Don’t Waste What Jesus Gave You

In Matthew 25, Jesus tells a story about a master who goes on a journey and entrusts his servants with enormous sums of money. One receives five talents, another two, and another one. To understand the weight of this story, you have to realize that a single “talent” wasn’t pocket change. It was worth up to 20 years’ wages. In other words, each servant was given a staggering investment.

The master eventually returns and calls his servants to account. Two of them put their talents to work and doubled what they had been given. The master commends them with the words every Christian longs to hear: “Well done, good and faithful servant.” But the third servant buried his gift in the ground. When he returned it unused, the master rebuked him for wasting the opportunity.

This parable is about stewardship. And here’s the point: God has entrusted you with talents, resources, and opportunities. He has given you a life, skills, relationships, and possessions. The central question is simple: What are you doing with what Jesus gave you?

Too often, we live as if the goal of life is to make it through comfortably until the end. But Jesus doesn’t want us to coast; He wants us to leverage everything we have in ways that echo into eternity. He wants us to live in such a way that our impact outlasts our mortality.

The Danger of Burying What God Has Given

The servant who buried his talent wasn’t rebellious in the obvious sense—he didn’t squander it on wild living or steal it for himself. He simply did nothing. And that, Jesus says, was enough to bring condemnation. Doing nothing with what God has given you is just as tragic as misusing it.

And if we’re honest, many of us are tempted to do the same. We bury our gifts because of fear, distraction, or comparison. We tell ourselves we don’t have much to offer, so why bother? But Jesus reminds us that stewardship isn’t about how much you have—it’s about what you do with what you’ve been given.

A Practical Step: The Generosity Ladder

One way to begin practicing stewardship is in the area of finances. Money isn’t the only thing Jesus cares about, but it often reveals the truest condition of our hearts. As Jesus said elsewhere, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21).

A simple tool called the Generosity Ladder can help. Think of each rung as a next step in faithful giving. Maybe your first step is to give something consistently for the first time. Maybe you’ve been giving sporadically and it’s time to give a percentage of your income. Maybe God is calling you higher—to sacrificial giving that prioritizes His kingdom over your own.

The percentage isn’t the point. Generosity is. God delights in cheerful givers who trust Him with what they have.

The Call of the Steward

One day, the Master will return. And He will ask what you did with what He gave you. My hope is that you and I will hear the words: “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Master.”

Don’t waste what Jesus gave you. Invest your life, your talents, and your treasure in ways that will matter forever.