Matthew
25
PARABLE
OF THE THREE SERVANTS
14 "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.15 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.
16 "The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more.17 The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more.18 But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master's money.
19 "After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money.20 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.'
21 "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!'
22 "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.'
23 "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!'
24 "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.25 I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.'
26 "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,27 why didn't you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.'
28 "Then he ordered, 'Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver.29 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.30 Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
14 "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.15 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.
16 "The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more.17 The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more.18 But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master's money.
19 "After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money.20 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.'
21 "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!'
22 "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.'
23 "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!'
24 "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.25 I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.'
26 "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,27 why didn't you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.'
28 "Then he ordered, 'Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver.29 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.30 Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
When I read this parable this section just stood out: ”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.”
With a little research it became clear that the kingdom
of heaven is much like a business. I a business the employees work hard so that
the company can make a good profit. This also has a direct effect on the
employees, because in a performance based environment good work is rewarded by
a good increase or a good bonus structure which provides financial compensation
to the employee and even maybe a prize.
With God’s kingdom there is a strong resemblance to a
business. We are each given the abilities and the desires to do God’s work:
Philippians
2:13
For
God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases
him.
We as employees of the kingdom of God (Believers) must
work hard to produce a great profit for Him. We must spread His gospel and tell
people of Jesus. And this does not mean you must go on a mission to far off
country, no this starts right there where you are now.
Jesus ends His time on earth with these words:
Matthew
28
18 Jesus
came and told his disciples, "I have been given all authority in
heaven and on earth.19 Therefore,
go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I
have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of
the age."
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Let us make a profit for God in our lives.
To God be the glory