betting
people, they can bet that the money will go away until they deal
with their bigger problems first.
We can learn a great deal about receiving more blessings in our
lives from the parable of the talents Jesus shared with his
followers. You can find this parable in Matthew 25:14-30.
The Master
The master needed to be away from his business for an extended
period of time. We can assume that this was a relatively common
occurrence as he was grooming his servants to run his business
for him while he was gone.
We can see from his actions that this may not have been the
first time the master had left servants in charge of his money.
In this parable, it appears that there is one servant that he
had trusted on several occasions, another who had been trusted
on one previous occasion, and yet another for whom this was the
first experience in being trusted with the master's money.
Let's see how each of the three servants did.
The First Servant
The first servant, presumably having earned his master's trust
on previous occasions, was given 5 talents. He invested it, and
when the master came back the money had doubled.
The master was quite pleased! He praised the servant and promised
him even more responsibility. With that increased responsibility
would come increased independence and a better life style.
Not too bad!
The Second Servant
The second servant was given 2 talents. This was not as much as
the first servant was given, so we must assume that the second
servant had not shown as much responsibility as the first up to
this point in time.
Just as the first servant did, the second servant invested the
money. And again, the master was pleased, praised the servant,
and increased his responsibility.
The Third Servant
The third servant was given a beginner's portion, just one
talent.
Let's not minimize this, however! A talent could be worth
anywhere from $1,000 to $30,000. This would be a very large
amount of money for someone who had been a servant all of his
life.
This servant was not equipped to handle the responsibility.
Fear of what the master would do to him if he lost the money was
a bigger concern than responsible stewardship.
As is so common when humans operate from a place of fear, the
servant made a bad decision. Instead of investing the money in a
safe place, he buried it in the ground to protect it. I doubt
that even this did much to decrease his anxiety, however.
When the master returned and demanded an accounting of what the
third servant had done with the money, we can almost hear the
quivering in the servant's voice as he makes excuses for his
failure to be a responsible steward.
As pleased as the master was with the first two servants, he was
just as displeased with the third servant. He took the talent
away from him, and cast the servant out. The third servant's
worst fears had come true, despite his efforts to avoid
punishment.
The Wisdom of the Master
We can learn several lessons from this parable. First, we see
that the master treats each of his servants according to their
individual capabilities. He does not use a one-size-fits-all
approach to determining which of his servants he can trust in
the future. He wisely gives them whatever resources he believes
they should be able to handle.
God treats us in the same loving, compassionate way.
When you are wondering why God hasn't given you more, whether it
be material goods or something less tangible, such as
friendship, ask yourself how you are handling what you already
have.
If you are not a good steward of what God has already given to
you, it would not be loving for Him to give you more. It would
be overwhelming, and like the third servant, you could make bad
decisions based in fear.
Instead, God will lead you gently into maturity, withholding
more blessings until you are able to handle them with joy and
responsiblity rather than fear and poor judgement.
This parable also teaches us that God wants us to be successful
in using the resources with which He trusts us.
Listen to what the master says to the first two servants: "You
were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of
many things; enter into the joy of your master."
This is the promise that God makes to us as well. He desires our
success in handling all the resources He has given to us, so
that He can share His joy with us. And if that is not enough, we
will also be given even more blessings to enjoy and with which
to serve Him.
Stewardship is About More Than Money
One of the misconceptions I hear about stewardship is that it is
only about financial resources. Nothing could be further from
the truth. Every resource we have, from patience and prayer to
creativity and time, comes from God. We are called to invest all
of these resources for Him.
I have met people who faithfully tithe and wonder why they are
struggling financially. I believe that this means there is some
other part of their life that they are withholding from God out
of a lack of understanding or fear.
God wants to bless you right now where you are. The only thing
He asks is that you grow mature enough to handle the blessings
He wants to give you.
Can you let go of the fear and respond to the trust He wants to
place in you?
If so, you will have the joy of hearing, "Well done, good and
faithful servant. You were faithful with a few things. I will
put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your
master."
I can't think of anything more exciting. Can you?
About the Author:
Liz Shaw is a Christian Life Coach who specializes in helping
people develop a successful and fulfilling lifestyle. Sign up
for her inspirational ezine, Wings To Soar, at
http://www.wingstosoaroverstorm.com/
How to Have More of What You Want in Life
