MAKING THE MOST AS STEWARDS OF GOD'S GIFTS

FOR TO EVERYONE WHO HAS, MORE WILL BE GIVEN
BUT FROM THE ONE WHO HAS NOT,
EVEN WHAT HE HAS WILL BE TAKEN AWAY

Jesus told His Disciples this parable: "A man going on a journey called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them. To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one - to each according to his ability. Then he went away.

Immediately, the one who had five talents went and traded with them, and made another five. Likewise, the one who received two made another two. But the man who received one, dug a hole in the ground and buried his master's money.

After a long time, the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them. The one who had received five talents came forward bringing the additional five. He said, 'Master, you gave me five talents. See, I have made five more.' His master said to him, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master's joy.'

Then the one who had received two talents also came forward and said, 'Master, you gave me two talents. See I have made two more.' His master said to him, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master's joy.'

Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said, 'Master, I knew you were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter. So out of fear, I went off and buried your talent in the ground. Here it is back.'

His master said to him in reply, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant and gather where I did not scatter? Should you not then, have put my money in the bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my return? Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten. For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.' " (Mt 25:14-30)

God is so ever generous with each of His Creatures, and especially with us, human beings. He has lavished on us material, physical, intellectual, effective and spiritual gifts. All of God's gifts are beautiful and precious. They are so many, far beyond our counting, for God is always immensely generous in lavishing His blessings upon us.

For our part, our first duty is to become aware of them. Denying God’s gifts or hiding them is not humility, but a very impoverishing form of moral blindness.

On the other hand, once we become aware of the gifts we have received from the Lord, we should not boast about them, as if they were our doing, nor should we take them for granted as something that God “owed us.”

The proper attitude toward the favors of the Lord is that of Mary’s, as we see it splendidly expressed in the opening of her Magnificat: "It is honest and grateful appreciation of these gifts as signs of God’s love for us." (See Lk 1:46-49.)

But, in addition to acknowledging them as coming from the Lord, we also have to utilize these gifts according to His will, i.e., with wisdom and creativity. God, who is ever so generous and trusting – will ask us to account for the way in which we have used His gifts.

The secret to be happy with what the Lord has given us is to make the most of His gifts and opportunities. God's gifts are like seeds laden with potentials. It is for us to discover these potentials and make them bear fruit by using them with creativity, a sense of responsibility, and Christian love. At the end of our life, we will be asked to account for the way we used such gifts.

What we shall have to account for is not any big sum of money entrusted to our enterprise. It is not only and simply the way we have used our physical, intellectual, aesthetic, spiritual faculties, and the numberless opportunities to do good to others offered us by the Lord.

The most important item of our accountability will be our very “self,” God’s basic and most precious gift to us. This means that, in addition to having to account for what we did to others, we shall be specially accountable for what we did with ourselves.

God has implanted in each of us the potential to become a saint, to be a living example and an instrument of His saving and sanctifying love. The decisive question will always be, “Did we do our best to become one?” Only a positive answer will entitle us to hear the invitation, “Come, share your Master’s joy!” (Mt 25:21)

Euchalette 16 November 2008
Word and Life Publications
MCPO Box 1820 Makati City 1258, Philippines