In this excerpt from the Glorify Course, "Mastering Money Management," you'll learn how to build wealth, God's way! In the parable of the talents in Matthew 25, we read about a rich landowner who basically delegates to three different servants. And he gives them differing amounts of talent or money and says, "Do something with this".
The implication of this parable is to take what has been entrusted to you and turn it into something more. This parable applies to a lot of different things in our lives. It could be our time, it could be our children, or it could be the specific gifts that God has placed in our lives. In fact, everyone of us has been given "talent," something to invest in, or an entrustment. Consequentially, I believe money is one of these things that we are responsible for managing. And that it is all the Lord's, but we have an opportunity to steward it or manage it well for him and for His glory.
Interestingly, these servants were delegated responsibility by the owner, but the servants themselves never became the owners. In fact, their responsibility was increased or decreased based on their performance. I think it's the same for us. It doesn't matter how much or how little we are managing. We will never be the owners. God owns it all. We are managers. We are not the owners. But each of us has an opportunity to maximize God's entrustment. Just like Matthew 25 shows us, if we don't manage well, whatever amount we have, should we really expect to be given the opportunity to manage more? If can't even manage a hundred dollars well, why should I ever expect God to allow me to manage a million? You know, it's how we handle these small things that determines how much we're going to be able to handle. If I sent you that hundred dollars and you spent it in Chipotle and you spent it all at Nordstrom, do you really think I'd give you more and send more money to invest?
Not at all, right? But if you used it in accordance with the instructions that I gave you and used it with wisdom, I would feel so much more comfortable sending you 1, 000 or even 10, 000 because you proved yourself faithful with that little thing. So now I can trust you more because you've earned my trust. Luke 16. 10 paints a pretty clear picture with this: “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much." If God does delegate that responsibility to you and he gives you the money and you don't follow the instructions, you not only miss out because he's not going to trust you with that money again. However, other people miss out because you don't do the things that he asks you to do. We have to realize that the decisions that we're making in managing our money not only affect us, but they affect those around us and into eternity. We have the opportunity to manage it well for the specific assignments that God has called us to.
God wants to do the miraculous in our finances, but the miraculous looks different for each one of us. We all have different assignments. And so there are just different resources for each assignment. Consequently, different people need different things for the assignment that they've been given. In fact, we don't even fully know what our assignment is or what level of resource we will need. But the thing is, God does. What I do know is that I want to be someone who is like that steward who managed well. And that God gives good stewards more to manage.
I want to be one of those managers that he can trust with any amount because he knows that I'm going to faithfully manage it as he instructs me for his glory. Let's look at an example. Say you have a thousand dollars. And, after a good few years of hard work and investment, you find yourself with a million dollars. Wow! Congratulations! So then you go and hire a money manager to make that money grow for you. What would you expect from him? Learning from the Parable Of The Talents Okay, so hand your hard-earned money over to this investor, and six months later you call him up and you ask him. "How is it going? I gave you all that money. How's it going?" And then if he says to you, "I don't know how it's going; I'm not really sure, and to be honest, I don't even remember how much you gave me." What would you do in that situation? You would instantly fire that guy! Because there's an expectation that he absolutely has to know what he's managing, right? So this might be obvious, but you can't be a good manager if you don't know what you're managing and what you're responsible for.
Proverbs 27: 23 says: "Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds." Livestock was a form of currency for the Israelites back then. So, essentially, what we have here is biblical instruction to pay attention to what's going on in your investments. We are responsible for managing God's assets. And when you view it that way, there's a kind of weightiness to it and a responsibility to do it well. Ask yourself these questions. What can I do with it? How can I manage it better? I believe that when you start taking responsibility for the things you're managing, you're going to start seeing God do some pretty cool things that you didn't know were possible. Maybe you feel like you've messed up too much or not made the most of God's investment. The great news is that He is merciful and gracious and will give you another shot when you ask for it. Its not too late for you to see God's blessing, whatever stage of life you're at right now. Take a little time today and do this exercise. Calculate your assets under management. Find out where you are. It's going to be a starting point. It's going to be a reminder of how far God has brought you. And begin the journey of following Him in your finances.
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