Are you being faithful with the gifts God has given you?
Are you being a good steward over the blessings God has entrusted you with?
Or, by hiding in the safety of the familiar, are you missing out on the harvest God has for you?
Whether it’s in our careers, in our families, in our ministries, with our personal finances or whatever occupation we’re called to, the Parable of the Minas gives us guidance.
In the Parable of the 10 Minas, found in Luke 19, Jesus tells us about a master who entrusts ten of his servants with one mina each while he was away.
“Therefore, He said: ‘A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. So, he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’’”
A mina was a coin in the ancient world worth about four months’ wages for the average worker at the time, so it was a significant amount of money.
While away, 7 of the 10 servants turned on their master for they “hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us.’”
When the master returned, he called upon his servants “that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.”
The first had invested his one mina and turned it into 10 and the second had invested his one mina and turned it into 5!
They had been good stewards over the blessing their master had provided them, working hard to invest it wisely and in turn reaped the reward of that faithfulness.
The master was very pleased and gave them 10 and 5 cities respectively to rule over as they had proven trustworthy.
But the third servant was fearful of the master and had not invested his one mina at all. Instead, he hid it away in a safe place and returned to the master only with the same single mina.
This angered the master greatly. Not only was the third servant not given rule over any city, his one mina was taken away and given to the first servant who had not wasted the gift given to him by his master.
But even though the third servant was not entrusted to steward great things, he remained a servant of the master.
The final 7 servants, who had turned against the master, were not so lucky.
“But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.”
So, what does this parable mean for us today?
Not everyone is called to be a businessman or investor like the servants in the parable so we might think this story doesn’t apply to us.
But everyone is blessed with gifts from God in one form or another.
Whether your gift is business, teaching, encouraging, serving, or any number of things, we are called to use these gifts as good stewards to bring glory to God.
If you don’t know what your gifts are, click here to read our article 5 Steps to Identifying Your Spiritual Gifts.
The first two servants were faithful with the gift their master had given them and were rewarded with a greater responsibility over entire cities.
In Luke 16, Jesus tells us “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much.”
Even if what God has entrusted you with now seems small in your eyes, be a good steward and it is likely He will entrust you with even greater things in the future.
The third servant was not faithful, but it is important to note that he was not executed like the other servants who became enemies of the master.
The Parable of the 10 Minas is not meant to be used to promote a works-based salvation. Being a good steward over the gifts God has given you isn’t a salvation issue.
The third servant was not entrusted with greater responsibility, but he remained a servant of the master.
Even if we fail to be good stewards over our gifts, we can never lose our salvation.
Only by rejecting God’s salvation and becoming enemies of God like the 7 other servants do people face eternal separation from the Lord.
So, how are you being a good steward and faithful servant over the gifts God has given you? Let us know in the comment section below.
