CAN YOU GRUBSTAKE ME?
Ward Ferguson knows about grubstakes. He teaches school and gets whole summers off to do what he wants. He often spent that time painting houses to supplement the income as well as to keep busy. But a few summers back he headed to the higher elevations for a little gold digging. He stopped by our place with his truck loaded with all sorts of equipment, such as a small portable dredge to sift through stream beds. He sure looked like a modern-day prospector.
“That’s quite an investment,” I said.
“Well, my friend, Bill Hastings, who owns a car dealership, sort of grubstaked me,” he replied.
The Money and the Work
The term ‘grubstake’ still fits lots of situations. Hastings put up the money and Ward did the work. Any gold found would be split between them. At summer’s end, Ward reported he made enough to pay for the equipment and buy a few groceries. “Hastings was happy and now that the equipment’s paid for, next summer we should turn a profit.”
God Grubstakes Us?
In one sense, God grubstakes you and me. That is, He gives us spiritual gifts and various talents and expects us to go out and do something with them. Matthew 25 relates the story of how each one has been equipped with various sizes of grubstakes. The important thing is not how much you receive, but how efficiently you use what God gives you to accomplish His overall Kingdom purpose.
The first two servants did quite well with their grubstakes. Both received the same commendation:
“Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness” (Matthew 25:21).
However, the third servant’s condemned for laziness, apathy, and indifference to his gift. He cached the grubstake by burying it in the ground. Then, he returned the treasure later to the master, untouched and untapped.
Your Investment
The day will come when you will be asked to give an account for God’s investment of gifts in you. He expects some sort of work sheet of what you’ve been doing. Don’t you think He deserves a proper payback?
Stephen Bly
Copyright©1993,2008
Man With Money & Bible Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay
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“Got A Grubstake?” audio podcast by award-winning western author Stephen Bly. Sponsored by BlyBooks.com Legacy Series.
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