Stewards of Grace: From Idleness to Impact
“Prefer diligence before idleness, unless you esteem rust above brightness.” —Plato
A simple prayer begins this journey:
God, give us the wisdom to do what You’ve called us to—obedient to Your Word, faithful to Your people. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
The phrase “the devil finds work for idle hands” is often attributed to Thoreau, but the warning goes back further—deep into Scripture. Idleness, in God’s eyes, is more than just laziness. It’s a spiritual sluggishness, a burying of what God has entrusted to us.
I didn’t grow up idle. I pushed brooms in my dad’s shop and biked dangerously down Route 146 to swim at Lincoln Woods. Today, when I see the “No Bicycles Allowed” signs, I suspect that they added them because of me! But I’ve always stayed busy—sometimes with purpose, sometimes with procrastination—but never still. Yet despite my active hands, I came to realize in my twenties that I had grown idle in faith.
Like Timothy in the Bible, I was young when I believed. But it wasn’t until I opened Paul’s letters that I began to see the weight of what it means to be a steward of grace. “Let no one despise you for your youth,” Paul tells Timothy, “but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12, ESV). Being saved is not the finish line—it’s the starting line.
Jesus told a parable of a servant who buried his one talent in the ground (Matthew 25:18). That man wasn’t condemned because he lost the money, but because he refused to use it. I saw myself in that story. I had one clear talent: my salvation testimony. I used it—sharing in church, serving wherever needed. It was safe. It was steady. But I was playing the banker’s game: low risk, low return.
God wants marketplace men. The servants who doubled their talents didn’t keep them in the temple—they brought them into the streets. That’s where faith multiplies. The marketplace is your job, your gym, your neighborhood. The Kingdom of God expands when you scatter gospel seed outside the four walls of the church.
Paul continues in 1 Timothy 4:13–16 with a challenge for every Remnant man: devote yourself to the reading of Scripture (alone and with your others), to encouragement (your brothers), to teaching (your witness), and to persistence. Don’t just serve—guard the gift God has entrusted to you. “By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you” (2 Timothy 1:14, ESV).
So, brother—what are you doing with the grace you’ve been given? Don’t let it sit idle. Don’t bury it beneath Sunday routines. Take it to the marketplace. Risk it. Multiply it.
The world was changed by twelve men full of the Holy Spirit. That same Spirit is in you.
Application Questions:
- Are you a banker or marketplace man? Are you being safe or taking risks for the Lord?
- On a scale of 1-10 are you more idle or more active in faith? What can you do today to become more active?
- 1 Timothy 4:12 says that we can be an example for others in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity. Who do you look up to who is strong in one of these areas? Which do you think people recognize as a strength of yours?