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“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them.” Matthew 25:14 (NIV)

I love olives and when I sit down to eat them, I like to see an abundance of them before me. As a matter of fact, one of my favorite places to eat is called Olive Garden (OG). Suggestive name, wouldn’t you think? At OG, the first thing I tell the server when ordering my food is to make sure I get extra olives in my salad otherwise there will only be a few to go around, and I will have to share them with other people.

Now that you know that about olives and me, let me share an experience I had one time when I went to eat at OG with a friend. We arrived, sat down and took our order. I did as I usually do and asked the server to please put extra olives in the salad. When the salad arrived, I tossed it to make sure the dressing was evenly distributed and handed my friend the serving utensils; she proceeded to serve herself with an abundance of what seemed to be just olives. I thought to myself, “Great! Another olive lover! I will have to ask for more olives.” To my utter disbelief, however, my friend ate every bite of her salad, except for the olives! I felt outraged, insulted, and robbed, all at once. I tapped my feet, I squeezed my napkin, I drew a couple drops of sweat from my brow, took a sip of water, and then I asked, “Are you saving your olives for last?” She replied, “Oh no, I do not eat olives, ever. I just could not serve salad without getting some in my plate.”
Call me unrefined, if you wish, but I had to do it – I rescued those precious olives from my friend’s plate and placed them in mine, as I would not let them go to waste.

As I think on that experience, I remember the parable of the talents in Matthew 25 and how the master was upset at the servant who did not properly make use of the talents placed in his care. If I am so protective of mere olives, how much more is God with the gifts He bestows upon us? Do not let yours go to waste!

“Thank You, Lord, for olives and talents. Thank You for using us.”

For His Glory

Luska Natali
TRBC Women’s Life