Invest In God's Kingdom

INVEST WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN GIVEN

To be a good steward we must not waste what has been given to us. We must invest what has been given to us and must show a return for it.

Matthew 25:14-22 - "For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord's money. After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. "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.' 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.' Mat 25:22 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.' 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 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. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.' "But his lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents. 'For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

This is an extraordinary lesson that Jesus gave and He did this to show us exactly how the Kingdom of God operates financially.

Jesus goes into quite some detail in this passage of Scripture because He wants us to understand what is expected from us financially without any ambiguity.

I believe whatever we do with our finances should mirror of this account given by Jesus and we should make absolutely sure that we comply with these principles.

According to our ability

We are given resources according to our individual abilities. We are all different. It is a fact that some people are more talented than others. However, we are responsible for those things God has given us.

In this passage of Scripture, each individual was not given spiritual things, but physical things like money, that they had to work with. When God gives us money, we have to take responsibility for it and invest it and produce a return on what He has given to us.

We are given time

The Bible tells us that each person was given a long time in order to conduct business. God gave them ample time and therefore those who did not perform had no excuse.

Things of value take years and years to build.

Time is a valuable resource. Many people waste their time with things that do not glorify God and when they are old, it is too late to start accumulating Godly equity because they do not have many years left.

Things of value take years and years to build. Good Godly relationships take a long time to cultivate. Building financial worth takes years and years. Success does not occur overnight.

To be a good steward, you must use your time here on earth to build equity and invest in every area of your life.

Invest in your talents and gifts. Make them available and find ways of improving by studying.

If you can, invest in your children because they are the future and they will fulfill your prophetic destiny.

Invest in your finances. Invest in your physical body. Look after your body. Work on your marriage. If you want a good return, invest in God’s Kingdom. Successful organizations are in all likelihood profitable because they implement Kingdom principles.