When we talk about stewardship in the church, we almost always gravitate toward money. We discuss tithing, generosity, and faithful giving. We preach sermons on treasure and trust God with our finances. And we should—these conversations are biblical and necessary.
But somewhere along the way, we’ve narrowed the conversation so much that we’ve missed a profound truth: God has entrusted us with far more than just treasure.
He’s entrusted us with talent.
The Parable We Know—But Don’t Apply
Jesus told a story about a master who entrusted his servants with talents—units of money in the ancient world, but the word isn’t accidental. The master gave five talents to one servant, two to another, and one to a third, “each according to his ability” (Matthew 25:15).
We know how the story goes. The first two servants invested what they’d been given and doubled it. The third servant buried his talent in the ground, preserving it but producing nothing with it.
When the master returned, he praised the first two: “Well done, good and faithful servant.” But to the third, he said something sobering: “You wicked and slothful servant” (Matthew 25:26).
Here’s what strikes me: the servant who buried his talent didn’t steal it, squander it, or waste it. He simply failed to deploy it. He kept safe what was meant to be invested. He preserved what was meant to produce.
And that made him unfaithful.
What If We’re Burying Our Talents?
I wonder how many of us are doing the same thing—not with money, but with the actual talents, abilities, and skills God has given us.
You have a gift for teaching, but you’ve never considered how that could serve Kingdom purposes beyond your career.
You’re skilled with your hands, but you’ve never asked God if there’s a ministry that needs what you can build or fix.
You have a talent for hospitality, but you’ve kept it confined to entertaining friends rather than creating space where people can encounter Jesus.
You’re gifted in technology, administration, creative arts, problem-solving, or leadership—but you’ve never developed a plan for how those abilities could advance God’s Kingdom.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: if God gave it to you, it’s not for you alone. Your talent is not yours to keep.
The Question That Changes Everything
When I was working through what would eventually become Transformational Living, I kept coming back to a simple question: What has God put in my hands, and what does He want me to do with it?
That question applies to our treasure, certainly. But it also applies to our talent.
God has put skills, abilities, experiences, and capabilities in your hands. The question isn’t whether you have them—you do. The question is: what does God want you to do with them?
For some of you, the answer might be as simple as using your administrative skills to help organize your church’s mission efforts. For others, it might mean leveraging your professional expertise to mentor young people in your community. It could mean using your artistic abilities to create beauty that points people to the Creator, or your analytical skills to help a ministry become more effective with their resources.
The specific application will vary, but the principle is the same: your talent is meant to be invested for Kingdom purposes, not buried in the ground of personal success alone.
Stewarding Talent, Not Just Using It
There’s a difference between using your talent and stewarding it.
Using your talent means employing it for your own benefit—advancing your career, earning your income, building your reputation. And there’s nothing wrong with that. God expects us to work, provide for our families, and develop our abilities.
But stewarding your talent means something more. It means recognizing that God gave you these abilities as a trust. They’re on loan. And like the servants in Jesus’ parable, we’ll one day give an account for what we did with them.
Stewarding your talent means:
- Recognizing the source. Your abilities aren’t self-generated. They’re gifts from God, shaped by His providence and provision in your life.
- Asking Kingdom questions. Not just “How can I use this?” but “Where is God calling me to invest this?”
- Developing a plan. Just as you might have a financial plan or a career plan, you need a Kingdom plan for your talents.
- Expecting multiplication. When we invest our talents in Kingdom work, God multiplies the impact—not always in ways we expect, but always in ways that matter eternally.
What This Looks Like Practically
Let me share a few examples of what talent stewardship looks like in practice.
I know a CPA who uses his expertise to help small churches and ministries set up proper accounting systems—for free. He says, “God gave me this skill set. The least I can do is make sure Kingdom resources are managed with excellence.”
A friend of mine who’s a contractor spends two weeks every year on mission trips, not just building structures but training local workers in construction skills. “I’m not just building buildings,” he says. “I’m building builders.”
A woman in our church who’s a brilliant communicator has devoted her writing ability to creating discipleship materials for women in developing nations. She could be using those skills to advance her own platform, but she’s chosen to invest them where they’ll have Kingdom impact.
These aren’t people with extraordinary talents. They’re ordinary people who’ve asked an extraordinary question: What has God put in my hands, and what does He want me to do with it?
Your Kingdom Assignment Includes Your Talent
In Transformational Living, we talk about four areas of stewardship: time, talent, testimony, and treasure. But in my experience, talent is the one we most often overlook.
We’ll give our money. We’ll share our testimony. We’ll even volunteer our time. But we rarely think strategically about how God wants to use our unique abilities for His Kingdom purposes.
Your Kingdom assignment isn’t just about what you give financially. It’s about who God made you to be and what He’s equipped you to do.
Maybe God gave you leadership ability not just to climb the corporate ladder, but to guide a ministry through a critical season.
Maybe He gave you creativity not just to express yourself, but to help people see truth in fresh, compelling ways.
Maybe He gave you relational skills not just to build your network, but to create community where the lost can be found and the hurting can be healed.
Your talent—whatever it is—is part of your Kingdom assignment.
Don’t Bury It
The servant in Jesus’ parable who buried his talent had his reasons. He was afraid. He didn’t want to risk. He thought preserving what he had was the safe, faithful choice.
But the master’s judgment was clear: faithfulness isn’t about preservation. It’s about deployment.
The same is true for us. God hasn’t given you talents to bury them in the safety of your career, your comfort, or your personal ambitions. He’s given them to you to invest for His Kingdom.
So here’s my challenge: don’t bury your talent.
Ask God how He wants you to steward what He’s given you. Develop a Kingdom Business Plan that includes not just your treasure, but your talent. Look for opportunities to invest your abilities in ways that multiply for eternity.
Because one day, we’ll all stand before the Master. And the question won’t be “How much did you keep safe?” It will be “What did you do with what I gave you?”
May we all hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Not because we had great talent, but because we stewarded it faithfully for the One who gave it.
Want to explore how God might be calling you to steward your talents for Kingdom purposes? The Transformational Living workbook includes tools to help you develop your own Kingdom Business Plan—including a plan for your time, talent, testimony, and treasure. Learn more about how to get started.