²⁹ For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have more than enough. But from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. (Matthew 25:29 CSB)

This week has been the first week on a new job. It was a really good week, but a really busy one. Thus, I did not take time to get out on my bicycle and get some miles in, I am planning to do so after I finish here. However, as I write this I can feel that in even a week of not riding my body has atrophied a bit. I have to really keep at my exercise these days or I quickly lose the benifit.

In a very similar way, God expects us to use what he has given us. With this new job many old skills and some new ones will be pressed into service. In my ministry, I need to write and publish to keep my God given skills up. In so many other ways we must use it or lose it, and this is exactly what our scripture is about.

This is the last of the story of the talents. The workers who were given more, used the talents to make more to give to their master. But the worker who was given little chose to bury it because the master was hard. He could not be trusted with more because he did not use even what he was given.

When we do not use what we are given, much like my body this week, our talents begin to atrophy. God expects us to use what we are given, even into retirement. No where, I can find, does scripture say we should retire from doing good and spreading God’s love and message.