Our Talents
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benevolence, and will walk humbly before Him, He will cooperate
with them. He will increase their talents.
“Occupy Till I Come”
God has left us in charge of His goods in His absence. Each
steward has his own special work to do for the advancement of God’s
kingdom. No one is excused. The Lord bids us all, “Occupy till I
come.” By His own wisdom He has given us direction for the use of
His gifts. The talents of speech, memory, influence, property, are to
accumulate for the glory of God and the advancement of His kingdom.
He will bless the right use of His gifts.
We claim to be Christians, waiting for the second appearing of
our Lord in the clouds of heaven. Then what shall we do with our
time, our understanding, our possessions, which are not ours, but are
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entrusted to us to test our honesty? Let us bring them to Jesus. Let
us use our treasures for the advancement of His cause. Thus we shall
obey the injunction, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth,
where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through
and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither
moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor
steal: for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”—
The
Review and Herald, April 9, 1901
.
To Every Man His Work
It has come to be understood that talents are given only to a certain
favored class, to the exclusion of others who, of course, are not called
upon to share in the toils or rewards. But it is not so represented in the
parable. When the Master of the house called His servants, He gave
to every man his work. The whole family of God are included in the
responsibility of using their Lord’s goods....
To a greater or less degree, all are placed in charge of the talents
of their Lord. The spiritual, mental, and physical ability, the influence,
station, possessions, affections, sympathies, all are precious talents to
be used in the cause of the Master for the salvation of souls for whom
Christ died.—
The Review and Herald, October 26, 1911
.