Jesus tells the story of three servants who were given talents to invest on behalf of their master. The first two invested well and were rewarded, while the third one buried his talent and was judged accordingly. The first two considered their options, decided to step out and were willing to risk failure. As a result, their boss said, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant’ (Matthew 25:21 NKJV). But we also need to remember that when we are making decisions, we risk making foolish ones if we don’t think about them and seek God’s opinion. So, before we make a move, we need to talk it over with Him (have a read of Proverbs 3:5-6). The third servant, however, said, ‘I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground’ (Matthew 25:25 NKJV). He made a mistake. He failed to benefit his Master with his talent. And when we don’t use our gifts and skills, we fail to bring glory to God. He doesn’t give us gifts so that we can store them, He gives them to us to use them. Whatever our skills and talents are, we can use them for His glory and to bring other people closer to Him. ‘God doesn’t want us to be shy with his gifts, but bold and loving and sensible’ (2 Timothy 1:7 MSG). Fear is the opposite of faith, and ‘without faith it is impossible to please God’ (Hebrews 11:6 NIV). So, this year let’s step out in faith; God won’t let us down. Let’s take a risk; He won’t fail us. Even if we stumble on our way to success, He encourages us to think about the day when we’ll hear the words: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant!’
