Read Matthew 25:14-18 When we were little, both my sister and I would get about the same amount of money for holidays like Christmas and again on our birthdays. We would both be so excited to get that $5 bill from our family or a cup of change from my grandpa. It always drove me nuts, though, because, as soon as I got my money, it would be spent on Ninja Turtles and nerf toys in about fifteen minutes. My sister, on the other hand, would save all of her money. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if she still had her birthday money from twenty years ago stuffed in her sock drawer somewhere. While I was a spender and she was a saver, neither of us did anything actually beneficial for anyone else with what we had been given. Whether immediately or down the road, we used it for ourselves. Throughout His teachings, Jesus told many parables. These were short stories that He used to explain things about God’s kingdom. In this particular parable, he talks about three servants who were given bags of gold by their master. One was trusted with five bags of gold, the second with two bags of gold, and the last person was trusted with one bag of gold. The man with five bags “put his money to work” and gained five additional bags. The person with two bags did the same and doubled what he had been entrusted with. The last person, though, dug a hole and hid the master’s money in the ground instead of putting it to work. All of us are the individual’s in Jesus’ parable. Some of us are blessed with a lot of resources. Some of us are still blessed, but we just haven’t received quite as much. No matter how much God has blessed us with, though, we have a choice of either putting those blessings to work or hoarding them all for ourselves. We’re either going to take what God has generously given to us and selfishly hide it away, or we are going to give it generously. If you’re a mature Christian, there’s no way you’re not a generous person. If you aren’t generous, then you are selfish. There’s no in between, and God has called us to move passed our selfish ambition and to grow spiritually. This definitely includes growing in generosity. It’s a true mark of our spiritual maturity. Reflect In general, would you say that you are a spiritually mature Christian? Now, think about that question while thinking about your level of generosity. How would God want you to grow in this area? Pray Talk to God about ways you can “put your money to work” by being generous with it to further His kingdom in this world. // TWO-A-DAYS // GO A LITTLE FARTHER WITH YOUR DAILY DEVOTIONS // Go through these questions with your spouse, kids, or friend, or you can even journal about the answers to these questions:
- What was the best part of your day?
- What was the toughest part of your day?
- Where did you mess up today?
- Where did you see God today?
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