1. The law of Possession says: everything I have belongs to God (v.14). In this story the master represents God and the servants represent us. This means we are stewards, not owners of all God has given to us. What we think we own is actually on loan. If we're going to become healthy in the area of personal finances, it begins with viewing ourselves with the right perspective (as stewards, not owners). We can't make the mistake of thinking that because it's been on loan for a while that it now belongs to us. It doesn't. Everything I have belongs to God. And he expects me to invest some of what I have in his kingdom to see the return of a harvest of souls.
2. The law of Allocation says: God has loaned me money (v.25:15). Each servant was entrusted with a different amount of money. One got a lot. One got a little. One got somewhere in between. But here's the point: Everybody got something! And the same is true with us. Some have a little. Some have a lot. Some have somewhere in between. But God has given each of us something. We aren't responsible for what we don't have, only for what we do. And though we have no say in what we get or how much we get (God determines that), we do have a say in how we use what we're given. Both the guy with two talents and the guy with five talents invested the money and in time doubled it (vv.16-17). But the guy with one talent buried his money in the ground - nothing ventured, nothing gained (v.18). Likewise, we have a choice regarding what we do with that which we've been entrusted with. We can spend it, waste it, invest it, hoard it, give it away, use is wisely, use it foolishly, use it for good, or use it for evil. We can spend it all on ourselves or return some of it to God by investing it in His kingdom. The choice is ours, but we must remember, one day we'll have to explain why we did what we did. This leads us to our next law.
3. The law of Accountability says: One day God will audit me (v.19). On day, each of us will experience a life audit - not by the I-R-S but by the G-O-D. Each servant got to choose how he spent the money, but then each servant had to give an account for what he did with it. This is how it will work with us too. As Romans 14:12 says "Each of us will give an account of ourselves to God." To the two servants who gave a good report the master said "Well done good and faithful servant" (vv.20-23). The master called the one servant who didn't do anything with what he had been given a "wicked and lazy servant" (vv.24-25). Similarly, those who invest some of what they have in God's kingdom will hear "Well done good and faithful servant". Those who foolishly spend all they have on themselves while neglecting the needs of God's kingdom will hear "You wicked and lazy servant."
To learn laws 4-7 click here.
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