The Auditors are coming!

Having spent the majority of my working life in the finance industry it is not surprising that I have often been asked to act as Treasurer for the various clubs and societies to which I belong. It is a very important job as one is responsible for the good husbandry of the members’ funds. Those funds must be invested wisely and spent in accordance with the rules and regulations of the club.  Each year when the accounts have been prepared, they are audited to ensure they have been maintained correctly and that the balance sheet presents a fair picture of the club’s finances.

Jesus reminds us in the parable of the talents set out in Matthew 25: 14-30 that we are all treasurers of the gifts He gives us. You will remember that the master entrusts his servants with ‘talents’ i.e. his resources whilst he is away on business. Each servant takes a different approach to his share. One invests wisely and returns a profit of 100% whilst the second is more cautious so that his investments return a profit of just 50%. The third, more cautious still, digs a hole and buries his master’s money so that he does not lose anything but neither does he make a profit.

So which of these three servants are we? Do we use the gifts that God gives us fully so that everyone around us can see Him in us in everything we do or say? Do we perhaps carry on our busy lives without much thought as to what God wants from us at all? Or perhaps our lives fit somewhere in between.  In all three cases we still have the talents wherewith God has blessed us but what return has He gained in His investment in us? Yes, I know that God loves us warts and all, whether we recognise Him or not, but surely we owe it to Him to give Him something back for all that He has given us.

Now is that time to make a conscious effort to return Him a better rate of interest than He is getting from us at present.

Don’t forget there is one thing of which we can be very sure, and that is that at some stage we will all be called to present an account of our time on this earth for inspection by the Great Auditor. How will we measure up? Will He sign off our accounts?