The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
- Matthew 25:16-18

Look at what each of these men does with the resources with which they’ve been entrusted.

The first man, responsible for $2.5 million dollars, went “at once” and got to work. We don’t know how he invested the money but we know that his hustle paid off. When the master returned, the servant had doubled his money.

The man with the two bags of gold ($1 million dollars worth of wealth) went out and did the same thing. He started with less and earned less, but still worked hard.

The last man did the hard work of digging a hole in the ground and burying the money in there. Half a million dollars resting in the earth. Safe but idle.

We don’t know what the last man did while his colleagues were out putting their master’s money to work. Later references to him describe him as lazy and fearful. Whether he frittered or fretted, the time passed and he gained nothing.

At its core, this is a straightforward passage that presents us with a straightforward challenge: what are we doing with what God has entrusted to us?

Where are you hustling? Where are you hiding?