THE FALL OF A STEWARD

The Holy Bible says, “Well done, you good and faithful servant!” Matthew 25:21

Almighty God our Eternal Father gifts us with wide variety of opportunities, graces and talents and He expects us to use in the betterment of mankind. Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem for the last time, when a huge crowd followed Him and He preached with greater authority and power than ever before. As usual the crowd comprised of some who wanted to hear His divine teachings; a quantity of them were to seek healing; while some had the evil intention of trapping Him. The Jewish Leaders would go to any extent to defend the Law intact making it more of a burden to the common public. Laws are good at the same time we must bear in mind it was intended for certain plan and purposes and we must get adapted to the spirit of love. It was during this occasion our Lord narrates the parable of the three servants. The Lord says, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like this: before going for a long journey, a master called his three servants and put them in charge of his property. He gave to each one according to his ability: to one he gave five thousand gold coins, to another two thousand coins and to the next gave one thousand.” The Master represents God, and servants are mankind, coins represent the talents and qualities of our soul, mind and body that we owe to God. After long time, the master returned to settle the accounts with them.  (Matthew 25:19)

On the day of settlement the first two servants who had doubled the money they received from their Master are praised and richly rewarded with larger responsibility and an invitation to partake in their master’s happiness. “Well done, you good and faithful servant!” said his master. “You have been faithful in managing small amounts, so I will put you in charge of large amounts. Come on in and share my happiness!” (Matthew 25:21). Then came in the third servant saying, “Sir! I know you are a hard man; you reap harvest where you did not sow, and you gather crops where you did not scatter seed. I was afraid, so I went off and hid your money in the ground. Look! Here is what belonged to you.” (Matthew 25:24-25)  It is a great privilege to receive talents from God and to involve them into responsibilities for a much greater reward. He endows each one of us differently according to our abilities and we need to apply it to the best of our aptitude for God’s glory. God will reward us according to our usage of talents and increase in their value. We would be termed as losers if we do not apply the gifts the Lord has blessed us with. “None of you should be proud of one person and despise another. Who made you superior to others? Didn’t God give you everything you have? Well, then, how can you boast, as if what you have were not a gift?” (1 Corinthians 4:7)

Out of laziness, fear and mistrust towards his master, the third servant did not use the coins that was handed over to him. Laziness often finds some excuses or quote some fear to remain in their idle state. Abilities that are not utilized will slowly dull and disappear with the passing of time. God generously bestows us with the resources e.g health, wealth, possessions, intelligence but we often tend to abuse and misuse them carelessly. There are some, who use the power and authority to cheat, manipulate those who are under them. Our loving Father has approved us with relationships to love and cherish; while the material riches to gain pleasure but we often exploit our relationships for momentary possessions. We must have a mind to accept that which God gives us be it big or small as precious gift and understand that His purpose in endowing each one with different talent is not to compare others. Content with what is ours let us not out of jealousy or envy fail to blossom and produce abundant fruits like the third servant. For the Holy Bible points out, “The day of the Lord will come as a thief.”

Seeing the responsibility of the first two servants the master is highly pleased. They servant’ abilities and hard work are appreciated and the two are promoted. The third servant burying his coins (talents) is lazy and in hopeless state, says to his master, “I was afraid so I went off and hid your money in the ground. Look here is what belongs to you.”(Matthew 25:25)

Instead of investing in various opportunities and multiplying what the master handed over to him, he buried it deep below considering it as valueless. Similar is the state of a man who buries the Loving Father’s blessings. “You bad and lazy servant!”His master said.  “You knew, did you that I reap harvest where I did not sow, and gather crops where I did not scatter seeds? Well, then you should have deposited my money in the bank, and I would have received it all back with interest when I returned. Now take the money away from him and give it to the one who has ten thousand coins …. As for these useless servant- throw him outside in the darkness; there he will cry and grind his teeth.” (Matthew 25:26-30)

Talents bestowed on us by God are not to be concealed; and if they are used in the benefit of wickedness we are digging our path to the trail of hell. So let us receive all our talents loyally and wholeheartedly from our Loving Father, accept it and multiply it by being bountiful. Encourage the talents of our family members and community, so when the Lord’s day come we would not hear the harsh and hard echo of God.

May the Lord bless you and take care of you. May He be kind and gracious to you. May the Lord look on you with favor and give you peace.

With love filled blessings,

Your Sister in Christ