Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. Luke 19:16
Almost every sport has a hall of fame, where athletes and others involved in the sport are recognized for their outstanding contributions. Only the very best ever make it into the hall of fame. But even among the ranks of those who are selected to be so honoured, there are always one or two who stand head-and-shoulders above the others, players whose achievements have exceeded the others by a wide margin, recognized as genuine superstars. They achieve what to regular players would be impossible accomplishments, and they serve as examples and inspirations for others to imitate and follow. They are like the man in our text who converted one pound into ten pounds for his master.
The Lord Jesus is telling a parable, to illustrate the faithfulness of service of those to whom He was committing a charge. To each of his ten servants the nobleman had committed a pound, with the instruction, Occupy till I come. The word that is translated ‘occupy’ carries the meaning of trading, or doing business. The servants were to buy and sell and make a profit, although we are not told what goods they traded in. Some would do better than others, of course, and the man who had converted the original pound into ten pounds was the most outstanding. The servant who came second gained five pounds, which was also pretty good. As a lesson reminding us that we are doing business in spiritual merchandise for our Lord, this story tells us that it is possible for us to excel in our service. There are Christians who stand out as achieving far more in their Christian service than the rest of us do. Our text gives us a key to what might have motivated this man to have excelled in his service, a key that could help us to be more profitable servants for our Lord.
Did you notice how the servant identified the pound? He said, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. He never looked on that pound as his, but as his master’s. You and I have been given abilities, capabilities, resources, and other gifts from the Lord. All too often, we regard these gifts as our own. They are not; they belong to the Lord, and we are responsible to Him for what we do with them. If we regard them as our own, we apply our own ideas and attitudes to them. Instead, we should be applying our Lord’s ideas and attitudes to them. We should be handling these things as those who must give an account, which we will do at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
We cannot all be superstars in our service for our Lord. But if we remember that what He has given to us is not our own but His to be used for His service, we will be better servants for Him. -Jim MacIntosh