By Brother Myles Tan
SCRIPTURE:
Matthew 25:14-30
“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. “ ‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Who is your master?
Who is your God? Sometimes, you are the lord of your life and not Jesus. You are given 3 T’s in this world: time, talent and treasure. How can you honor God with these 3 T’s? Because of this lockdown, you may feel that God left you. He did not give you time, talent and treasure. But the Word of God said that He did! He gave you all time, talent and treasure according to your abilities. But how do you use these? You were probably selfish and used these for all the wrong reasons for your own happiness. You were not faithful with the blessings that God gave you. You were your own master so God will take all of these away from you. There is a quote that says, “When you look at others, you will be stressed. When you look at yourself, you will be depressed. When you look at satan, you will be oppressed. But when you look at God, you will be blessed.” Your focus should be on God. Your life must have been so. messed up when your focus was only on yourself and not on God. It must have been a roller coaster ride! Is God the master of your life? Your money? Your decisions? He is God the Father and He wants you to come to Him for everything. If Jesus is Lord, then He will use you. But if you are lord of your life, then you will use Jesus.
Are you content?
How is your heart? The servants did not compare the talent that was given to them. The Bible says you are not supposed to compare. You are supposed to be faithful with what you have. Make it grow and persevere so that the blessings God gave you will grow. Everyone has a big hole in their heart that only God can fill. Most of the time, you try filling it with worldly materials but deep down, it will remain empty. Only God can fill the hole in your heart! Be content and work hard. Will you still be faithful to God even if your breakthrough has not come yet? Sometimes, your focus is on the things God does not do instead of the things that He is doing. Jeremiah 32:17 says, ““Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.” Avoid comparing. Be grateful with what God has given you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
Are you faithful?
If you are faithful, God will give you more. But if not, God will take away what you have. If you only think about yourself, God will not bless you. But when you give our life to Jesus, your life will change, slowly but surely. The Bible says that the Lord will never leave you nor forsake you. All of your friends may be there for you in the good times. But count how many of them are there with you in the bad times. God will always be there. How was the lockdown for you? Were you productive? God’s favor will bless God’s labor. Deuteronomy 8:18 says, “He has given you the power to produce wealth.” God will bless the work of your hands. But are you faithful? Life is God’s gift to you. What you do with that life is your gift to God. He uses broken people like you and me to help broken people like you and me too. The question is, “are you willing to be used by God?”
You are blessed to be a blessing. Your life goal should be Matthew 25:21, which says, “Well done good and faithful servant.” The faithful servants were rewarded because they did not complain and they did not compare. When you mature and become more faithful with what God has given you, then God will bless you more.