I’m sure you’ve all heard the saying “the rich get richer and the poor get poorer” many times before, and for most of you if you’re honest, you’ll even admit to making the statement yourself.
Well, a few years ago whilst attending a Millionaire Mind Event in London, UK, I discovered for the first time what this statement meant from a spiritual perspective.
The conference hadn’t even began yet, but as I sat in the hotel room waiting for my friend to get ready, I picked up my Bible to get a last minute read before attending the first day of the event, and I opened up to Matthew 25 and started reading the story of the talents.
I have read this story so many times since a child but two things really hit me:
- No matter how small you might consider your gift, you either use it or lose it! Matthew 25:18 tells us that the servant who received the one talent didn’t think it important enough so he dug a hole in the ground and hid it!
What’s worse, when his master returned he made excuses as to the reasons why he hid the talent… “Lord, I knew you to be a hard man… and I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look there you have what is yours.” (verse 24-25) He didn’t even take ownership of his gift, he still saw it as his master’s.
God has given you a gift because He desires for you to use it, and He knows that in using it will bless you and others. He hasn’t given it to you with his right hand and holding on to it with his left.
This is a problem I see so much in church circles it frightens me. I hear people speaking about their gifts being God’s gifts as if God is still holding on to them. He isn’t!! He’s given those gifts to you for you to use them and as long as you think they’re not yours, not only are you likely to abuse them, you’re unlikely to use them to the highest potential that God intended for them to be used.
So, the principle of the “Rich Get Richer And The Poor Get Poorer” is actually a spiritual principle, and here it is, straight from God’s Word
- The one talent that the servant hid was taken away from him and given to the servant with the ten talents (verse 28) and then in verse 29, we’re told “For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.”
Just to clarify that last point, this isn’t suggesting that if you’re poor or not so well off that you’re going to lose everything, because the fact is, you can be rich and lose everything.
Your responsibility is to be faithful to your calling, to use the gifts that God has given you no matter how small or insignificant you might think your gifts are.
So the only thing in question here, is your faithfullness to perform the service that God has called you to because what might seem insignificant to you could be a huge service to someone else.
For example, I dislike ironing with a passion and used to have a lady who does my ironing for me – so gotta get that going again! I praised her so often because she’s more efficient at ironing than I am and she does it with a smile on her face! In return, I pay her and so we have a perfect value exchange.
If you only have a little but use it to make a difference in other people’s lives, God Himself will ensure that what little you have expands, and the more you have, the more you’ll get.
Think about the snowball principle here. You start off with a little ball of snow in your hand, add more to it and then it will get to a size where you can roll it on the ground and it really starts getting big then!
In other words, it’s compound, and in the same way, as you use your gift, it will develop and then there is no telling how much you’ll be able to accomplish with a seemingly small gift.
So rather than question “why is my gift so small,” start asking, what difference can I make with the gift I’ve been given.
Blessings to you,
THANK YOU for this message! I was online around 2AM reading articles about how the rich are getting richer (ways they are getting richer). THENNNNN I came across your article. I was JUST about to give up on my gift and find other ways to make money. I was going to “box up” my gift and spend time learning about investing… study what the rich are doing. Thinking I’ll become financially successful much quicker if I invest like the rich, because investing in my gift isn’t working. BUT after reading your article, I’m going to CONTINUE to invest in myself-my gifts no matter how long it takes! God blessed me with an AMAZING gift and I can’t give up now:) Thank you!