Work

Work

The crowd was listening to everything Jesus said. And because he was nearing Jerusalem, he told a story to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away. He said, “A nobleman was called away to a distant empire to be crowned king and then return. Before he left, he called together ten servants and gave them ten pounds of silver to invest for him while he was gone.”

Luke 19:11-13

Something new jumped out at me when I read Jesus’ parable of the king’s servants today. I knew that the parable focused on three servants who had been given money to invest. What I forgot was that money had been given to ten servants—not just three. Surprisingly, we never find out what happened to the other seven.

In the parable, a nobleman informed ten servants that he was going away to be crowned king, but that he would return. Before he left, he gave each of the servants some money to invest while he was gone. When the king returned, he summoned the servants and asked what they had done with his money. The parable recounts that the first two who reported to him had invested the money and gained a profit, but the third had kept it in secret because of his fear.

The whole point of investing is that we contribute money to make more money. The Dean Witter Guide to Personal Investing reports that if a thirty-year-old begins investing $150 a month at 10 percent interest, by the time he or she is sixty-five, the investment will have grown to about $574,000. Sounds good!

As a follower of Christ, I too have been given resources to help build and expand God’s Kingdom. God has blessed me with life, breath, energy, time, children, his Word, his church, his Spirit, gifts, meaningful work, and an income. How am I managing those gifts? How am I contributing to those gifts? What kind of return is God getting on his investment in me?

Father,

We want to be faithful servants. Please help us to manage your resources well. In Jesus’ name, amen.