Luke 19:15-19 (NIV) “He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.
“The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’
“’Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’
“The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’
“His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’”
The master did not expect his servants to simply sit idle while he was away. He fully expected that they would take the resources that he had left with them, his own resources, and put them to work so that when he returned, there would be an increase in his wealth.
As he called the servants forward one by one, to report on how they had done while he was away, note that his solid expectation was that they would show an actual increase, not that they would have been doing “work” with his resources. (We are not told how long he was gone, but the implications are that it was quite a while.) To show an increase would require that the servants would be active, wise, and bold in how they used the master’s money It would be possible that some might be lost at points in the process, but he expected them to do good research and use good judgment so that they would invest primarily in things that had the best shot at a reasonable return, not in wild ideas and “get rich quick” schemes.
For these first two servants, this strategy had paid off, and quite handsomely. The first servant had showed a ten-fold increase, and the second a five-fold increase. And each was given appropriate rewards, commensurate with the increase that they had shown. Note that the servant who showed the five-fold increase was not shamed or derided for doing less than his fellow servant. Both had done quite well. Their differing results simply won them differing rewards, but both rewards were amazingly good, and included not only increase for themselves, but greater responsibility in their master’s affairs.
Of course, the master in this parable represents Jesus who would shortly be returning to heaven to be declared king, and who will then return. And when He returns, He will ask for an accounting from those who have been left with the riches of the kingdom, and will expect that each of us will have used those riches to grow His kingdom in anticipation of His return.
One of the great tragedies of modern Christianity is that so many of the people of the kingdom, those entrusted with the riches of the kingdom of God, do not seem to realize that, purely by being one of Jesus’ servants, we have been given a sacred trust as well as a solemn responsibility to use what He has left us and grow it, so that when He returns, there will be a significant increase in the holdings of the kingdom to place in His hands.
Father, it is so easy for us to get all caught up in the business of our lives that we forget that we are to make the business of Your kingdom the primary focus of our lives. Far too many of us are not even aware of the kingdom riches that You have given us, entrusted to us, let alone being actively involved in using them to show an increase in Your kingdom holdings. Open our eyes, Lord, so that we can see this clearly. And open our hearts, so that we can see the opportunities that You place before us each day, and so that we can wisely use our time and our resources for Your kingdom, and for Your greater glory. Amen.