All good gifts come from God

“His master replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!”

— Matthew 25: 21

Recently during a church service I gave three sisters some money. I gave the nine-year-old $5, the six-year-old $2 and the two-year-old $1. I told the girls that I was going away on a trip and I would be back for an accounting of my money.

I had shared Matthew 25:14-30 with the church and followed the reading with a challenge to the three sisters. I told them that in three Sundays I expected the oldest girl to give me $10, the middle sister to give me $4, and the toddler to give me $2.

Prior to the service start, I had asked the father of the children in this story to work with me on a practical way to teach the congregation about the parable of the talents. Both the dad and mom did a great job discipling and training their children.

The family discussed several different business propositions and eventually decided that they would incorporate and Three Sisters Bird Feeders was birthed. The oldest child had a 50 percent investment, the middle child a 20 percent investment, and the toddler had a 10 percent investment in the business. The corporation paid a tithe on the money I gave them because the father wanted the money in the corporation to be blessed.

The family went through many struggles learning how to work together and how to run a profitable business. The dad cut the lumber for the bird feeders and the mom was the accountant. Each child earned a wage for each bird feeder that they built and sold. The toddler’s job was to scatter the bird seed on the peanut butter that was on the pine cone. The other sisters assembled the feeders, sold the feeders, advertised their business and kept encouraging each other. There were many challenges and obstacles to overcome.

The girls paid their parents a bird feeder for the use of the family van. They kept money in the corporation to pay for supplies. They learned quite a bit about business and a lot about the kingdom of God.

When the girls gave an accounting for my money that they were stewarding the results were impressive. The oldest child presented me with $90, the middle child presented me with $36, and the toddler presented me with $18. This increase was in three weeks from an initial investment of $8.

After interviewing the children about their business, I gave each child the money that they presented me. I shared that if God were hungry He would not tell us as He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. We are stewards of all that He has entrusted to us. I challenged the girls to steward the money I gave them for the rest of their lives.

The cutest part of the story that I can recall is when the oldest child asked her dad how the business was doing, and he told her that because of shareholder expenses and related costs that they were broke. She told him, “Well we only have 24 hours to get Kevin his $10.” The oldest child was concerned that the master would not be pleased.

I trust that you and I are also concerned about pleasing our Master. All good gifts come from God. One day each believer in Jesus will give an account to God. Have we been investing in the right things or will we be the worthless servant? The choice is ours.

God Bless.

(Kevin Barsotti is with Ark Church.)