“Again, heaven’s kingdom is like a wealthy man who went on a long journey and summoned all his trusted servants and assigned his financial management over to them. Before he left on his journey, he entrusted a bag of five thousand gold coins to one of his servants, to another a bag of two thousand gold coins, and to the third a bag of one thousand gold coins, each according to his ability to manage.

“The one entrusted with five thousand gold coins immediately went out and traded with the money, and he doubled his investment. In the same way, the one who was entrusted with two thousand gold coins traded with the sum and likewise doubled his investment. But the one who had been entrusted with one thousand gold coins dug a hole in the ground and buried his master’s money.

“After much time had passed, the master returned to settle accounts with his servants. The one who was entrusted with five thousand gold coins came and brought ten thousand, saying, ‘See, I have doubled your money.’

“Commending his servant, the master replied, ‘You have done well, and proven yourself to be my loyal and trustworthy servant. Because you have been a faithful steward to manage a small sum, now I will put you in charge of much, much more. You will experience the delight of your master, who will say to you, “Enter into the joy of your Lord!” ’

“Then the one who had been entrusted with two thousand gold coins came in and said, ‘See, my master, I have doubled what you have entrusted to me.’

“Commending his servant, the master replied, ‘You have done well, and proven yourself to be my loyal and trustworthy servant. Because you were faithful to manage a small sum, now I will put you in charge of much, much more. You will experience the delight of your master, who will say to you, “Enter into the joy of your Lord!” ’

“Then the one who had been entrusted with one thousand gold coins came to his master and said, ‘Look, sir. I know that you are a hard man to please and you’re a shrewd and ruthless businessman who grows rich on the backs of others.  I was afraid of you, so I went and hid your money and buried it in the ground. But here it is—take it, it’s yours.’

“But his master said to him, ‘You’re an untrustworthy  and lazy servant! If you knew I was a shrewd and ruthless business man who always makes a profit, why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? Then I would have received it all back with interest when I returned. But because you were unfaithful, I will take the one thousand gold coins and give them to the one who has ten thousand. For the one who has will be given more, until he overflows with abundance. And the one with hardly anything, even what little he has will be taken from him.’

“Then the master said to his other servants, ‘Now, throw that good-for-nothing servant far away from me into the outer darkness, where there will be great misery and anguish!’ ” Matthew 25:14-30 (TPT)

This oft-quoted parable sets out a template for self-appraisal for everyone that considers himself called of God. It outlines three principal elements that we each must look at in our lives against a background of the:

1. Resources proportional to abilities entrusted to us, and
2. Time limit within which we have to operate.

Three things are evident from this parable that we need to elaborate.

Accepting and taking responsibility for the resources or abilities is the first. There is a requirement to be God-focused and for absolute dependence upon His Spirit for direction to be productive for Him; a realisation that His gain must be my passion. There is a recognition that to be productive is not optional, thus there is no room for excuse, whether age (I am too old or too young), or being busy (over what?) or tired (from what?). Ephesians 5:15-17 (TPT) commands— So be very careful how you live, not being like those with no understanding, but live honorably with true wisdom, for we are living in evil times. Take full advantage of every day as you spend your life for his purposes. And don’t live foolishly for then you will have discernment to fully understand God’s will.  1 Timothy 4:13 emphasizes the same diligence in the study of the word of God and prayers for direction while 2 Peter 1:5-8 speaks to virtues that will keep us from being inactive or fruitless in our pursuit of knowing Jesus Christ more intimately. The second element is

Accountability. Are you in a place where when called upon you can account for your use of His resources and time? Are you constantly checking yourself on accountability, knowing that you are not your own (1 Cor. 6:19-20 (TPT)! How you do on responsibility and accountability positions you for the third element,

Judgment or Reward. The judgment seat of Christ will reveal your faithfulness demonstrated to bringing gain to the Master and not to self. Serve the Lord, not yourself with gladness if you want to reign with Him.

Selah.