Cast Off Indolence

TEXT: LUKE 19:21-28

Key Verse: “Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury?” (Luke 19:23).

A story was told of a young man who rounded off his apprenticeship at a tailoring institute. On his graduation day, he was given some money and two different sewing machines as a settlement. His elder brother also gave him some amount of money to enable him start small, but he wanted to start big like his master. He wanted a whole building as a starting point and different kinds of sewing machines. In the course of his waiting, the money he was given got lost and fire gutted where he packed the two machines and he went back to square one.

Had the boy rented a shop to start with, he would not have suffered so much loss. His mates who put the little thing they were given into proper use are today flourishing in the business.

This was the point our Lord Jesus Christ drove home in the parable in our text. He had told His disciples of a certain nobleman who, prior to embarking on a long journey, called his ten servants and delivered one pound to each of them. On his return, all the servants, but one, gave glowing account of how profitable they had been. They had wisely invested the pound and gained many times over. But this one exception came back to his master with his one pound. If he stopped at handing back the pound to the master and walking away, that would have been bad enough. But then, he verbally attacked his master. He accused his master of always wanting to profit from the efforts of others. His master was furious. Now, the master would judge the servant according to his words, describing the servant as wicked. He then took the pound from the servant and gave it to the man that had gained ten, again stressing a vital point that the more you use your talent, the more profitable you will become.

It is an act of foolishness to refuse to use the talents God has deposited in you. In fact, such foolishness is sinful. It denies God His due pre-eminence in your life. It means you have refused to be useful to your fellow human beings, and above all, you have neglected to obey God.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Do not despise the day of little beginning.