Unless you live in a cave somewhere that doesn’t have wi-fi, you’ve probably noticed that the 47th President and his team are actually plowing into Federal departments, exposing questionable expenditures, and doing things that heretofore were only approached under the accepted and protected category of empty campaign promises and meaningless political hyperbole. President Trump and his team are not just threatening to audit agencies that have somehow avoided such scrutiny, he’s actually putting all the mechanisms in gear to actually do it. The process is simple. It’s looking at what they were entrusted with and asking questions like, “What did you do with it?” … “Where did the money actually go?” … “What was the goal?” … and “What was the outcome?”

Visceral Reactions Abound ~
This new approach to political procedures is apparently so unheard of, so shocking, so out of place that both DC swamp dwellers and those accustomed to gorging themselves at the government’s all-you-can-eat financial salad bar are reeling in disbelief. Panic attacks are commonplace among bureaucrats across the country and around the world. The fires burning on liberal heads are spreading faster than those wildfires in California. Leftist TV personalities and propaganda merchants posing as journalists are displaying uncontrollable urges to repeat irrational slogans and erupt with senseless, hyperbolic accusations and name-calling. We may see a new kind of reality show emerge like “Survivor” where a group of progressive Democrats are thrown into an obscure government agency with only their yoga pants, designer flip-flops, a spinach and okra smoothie, and one tube of full-body deodorant to help them get by. 

We’re definitely witnessing a historically significant period in American politics and it’s fascinating to watch whether you’re rejoicing in this refreshing new change in political norms or you think the world is about to end. Either way, there’s at least one lesson highlighted in all of this that Jesus taught and one that we would be wise not to overlook. Here’s how Matthew’s account begins. Jesus said:

For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them. (Matthew 25:14–19 NKJV)

A Story for ‘Here and Now’ ~
When Jesus taught about the Kingdom of Heaven, He wasn’t directing our minds and hearts to some far off place that we’ll see someday, but, unfortunately, is inaccessible to us in the here and now. He was talking about the Kingdom that He expects us to bring to this very earth we live on every day. The Kingdom Jesus proclaimed and called people to be a part of was present then and there because He was present. Where the King resides, the Kingdom resides as well, and that principle is as true for us today as it was when He was here physically. Our task is to live out and demonstrate what that Kingdom is like. This parable about the man who entrusted his servants with his wealth and left them to manage it while he was gone is for us. The message is not for some special group or some particular period in history. It’s not just about end times and eschatology. It’s about you and me – here and now. This parable is about who we are, what we have, and what we’re expected to do with it. And it’s also about a day when we’re going to actually be asked, “What did you do with it?” 

A couple of things are important to recognize. One is that we didn’t get to choose when, where, or how we came into this world. All of us emerged into this life in a situation we didn’t choose. We came with a set of capabilities and potentials we didn’t ask for and had no power to alter. For the most part, who and what we are have more to do with what we were given than anything we developed on our own. The Apostle Paul had a unique and concise way of saying it:

For who makes you different from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? (1 Corinthians 4:7 NKJV)

Another Realm to be Considered ~
For followers of Jesus, the list of things we received goes beyond our physical life and the genetic material passed along to us at birth. with us, there’s another realm to be considered. The One who redeemed us and sent us into the world to represent Him bestowed capacities and abilities upon us that have physical expression, but they are inherently spiritual. We call them spiritual gifts, and these gifts aren’t reserved exclusively for people who involve themselves in some kind of public ministry or professional capacity. Everyone who genuinely turns from their sins and receives Jesus Christ as Savior becomes a living residence for the Holy Spirit of God. When He comes into our lives, He brings things with Him that are uniquely and specifically designed for us. Paul addressed that later in the same epistle. 

There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all. (1 Corinthians 12:4–7 NKJV)

Through Jesus Christ, the living God has entrusted the wealth of heaven to His servants. It isn’t measured in terms of the world’s currencies. It’s measured in the things that represent the things that money can never buy – things like love, joy, forgiveness, righteousness, justice, truth, compassion, and self-sacrifice. As Jesus indicated in the parable, the One who distributed the wealth will be checking to see what we did with it. He’ll be looking at how we invested what we were given and what it produced. 

A Trap to be Avoided ~
The panic attacks being experienced by corrupt political officials and the firestorm of outrage pouring out of Washington and other places should serve as a reminder for all of us. When fraud and irresponsibility are okay because “everybody does it”, it’s incredibly easy to think that an actual accounting is never going to happen. That same seduction exists in the spiritual realm as well, and the losses that result are both monumental and eternal. 

So, may God help us not to be lulled into that deception; rather, put everything God has entrusted us with to work for Him. A day of accounting will come for all of us, but we shouldn’t see it as a threat. Our Father gets no joy in dishing out reprimands and humiliating us. God wants anticipation of that day to be encouraging for us. He wants us to realize that it’s a time for passing out rewards and celebrating victories, not for highlighting all the ways we failed. He longs to give us the rewards He promised. As Jesus pointed out, His joy lies in being able to say: 

Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ (Matthew 25:23 NKJV)

And there’s one more thing we mustn’t overlook. It’s no accident that the same faithful investing of our gifts that brings joy to the Father also enriches us and blesses those around us. So, as we leave Valentine’s Day for 2025 in our rearview mirror, let’s take the portion of heaven’s wealth that God invested in us and put it to work in ways that show this broken, sin-plagued and desperate world where real life, real love, and real hope can be found!

“TWEETABLES” ~ Click to tweet and share from the pull quotes below.  Each one links directly back to this article through Twitter . . .

• • We’re definitely witnessing a historically significant period in American politics, and it’s fascinating to watch whether you’re rejoicing in this refreshing new change in political norms or you think the world is about to end. @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet) 
  • Where the King resides, the Kingdom resides as well, and that principle is as true for us today as it was when He was here physically. Our task is to live out and demonstrate what that Kingdom is like. @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)  
  • Everyone who genuinely turns from their sins and receives Jesus Christ as Savior becomes a living residence for the Holy Spirit of God. When He comes into our lives, He brings things with Him that are uniquely and specifically designed for us. @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet) 
  • When fraud and irresponsibility are okay because “everybody does it”, it’s incredibly easy to think that an actual accounting will never happen. That same seduction exists in the spiritual realm as well, and the losses that result are both monumental and eternal. @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)

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