Jesus told a story about a wealthy businessman who, upon leaving for a trip, gave one employee five talents to manage; to another, he gave two talents; and to a third, he gave one talent. (A talent in Bible times converts to about $360,000 today -- so each employee received a large amount of money to oversee.)
When the boss returned, he called in his workers and asked how they managed his money. The first employee invested it. He turned five talents into 10! The second employee had the same success turning two talents into four. But the third employee dug a hole in the ground and buried it. When he presented his one talent, the boss was furious. "You could have at least put it in a bank and gotten interest!" he shouted. Then he took the one talent away and fired the third man, and tossed him out of the building.
There are three things we can do with our lives:
- We can waste our lives -- do nothing but eat, drink, drug and party our lives away. After all, you only go around once, so grab all the gusto you can.
- We can spend our lives. This is what most people do -- spending it on careers, climbing the food chain at work, having families, houses and cars, collecting more and more stuff. They live the same routine day in and day out: Wake up in the morning, go to work, come home, eat dinner, watch TV, go to bed. In the morning, they do it all over again and again until one day they die.
- We can invest our lives in something that will outlast us. Something that makes a difference in other people's lives. Something eternally significant in the Kingdom of God.
The key to investing your life is to discover God's purpose and plan for you. God made and shaped each one of us with a divine design for His glory. That's why you have certain gifts, talents, personality and life experiences. God uses them all so we can be the best at what He has called us to be and to do.
Knowing God's purpose and plan for your life does four things: First, it gives meaning to your life. You have a mission worth living and dying for. Second, it simplifies your life. You can eliminate the extra baggage we tend to fill our lives with and bypass some of the detours life offers. Third, it focuses your life, helping you channel your time, energy and resources to God's plan for you. Fourth, it motivates your life. Knowing and investing your life in fulfilling God's purpose fuels a passion for what you're doing, and that passion ignites the lives of those around you and keeps you on course when the going gets tough.
When we stand at heaven's gates, God will ask us two questions: What did you do with my Son, Jesus Christ? What did you do with the talents, gifts and abilities I gave you?
