Daily devotional, Nov 10, 2023 Accounting 101

"For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them." 
Matthew 25:29

Today, November 10, is International Accounting Day — an annual event meant to promote the accounting profession. Accountants after all are indispensable in society — both in the private and public sector. Accountants though have managed to break the barriers of their profession, and bring the importance of numbers where others may not expect that it is needed. For instance, in the Academy Awards, at least nine accountants would have to work for more than 1500 hours to tabulate votes and ensure fairness in handing out Oscar Awards. The FBI on the other hand employs at least 2,000 accounting specialists who work as field agents, forensic accountants, and the like to catch fraudsters and similar financial crimes.

At the end of our lives, we will all face accounting for everything we have been entrusted with. As stewards of time, talent, treasure, and influence, the Lord is expecting us to report to Him everything that we have used it for. In his epistle, the Apostle Peter reminded us:

"Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms." 
1 Peter 4:10

If we fail to use our abilities and financial wealth for good things including the spreading of the Gospel, then we have failed in this life. Such failure means we have only been serving ourselves and our loved ones, and unfortunately, we will perish because of this selfishness. In the parable of the dishonest manager, Jesus reminds us that we should do what we can in terms of serving others through what we have been given, so that we can spend eternity with Him:

"I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings." 
Luke 16:9

The expectation to share one’s blessings and serve others comes with a promise. In the Parable of the Talents, our Savior assures us that God will sustain good stewards of His blessings:

“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy!’" 
Matthew 25:21

So how can we use our time, talent, and treasures to earn us eternal life? Well we can start off by regularly offering monetary donations to the church. We can then follow that up with investing time for eternal causes, like volunteering in church, joining the choir or the worship team, the lector’s guild, sunday school, or actively participating in church outreach programs.

In a personal capacity, we can use our time to conduct bible studies, organize prayer groups, and use our influence to spread the message of salvation. We can do this in person or start through our respective social media circles. We can also center family activities on helping others, like bringing food and small gifts to orphanages, home for the aged, prison, and indigent communities. By doing this, we also get to teach our children to help out others using whatever gifts they may have.

At the end of the day, it is all about abiding by the Lord’s command to love one another. Besides, we have received so much love from our Creator, why don’t we show Him our gratitude by paying it forward?

Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to ponder on Matthew 25:14-30 to dig deeper on today’s topic.

Reflection Question: How will you account for all your blessings when the time comes?

Conversation with the Lord: Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for entrusting to me this life, and the substance and talent it came with. Empower me to use these blessings you have showered upon me for the good of others, so that when my time comes, I would get to enjoy eternal life with you. Amen.