Wednesday November 22, 2017
What was ten pounds to a man of noble birth?! Moreover, he went away to be anointed king, and hence, would definitely come back richer than he was before. Thus, entrusting ten pounds to ten of his servants was definitely not meant to make any profit for himself. Rather, it was an act of trust in the servants and perhaps a test of their fidelity and commitment to work for him as well. We do not know how all the ten fared. Of the three that are mentioned, two of the servants happily put the pounds to good use and made a profit and received commendation. One servant remained idle and hid his gift for safekeeping and return to the master. No surprise that the king punished him for his laziness and indifference.
God shares His gifts with us not for His own benefit, but for ours. By putting God’s gift to good use, we grow in human maturity and spiritual fervor, thus qualifying for membership and responsibilities in God’s Kingdom. How gloriously those seven sons and their mother (in the Book of Maccabees) put to use the gift of faith God had given them! May their story inspire us to greater investment of God’s gift of faith in our daily life!