Not Mine – by Abby Kelly
“It is [God] who made us, and we are his;” Psalm 100:3 (ESV).
“Thank you for my poster, Dad.”
“You’re welcome, son.”
“Actually,” the little boy stopped, thinking. “Thank you for your poster. You’re the one who paid for it.” Realization swept over his features. “You’re just letting me hang it on my wall.” He cocked his head as another thought dawned. “Wait, I mean, thank you for hanging your poster on your wall where I can see it! ‘Cause it’s really your wall too!”
A pastor related this personal story and I laughed with the rest of the congregation—cute. But the next morning when I opened my Bible to the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25, I saw the story repeated only in ancient, middle east terminology.
So often when we read this story, we imagine the “talents” as the gifts and things God has given us, those things that belong to us to use for God’s glory. But that’s not quite right. In the story, the money never belonged to any of the servants. The master held them accountable, not to wisely use their gifts, but to wisely invest his resources.
Paul makes this truth personal in 1 Corinthians 6:19, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,”.
It’s common to say, “We should use our gifts wisely,” but that’s not entirely theologically correct.
We do not invest our lives purposefully because God has given us nice gifts. No, we do these things because we are stewards of His resources. Let us tend them so that when He returns, He will find us faithful.
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