Jesus calls these men just. Yet there was a third servant not so highly favored. All he did was keep watch over his Master's money until He returned. He didn't make more wealth, but he didn't lose what he had. In this economy, some might call that smart. The servant kept the money in a safe place--hidden, obscure, and unnoticed. In a word, he kept it useless.
To modernize the story, what if Donald Trump were to ask you to look after $1000--would you spend it or save it? It's not your money, right? You can't just use it like it were your own. He might have plans for it. He might want it back someday! But what if the plans he has for it include handing it over to you?
Donald Trump is a man of great wealth, but he is also a businessman: He knows that if he doesn't invest anything, his great idea will go nowhere. What if, in asking you to look after his money, what he is really asking is for you to spend that $1000 so that you could make 1000-fold return on your investment?
If Trump selects you to spend his money, he knows you are fully capable of using his wealth wisely. If he had given you $1000 and all you did was keep it warm in your pocket, he might call your choice under-utilizing your resources. And he might also say just what the Master said to His servant in Jesus' parable: "Jennifer, you're fired!" If the assumption of an earthly-minded man is that resources are designed to be invested, how much more so would it be the assumption in our walk with Jesus?
Trump expects his money to be spent, especially on a worth-while endeavor. Likewise, God excepts us to spend the resources He has given us. Taking the analogy a step further, would this thought be a valid assumption in the way we romance? What if that kiss I've been saving, for example, wasn't meant for me to hold onto? What if, instead, it were meant to be an investment?
Investing is different than merely spending. I don't mean to go out and kiss the first guy you find. I'm sure Donald Trump would say to find a worthwhile investment before you spend your money. Women today spend an awful lot of their value on men who won't ever turn a profit. By the end of it, the woman has nothing left to give, with nothing else to show for it. Surely Jesus didn't advocate for that. Just giving your resources away for free is not what I mean.
I'm talking, instead, to the woman reluctant to give up her resources because she hasn't yet found a worthwhile venue to spend them on. He's out there: And when God brings him to you, don't be afraid to use all you've been given to invest in him. I guarantee you, you will reap one-thousand-fold rewards.
"...unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies,
it remains alone; but if it dies,
it produces much grain."
--John 12:24
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