Matthew 25:26–27: “‘But his master answered, “Evil and lazy slave! So you knew that I harvest where I didn’t sow and gather where I didn’t scatter? Then you should have deposited My money with the bankers, and on My return I would have received My money back with interest.”’”

This is talking about a waste of time, a waste of resources. It seems “logical” in the mind of the slave: “I’ll just bury this talent and do whatever I want because I really don’t want to serve the will of the master. I want to do my own thing.”

So you have these words: “evil and lazy slave.” The question is: are you an evil and lazy slave who is not deploying the gifts and talents God has given you, who is not following your calling, who is not maximizing your potential, who is not lining up with the will of God for your life? Are you that person? Are you that evil and lazy slave who is going to ignore the divine commission over your life?

Remember, Jesus said, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:62), when someone said he had other priorities higher than following Jesus and doing what Jesus wants him to do. You cannot have a higher priority.

Look at what Jesus said: “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). That has to be your number‑one priority, your number‑one preference, your number‑one direction, your number‑one drive. The work of God’s kingdom has to be your number‑one priority.

It is interesting that there was a while between the distribution of the gifts and the master's return. You might say to yourself, “Everything is going well for me,” just because the master has not come back. No. You do not want to wait until the master comes back just because there was no immediate complaint about you not doing what you are supposed to do.

Look at what happened to this man after the master comes back: “Throw that worthless slave into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 25:30). You do not want that. You do not want to be called “worthless slave.” What value are you bringing to the table? That is the question.

You are not left to your own devices. You have been given talents, you have been given resources, you have been divinely endowed with His grace and His Spirit. Remember Acts 1: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be My witnesses… to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). They were not left to their own devices; they were divinely equipped. What have you been divinely equipped to do?

You might say, “I don’t know. Maybe my time has not come.” Yes, but even if you do not know what to immediately do, you know you should prepare. You know you should begin to pattern your life, to have your life shaped by that divine call you have. Even if you are not taking any big public step yet, not “registering a ministry,” you still cannot live as if there is no call, as if there is no divine demand over your life to deliver specific outputs.

You might say, “I am still very young.” It does not matter; you can be preparing. There are all kinds of ways you can prepare, all kinds of things you can occupy your time with now, all kinds of people whose ministries you can join to contribute to what they are doing.

Look at what Jesus said: “You should have put My money with the bankers.” I see that as: you are not starting something on your own, but you could join other people who are already doing something and be part of what they are doing. The “bankers” you can see as a larger ministry, with different people serving in the context of that ministry. The interest is accruing to the kingdom of God.

God is not blind to that—that you are not “stepping out” on your own but are part of a ministry. That is how I see this banker narrative. “You could at least put My talent with the bankers.” You could at least take your talent and join yourself to a ministry and cooperate with that ministry, deploy your resources in that ministry. That is also a valid use of your spiritual gifting as far as God is concerned.

You do not want to be like this man who buried his talent. You cannot be living as if you are not called and then say, “Whenever God is ready for me, He is ready for me.” That is not how it works. You have to use this time to prepare.

So the bankers too: you can take your talent and resources and join them to someone else’s ministry and contribute. It is still counting, in the ultimate scheme of things, as your contribution to the kingdom of God. And God is not ignorant of that. “God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love you have demonstrated for His name, in having served and continuing to serve the saints” (Hebrews 6:10).

God bless you. See you later.