Matthew 25:21

Jesus is a master storyteller. I think if he were bodily present on earth today, we’d all want to sit at his feet like little kids asking him to tell us just one more tale.

One of his stories is about a man and his three servants. The man goes away on a long trip and decides to entrust his money to three servants while he’s gone. To the first servant he gives 5 bags of silver, to the second, 2 bags, and to the third servant, 1 bag. And then he goes away for a long, long time.

When he returns he finds that the first servant has invested his 5 bags of silver and earned 5 more. “Well done, my good and faithful servant,” the man proclaims. Likewise, the second servant put his 2 bags of silver to work and earned 2 more. “Well done, my good and faithful servant,” the man tells him too. 

But then the third servant steps forward. “I was afraid I’d lose your money,” this servant explains, “So I buried it out in the backyard until you came back. Here is your 1 bag of silver.” 

“You wicked and lazy servant!” the man replies. “You could have at least walked a few blocks to the bank and deposited my money so that it would gain a little interest.”

Then the man takes the bag of silver from the third servant and gives it to the one who has 10 saying, “To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance.”

Now, if you’re not familiar with Jesus’ storytelling style, let me let you in on a little something...his stories are almost always about something different than what they first might seem. This isn’t really a story about money or wealth. It’s a story about opportunity. So how might this story apply to you today?

The story is about being faithful with the opportunity that is before you. It doesn’t really matter how big or small that opportunity is...we’re all just called to be faithful with whatever opportunity we’ve been given.

You may have been given a 5 bag opportunity today. What will you do with it?
You may have been given a 2 bag opportunity today. What will you do with it?
You may have been given a 1 bag opportunity today. What will you do with it?

What God wants from you is simply this...to be faithful. To be faithful with the opportunity you’ve been given. Give your best to what lies before you today, and then do the same tomorrow. And when all is said and done you will hear the words,  “Well done, good and faithful servant.” And that will be worth celebrating.