WE OWN NOTHING

March 1, 2026

The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30, ESV, emphasis mine)

¹⁴ “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. ¹⁵ To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. ¹⁶ He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. ¹⁷ So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. ¹⁸ But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. ¹⁹ Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ ²¹ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ ²² And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ ²³ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ ²⁴ He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, ²⁵ so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ ²⁶ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? ²⁷ Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. ²⁸ So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents.  ²⁹ For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. ³⁰ And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

How often have you heard someone say something like, “You’ve been working hard—you deserve that promotion,” or “He didn’t deserve you anyway”? From a nonspiritual perspective, that may be true. Maybe your work did warrant the promotion you didn’t get. Maybe they weren’t a great person and didn’t warrant your time, energy, and devotion. But often we do not stop at the nonspiritual—we begin to think that we deserve something eternal.

The Bible speaks clearly about our condition apart from Christ. The reality is that we deserve only one thing: to be punished for our sins (Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:1–3), to be eternally separated from the loving presence of the divine Judge, sentenced to eternal damnation. We do not deserve salvation (Titus 3:4–5). We do not deserve a second chance (Genesis 6:5; Romans 8:7; John 14:15). Yet our God, being not only the Judge but also the loving King, gave by grace—which by its very nature means we are not owed what is given—a chance to be reconciled to Him. And when we receive the great gift of reconciliation to the Father, He does not simply leave it there. He reconciles with us for a purpose.

John 15:16 (ESV)

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, He may give it to you.

We are saved to bear fruit—but not just any fruit. We are to bear the fruit of advancing His kingdom here and now on this earth. The Lord does not send out His ambassadors empty-handed; He equips them with the tools needed to cultivate and harvest the fields. We are saved from our depravity for a purpose. We are bought with a price—the blood of Christ (1 Corinthians 6:19–20)—not to live as we please, but to submit our will to the Father’s. Whatever we have received from the Father, the breath in our lungs, the relationships we enjoy, we are to steward for the purposes for which He gave it (James 1:17). We are ambassadors and stewards, not owners (2 Corinthians 5:20).

We own nothing.

The Father, the King, has the right to all in His kingdom—every bit of fruit produced, every person bought with the blood of His Son—everything (Psalm 24:1). Therefore, be radically obedient with what He has entrusted to you. Take the five talents that belong to our Master and multiply them. Our King can afford the risks—but you cannot afford the risk of inaction. And there is deep joy waiting for those who faithfully use what their Master has entrusted to them.

Take a moment to consider what the Lord has entrusted to you—your time, your abilities, your resources, your relationships, your opportunities. None of these are accidental, and none of them are truly yours. They have been given to you by the Father for His purposes and His glory.

Ask yourself: Am I using what God has given me for His kingdom, or am I burying it in the ground?

Faithfulness is not measured by how much we have, but by what we do with what we have been given. The servants with five and two talents received the same praise because both were faithful.

“He is no fool who gives away what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.”

-         Jim Elliot, American Missionary