The Faithful Are the Ones Who Prosper

People are often jealous of those who seem to continually increase or receive promotions at a greater rate than the norm. These successful individuals likely have one thing others don’t—faithfulness.

That’s what Jesus was illustrating in the Parable of the Talents (see today’s reading). It's easy to see in that parable how the kingdom of God works. He gives us an assignment, and if we’re faithful over it, then He gives us a bigger assignment. He prospers and promotes us and, as a result, we experience the joy of the Lord.

If we shrug off our assignments, the opposite happens. We miss out on our opportunities for promotion and experience regret. That’s what happened to the wicked servant at the end of the parable. His suffered loss because he behaved unfaithfully.

Why did he behave unfaithfully? Because he didn’t really know his master. He thought the man was unfair. The same kind of thing happens today. People don’t know the Lord, so they misjudge Him. They get mad at Him and go around saying things like, “God has never done anything for me. He’s never helped me. He doesn’t care anything about me.” 

People who make those kinds of statements have a wrong concept of God. They think He’s at fault for all the bad things that happen in the world. Because they don’t have any understanding of what the Bible says about Him, they’re afraid that He’s unjust and can’t be trusted. Instead of obeying Him, they keep living life their own way, and their lack of faith holds them back from walking in His blessings.

It isn’t hard to figure out. The faithful are the ones who prosper most. If you find yourself stuck in the same place year after year, check your faithfulness—to God, to His commandments and to those He’s called you to honor. 

He wants you to prosper!