Daily Devotionals

In or Out Week 3 Saturday

To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. Matthew 25:29

All week we have been talking about making time for Christ a priority in our lives. We have talked about intentionally making the most of our time and letting go of the things that have distracted us. The question is, how do we do this well? How do we live this out on a day-to-day basis? In our Bible study today, we will read a passage of Scripture that helps answer that specific question and discover how to live faithfully, making the most of our short time on this earth.

Jesus taught in Matthew 25 about the importance of living intentionally and stewarding our time and our resources well. In this chapter, He told a story about a master who went on a trip. Before he left, the master gave three servants bags of silver to invest and make good use of. When he returned from His trip, he asked the servants what they did with the money they had been given. Two servants doubled the amount of silver they had been given, but one servant buried the money, taking no steps to invest it well. The master in this story praised the two servants who invested what they had been given well, but he rebuked the servant who did not invest. Summarizing this whole story, Jesus said, “To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away” (verse 29). 

Jesus told the story in Matthew 25 to teach listeners, including us, a lesson. You see, He gives all of us gifts, including our time, talents, and resources, and He gives them to us for a reason: to help build His kingdom. He gives them to us so that we can serve Him. The question is, how will we use them? Will we keep them to ourselves, ignoring them, or will we invest well? Let’s commit to using all of the gifts God has given us to make an impact.

Moving Toward Action

What gifts has God given you? What specific talents has God given you? Spend some time answering these questions. Then, after answering the questions, write out ways you can steward those gifts to invest well, make an impact for Christ and His kingdom, and commit to making those investments.

Going Deeper

Matthew 25:14-30 (NLT)

“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip.

“The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money.

“After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’

“The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’

“The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.’

“The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’

“Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’

“But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’

“Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’