June 2, 2006

Encouragement for Today

Principle 5

“Being Faithful with Little”

Glynnis Whitwer, Senior Editor “P31 Woman Magazine,” Proverbs 31 Speaker Team Member

Key Verse:

Matthew 25:21, “His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'” (NIV)

Devotion:

I love all five of my children with equal measure, but when I want to get something important delivered to the school office, I know which one will get it there in one piece. I know which one will look for a brother on the playground full of children until he’s found, and I know which one will get distracted by the swings and abandon the search. One child will spend her money on something that will last, and another would spend his entire allowance on gum.

Of course, children will be children, and most grow out of silly distractions and a constant preference for play. But I wonder if God doesn’t look at us the same way, and decide whom He can trust with something important? Is God looking to see if He can give us more than we’ve got right now?

I believe most Christians want more of the right things. We want to know more of God. We want more joy in our lives. We want to do more things for the sake of Jesus. We want to be entrusted with more responsibility. We’d like to have more money to give away. We’d like to share more of our talents with others. And we question why we don’t have more.

Then we look around us and wonder why some people seem to get all the opportunities. Why do some people always have money to give? Why do they get asked to do important jobs? Why do they work with a good attitude at a boring assignment?

I believe the answer is found in the words of the master in the Parable of the Talents found in Matthew 25. Verse 21 reads, “"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'”

The servants in the story were entrusted with “talents,” or a unit of coins. Two invested the little they had and were able to offer a profit back to their master when he returned from his trip. The story describes the happiness of the master when his servants proved themselves faithful with little. The master was then willing to give them more.

God is looking at us to see how faithful we are with what He’s given us. He’s given us each an amount of intelligence, personal skills, physical strength, and emotional reserve. For most of us in the world, we’ve each been given shelter, food and a portion of money as well. Then God waits to see what we do with what we’ve been given:

Do we take our “gifts” and invest them or do we grumble about how little we have?
Do we wisely use our money, or do we spend it as fast as we get it?
Do we keep our homes moderately in order so that we can invite others over or it is a disaster zone?
Do we let fear keep us from using our talents in the Kingdom or do we obey God in spite of what others might say?
Do we keep in the shadows at work, doing the minimum, or do we go above what is required and let our lights shine?
Do we take responsibility for our problems or blame others?

God wants to give each of us more as long as we are investing what we’ve been given for His purposes and glory. I believe God longs to reward His believers with more responsibility, but He needs to be able to trust us. The reward of being faithful with little isn’t just getting more, it’s also sharing in the happiness of our Lord. An even greater reward is knowing we’ve played a part in advancing the Kingdom of God here on earth. We may never know just how many lives are impacted by our obedience. But God knows, and He’s already got our next assignment planned.

My Prayer for Today:

Heavenly Father, I worship and praise You for your goodness and faithfulness. Forgive me for the times I’m not faithful with what You’ve entrusted to me. Help me to identify those areas in my life that need changing. Please give me the wisdom and strength to make changes so that I’m more pleasing to you. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Application Steps:

Identify one responsibility in your life that you haven’t paid much attention to lately. What can you do this week to be more responsible in that area?

Reflection Points:

What are some of your personal strengths?

What responsibilities have you been given, that you can see God using and entrusting you with more?

What are some reasons for not using, or multiplying, the “talents” you’ve been given?

What help do you need to be a better manager of what you’ve been given?

What can you do in the next month to make a change that will help you be a better steward?

Power Verses:

1 Corinthians 4:2, “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” (NIV)

Proverbs 20:6, “Many a man claims to have unfailing love, but a faithful man who can find?” (NIV)

Luke 6:38, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." (NIV)

Proverbs 16:3, “Commit your works to the Lord, and your plans will be established.” (NAS)

Psalm 28: 6-7, “Praise be to the LORD, for He has heard my cry for mercy. The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song.” (NIV)