In one of the many house hunts my wife and I have embarked on over the years, we decided it would be a good idea to remodel an existing home. We purchased a home out of foreclosure and got to work. Among the many projects we did in this in this process was a complete gut and renovation of the master bathroom. This master bathroom was on the third level of the house. The second level was the main living space and the first level was the garage. 

While she and I, with a considerable amount of help from our families, did quite a bit of the work ourselves, there were a few specialties that we hired out. One of the jobs we hired out was laying the tile for our new shower. One day while she and I took some trash to the dumpster, our tile guy’s helper came leisurely walking out of the garage and asked us, very casually, if we were “the people that live here.” We calmly responded that we were and asked if she needed anything. In response, she, again very calmly, asked us if we could shut off the main water to the house because “he hit something and water is coming out.” 

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I sprinted to the garage and turned off the water. After that, I ran upstairs to assess the situation. I was expecting a small trickle of water to be coming out of a loose connection or leaky valve. What I found was very different. I opened the door into the main living area to see water pouring through the ceiling and onto our freshly refinished hardwood floors. It was seeping through the plywood subfloor above and pouring out through the electrical openings to the floor below. This was a major setback as the disaster took quite a while to clean up and make sure there would be no mold in the ceiling. 

The amount of water that was pouring out when I entered the house was not a “casual stroll” level of urgency. It required more of a “run for your life” type of energy. The good news was there was no major damage and we were still able to finish the project on time. But in the midst of this indoor storm, I learned that there is a huge difference between owners and hired hands. 

Owners have a stake in the game. They value the project beyond the task to be done. Hired hands just want to do the job, collect their pay, and move on. Owners run to solve problems. Hired hands send word. Owners dig deep to make sure there are no further issues below the surface. Hired hands clean up what’s visible and move on. 

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I’m not trying to bad-mouth the contractor. He took responsibility, helped us make sure it was cleaned up, and did a great job with the shower. But at the end of the day, it wasn’t his house and that was reflected in the way he responded to the problem. 

In Matthew 25, Jesus shares a parable (a story with a purpose) about a landowner who was going on a trip. In this story, he gives three employees some of his wealth to manage. Two of his employees invest their portions while the third buries his portion in a field. When the owner returns each employee reports on his work. The first two show a return on their investment while the third gives back exactly what he was given. As a result, the first two employees are rewarded while the third is fired. 

No matter what your unique “purpose” is, God is calling you to invest well in the lives of others. He has given us all gifts and talents and is asking us to help grow and build his kingdom. The awesome part about it though is that he’s not asking us to tile a shower or build up an investment portfolio. Instead, he is asking us to grow the number of people who will get to spend eternity with him. He is asking us to invest in the lives of others, help them discover and walk toward their purpose, and to point them toward the abundant life that comes from a relationship with their creator. 

I want to encourage you today to own your calling and the part that you have been called to play in building up the kingdom. Don’t bury your talents in a field. Instead, invest them into others and watch the return God brings. What talent have you buried that could help others find life in Jesus? How can you dust it off and begin using it to advance his kingdom?

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