Recently, I was sitting in a class my church was offering. The speaker was discussing the story Jesus told about the man who was going on a journey and entrusted his wealth to three other people to take care while he was gone. In this story, two of the people doubled the wealth that was give to them by putting it to work. The third person dug a hole and buried the wealth given to him in the ground.
The traveling man came back and was excited to see the profit the first two had made. In fact, he entrusted them with even more! However, the third man just handed the wealth back to the traveling man saying, “Here is what belongs to you.” Because no profit was earned, he was not rewarded and was scolded for being lazy.
This story is one of many that Jesus told. What makes this one unique is that this story was originally told directly to His followers. Jesus basically said to them, “I am going away. While I am gone, here is my power, make use of it. Gain more while I am gone.”
Most people look at this story and see the wealth or “talents” as the things that God has given us, with each of us receiving different gifts.
I have come to the conclusion (and it’s my opinion) that this is the wrong perception. This perception limits us in our minds to what we are really capable of doing. Instead, I am adapting the perception that Jesus gave us all the same wealth. The wealth that comes from Him!
Over the next several blog posts, I will be taking a look at how this wealth, given to us by Christ, plays into four main areas that affect almost every aspect of our daily lives: time, skills, money, and relationships. These things affect our decisions, course of life, happiness, fulfillment, and much more.
We have the power to change lives and to change the world, even if it is just our own daily world.
Keith Sampson
Executive Coordinator – God of Hope