Eternal Consequences Of Faithfulness

To everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.
–Matthew 25:29

The first two slaves in the parable of the talents invested what they had been given, and they were rewarded. But what about the third slave? Look at Matthew 25:24-25: “The one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’” This third slave probably figured the master was not coming back, so he started using his life as he wanted to use it. When the master came back, the slave panicked and made an excuse about why he had not obeyed the master’s command. He said, “You are a cruel and dishonest man. That is why I did not do what you told me to do.”

This is reminiscent of how unbelievers treat God. There are many people out there right now who profess to be believers, but as soon as their backs are up against the wall, they start attacking the character of God. It simply reveals they never knew God to begin with.

The master responded in verse 26, “You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest.” The master was saying, “If you really thought I was cruel and unfair, then shouldn’t you at least have put my money in the bank? No, the problem is your wickedness and your laziness.” This verse reminds me of what Paul wrote in Romans 3:19 about the day of judgment. He said, “Every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God.” When the great judgment comes, no excuses will be acceptable in God’s eyes.

Notice what the master said in Matthew 25:28: “Take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.” That leads to a fourth principle we can learn from this parable: our faithfulness in using our opportunities here on earth has eternal consequences. Why take away that slave’s only talent and give it to the one who had ten talents? In verse 29, Jesus explained, “To everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.” If you have been faithful to use what God has given you in this life, you will have even more in the next life. If you have been unfaithful to use what you have in this life, you will have even less in the next life.

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Today’s devotion is excerpted from “Talent Search” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2005.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org