“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (I Corinthians 6:19,20).
The concept of entrusting one’s assets to an agent to make wise investments is very familiar to most people. Success is based upon the return on that investment (ROI). Our text tells of an investment that God has made in the life of the believer.
The One who made us, but was rejected by us, bought us out of the slave market of sin, redeeming us to be His own. But instead of gratitude, many Christians carry on as if they owned the talents, resources, and assets that God invested in them. Again Paul asks a probing question: “and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?” (I Corinthians 4:7).
If all that we have, even our life, has been entrusted to us by God, will not He expect a reasonable return on His investment?
This is the central point of the parable of the talents in Matthew 25. The lord gave each of his servants a certain amount of resources to use wisely. Let us recollect the reprimand given the steward who did not invest his talent: “Thou wicked and slothful servant. . . . Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury [interest]” (Matthew 25:26,27).
Someday each of us will stand to give an account, whether we be slothful stewards who invested poorly or whether we have fruit to show for the talents given us. “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful” (I Corinthians 4:2). DW