Do Not Despise Small Beginnings

“So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.’” Matthew 25:20-21

Despise not the day of small beginnings. Joseph was one of Jacob’s most beloved sons. In the book of Genesis, he was found faithful wherever he was. His brothers threw him in a pit and then sold him. He ended up becoming a slave. He could have despised it. He could have been upset. But he turned his negative situation into a blessing, and eventually, Potiphar noticed him and put him over his whole house. Then, Potiphar's wife falsely accused him. He was imprisoned for 17 years for a crime he did not commit. But Joseph didn't mope around. The Bible said that he started cleaning up the jail. He was the number one volunteer. And eventually, the person over the jail put him over the entire prison. Joseph always went the extra mile.

There was something about this guy. He wouldn’t wait until he was in the palace to do something great with his life. He always served with excellence right where he was. Joseph decided, “I will not despise the day of small beginnings.” Because of his great spirit, he eventually went from serving in the prison to serving in the king’s palace. Until you serve with excellence where you are, you can’t expect to receive more.

In the parable of the talents, the first servant hid his talent. He thought (paraphrased), “This is small time; it’s nothing special. I'm going to hide my talent. I’m going to wait until something bigger happens before I do anything.” And so he hid his talent. The second servant sowed what he had. He used his talent. And God said, “Because you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much.”

You may be saying to yourself, “I’ll be faithful when I really make it. I'm going to be the hardest worker when God raises me up.” But that's not how the kingdom works. The kingdom mentality is, “If you're not faithful with little stuff, you can't be trusted with big stuff.” So, honor God where you are and with what you have and watch how He blesses His children.

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