Stewards

STUDY: #917- CHURCH IN THE HOUSES FROM: OCTOBER 25 @ 31, 2016

TOPIC: “Stewards” Matthew 25:14-30 A steward is the main servant of a house; he is the one in charge of the service organization and the administration expenses of his master. A steward is a servant. All of us humans and believers are not on the same level with God; we are His servants, His butlers, and even more we are slaves of the Lord (I Corinthians 7:22 "For he who was a slave when he was called by the Lord is the Lord’s freeman; similarly, he who was a free man when he was called is Christ's servant."). OBEDIENCE is what it takes to be a good steward. A steward is responsible and is aware of his obligations, he acts and moves according to them. He fulfills his obligations with rigor and puts all attention on what he does. He has the commitment or obligation to repair an error and compensate the evilness caused when the situation justifies it. As believers, to be stewards of our Lord is a common good for all people. It is what God has given for others to benefit. There are those who are expecting from your "talent" for the benefit of their lives. The talent that is mentioned here in the parable by the Lord as an amount of money is something symbolic and it refers to the talent or capacity, the ability or intelligence to develop a service activity in the kingdom of God. For this reason, WE HAVE TO PUT IT TO FUNCTION! If you do not put it to work no one can receive the benefit of that talent that God has given you. There are many who rely on that talent that has been given to us by God to FUNCTION! A talent to work and serve in the Lord's kingdom is something that can be exploited or used by everyone. Your talent gives benefits to the church, to the brothers, to the congregation of believers. But, let us understand well, that the talent that God distributes is for a service and not to presume or to go above others. IT IS TO DO GOOD BY COVERING THE NEED OF THE OTHERS! If you fall asleep you do not administrate and if you don’t sanctify yourself you are a bad steward of God. In the parable we read that the negligent servant buried the talent and did not use it (Matthew 25:18 "But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money."). By failing to work the talent there will then be an emptiness in the village, a great necessity. We should know and understand well the things concerning the talents or gifts. God gives people different gifts. That is why we see that in the parable of the Lord He gave to someone five, to another two and to another one talent (Matthew 25:15 "To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability..."). Do not want those of the others! The talent that God gives DOES NOT MAKE YOU GREAT, so the matter is how you use it, whether for your vainglory or to serve. God will never require from anyone skills they do not have, but requires for each person to USE FULLY THE SKILLS HE POSSESSES. Not all people have the same talents, but THEY CAN MAKE THE SAME EFFORT! The parable is clear, it is not demanding, it tells us that whatever talents we have, small or big (five, two or one), we should put at God’s service. The talent that has been given to us is not our own property as to do with it whatever we want, but rather it is always at the service of the one who gave it. We cannot think that the talent comes from one. The reward comes to the steward

for a job well done (Matthew 5:21 "His lord said to him. Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will put you over much; enter into the joy of thy lord".). And when we do it right we will have more work! Nothing can be worked carelessly (wildly, without control). The two servants who had done well were not told they could sit and rest but were given greater tasks and responsibilities in the work of their master. From all this, observe how is your life! Are you one that multiplies your talent or are you one who cuts out your work for the Lord? Could it be that you work and say, "What I have to do is ONLY WHAT I WAS REQUESTED TO DO." And yet, you do not complete it and everything next to you is destroyed? Then, if that is the way you work your talent, you will never make a common good in your sad life and you will be a good failure like the negligent servant in the parable. God wants to open our eyes so that we do not fall into such condemnation (Matthew 25:30 "And throw the worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."). The punished is the one who never tries to do something with the talent, the one who had one talent and did not use it. HE HAD HIS REASONS, HIS EXCUSES, BUT… DID NOTHING! It is always a temptation for one who has only one talent to say: "I have so little and I can do so little with it that is not worth trying, for what little I'll get!" Condemnation falls upon that person. Evil will fall upon everyone with even one talent who DOES NOT ATTEMPT TO USE IT OR RISK IT FOR THE COMMON GOOD! THE TALENT IS NOT TO PRESUME OR FOR APPEARANCE BUT RATHER TO DISTRIBUTE, IT IS FOR A SERVICE, IT IS FOR THE COMMON GOOD! Whoever has will be given more; it is the law of life (Matthew 25:29 "For whoever has will be given, and will have more, and whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away."). For those who have no fruit of work realized will lose even what they have been given. A person that has one talent and exercises it becomes progressively more capable of using it much more. But, if he stops using it he will inevitably lose it. The PRACTICE IS WHAT IS GREAT ABOUT THE TALENT! The only way to conserve your gift is by using it for your fellow men in the service of the one who gave it to you, GOD! Amen.