Don't Bury Your Gifts: A Reflection on Luke 19:11-28

A nobleman gives coins to his servants before departing on a journey. Two servants invest their coins and double their value. But one servant, paralyzed by fear, buries his coin in the ground. When the master returns, he celebrates the risk-takers and rebukes the one who let fear prevent growth.

The Message for Our Lives

This parable isn't really about money at all. Those coins represent everything God has given us: our talents, our time, our faith, our love, our very lives. The question Jesus poses is simple but profound: What are we doing with these gifts?

Fear Versus Faith

The third servant's problem wasn't lack of ability but lack of trust. He saw his master as harsh and demanding, so fear kept him from acting. How often do we do the same? We hold back from serving, from loving, from risking because we're afraid of failure or judgment.

But Jesus reveals a different truth: God isn't a harsh taskmaster waiting to punish us. He's a Father who has invested in us and wants to see us flourish. When we understand this, we're freed to take risks in faith.

Growth Through Giving

Notice that the servants who doubled their coins did so by putting them into circulation, by investing and risking. This is the paradox of the spiritual life: we grow what we give away. Our faith deepens when we share it. Our love multiplies when we offer it. Our gifts expand when we use them in service.

When we clutch tightly to what we have, afraid to risk it, we don't preserve it. We lose it. The coin buried in the ground produces nothing.

A Challenge for Today

Today's gospel invites us to ask ourselves:

What gifts has God given me that I'm burying out of fear? What talents am I not using because I'm afraid they're not good enough? What opportunities to love and serve am I missing because I'm playing it safe?

God doesn't expect perfection. He simply asks us to trust Him enough to try. To invest the gifts He's given. To risk loving, serving, and growing.

The servants who doubled their coins weren't praised for being perfect. They were praised for being faithful, for trusting enough to act.

Moving Forward

As you go through your day, remember: God has invested in you. He's given you gifts meant to be shared, not buried. Don't let fear keep you from the abundant life He offers.

Take the risk. Make the investment. Trust that when you give what you have to God, He will multiply it in ways you never imagined.