Instruct the wise, and they will be even wiser
Life is a gift, and with it comes responsibility. Every talent we possess, every opportunity we receive, and every resource entrusted to us is not by chance – it is given by God for a purpose. But one day, we will stand before Him and give an account of how we’ve used these gifts. The Bible reminds us in 1 Peter 4:10 that we are stewards of God’s grace, called to serve others with what we’ve been given. And in Matthew 25, Jesus teaches us through the parable of the talents that faithfulness will be rewarded, while neglect and complacency will lead to consequences.
Are you using what God has placed in your hands wisely? Are you living with eternity in mind? This article explores the sobering yet powerful truth of future accountability – a call to live faithfully, serve diligently, and prepare for the day we will stand before our Creator. Be blessed as you read!
1 Peter 4:10 says,
“As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (NKJV).
“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms” (NIV).
When something is given to you, it becomes your responsibility to use it wisely, take care of it, and be accountable when it is requested back. God has granted us the grace to take charge and serve Him and our generation with excellence for His glory.
I want to share a parable that Jesus used in Matthew chapter 25, often referred to as the parable of the stewards. We can apply the principles from this parable to our lives today. Jesus says in verse 14 that, “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man travelling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them”. Note that he gave the stewards his goods. Verse 15 says, “And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one”. If you just read that, you might think that he favoured the one who received five more than the one who received two. However, we know that the Lord is not a respecter of persons. In this case, one received five talents, another received two, and the last one received one.
However, we will continue reading this verse to understand the standard by which the master gave the talents. It says, “And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability;” That was the standard by which he gave. One person had the ability to hold five, another could only hold two, and yet another could hold just one. This illustrates that the Lord gives according to our capacity. Therefore, if you wish to receive more from the Lord, what needs to change? Your capacity must grow. In verse 19, it goes on to say, “After a long time, the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.” My friend, there will always be future accountability.
Verses 20 and 21: “So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them. 21 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’. That’s what I want to hear. I want to hear “well done, good and faithful servant, you were faithful over a few things, I’ll make you ruler over many things, enter the joy of the Lord”. We always start out with the least, but we have to be faithful with that to get much.
Verses 22 and 23 He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ 23 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’
Then the next few verses say, “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’ 26 “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant” You don’t want the Lord saying to you that you are a wicked and lazy servant ‘you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest.’
" God has granted us the grace to take charge and serve Him and our generation with excellence for His glory. "
Verse 28 says ‘So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. The first two received talents and did something with them, gaining more. The one who received five ended up with ten, and the one who had two actually ended up with four. Let’s revisit the standard by which the master originally entrusted the talents. What was the original criterion for giving out the talents? It was based on each servant’s ability to manage them. The servant who received five talents was only able to handle that amount initially, but in the end, he was holding ten. Although he could manage only five at the beginning, his capacity increased over time. What caused this growth in ability? It happened because he utilized what he was given. If you use what you have, even if it seems small, and continue to do so, your capacity will expand. It’s said that if you’ve been faithful with a few things, you will be entrusted with many things.
The first two took ownership of what was given to them. They acknowledged to the Lord that He delivered it to them. Let’s look at verse 20 again, the one with the five talents: “So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them. He acknowledged the talents, took them, owned them and did something with them. Then the one with the two talents said in verse 22, “Lord, you delivered to me two talents”. He owned them, but look at the third servant, he didn’t own it. He never claimed it: “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’ He never took ownership of it.
Friend, many Christians have been given gifts by the Lord, but you may not have fully embraced yours. You need to acknowledge and accept it by saying, “Lord, I receive this gift. You have delivered it to me, and now I will use it.” There are some of you today who know you have a gift but have not fully claimed it or put it into practice. You may have hidden this gift, and it’s time to bring it out into the open. Own it by stating, “I have it; you gave it to me, and I am going to use it.” It’s important to utilise your gift because you will be accountable for it in the future.
God has given us many gifts. You have been justified, sanctified, saved, and filled with the Holy Spirit. But what will you do with these gifts now? You are still here on Earth. When you got saved, God didn’t take you to heaven; He left you here with an assignment. Your purpose is to serve others, reach out to those in need, and be a living advertisement for Jesus. Romans 12:3 says, “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. First, it is emphasised that you have been given a measure of faith, which is a gift of grace. Verse 4 goes on to say, 4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. 6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: We have been given gifts. But how did we receive these gifts? The Lord has bestowed them upon us. When you got born again, you were given a gift that is meant to be used. You are called to be a steward of that gift, but first, you must acknowledge that it has been given to you. Accept that you own it, thank the Lord for it, and commit to using it.
Here it says, “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them.” What does that mean? I’m just not saved, and I’m going to heaven right away. I thank God that I am in right standing with Him. I have been given the gift to reach out to others, and I am determined to step out of my comfort zone. I will go out, serve, and use my gift to help someone else. This is what it means to be a faithful servant. However, our flesh often wants to stay home, eat, drink, and watch TV. Yet, we are called to rise up and use our gifts by getting involved with others, even though it can be uncomfortable. The text reminds us that we have gifts to use, as we will be held accountable for how we use them in the future. There’s future accountability!
