The investor had placed significant sums of money with his servants, before he went on his travels, trusting them to do good business and produce a profit. The servants were not given equal amounts to invest and trade with. Each had as much as his master knew they could handle. After a long time, the boss returned. He wanted to know what they had done with the money entrusted to them. They might have used it for themselves, squandered it on risky commercial ventures or gambled it in the hope of making quick and easy money.
 
With these two servants, the master was not disappointed. They had taken his commission (and the promise of his return) seriously, and had tried their best to trade fairly and maximise their profit which, in each case, produced 100% return on investment. Their master was very pleased. Each man had wanted to honour him and had obviously worked hard to gain such good yield for the investment. The real reward was their boss's approval and his personal invitation to accept greater responsibility. Best of all was the invitation to join him for the 'welcome home' banquet.
 
No two people are the same. We each have different abilities and capacity to handle responsibility. Jesus made that clear in this parable, and the fact that each man was able to make 100% profit was evidence that they were both working at capacity. God knows that and does not allow us to be stretched beyond our capacity, provided we rely on His help (1 Corinthians 10:13).
 
God has given gifts to each of us (1 Corinthians 12:7,11), abilities that will enable us to serve Him profitably. He expects us to honour Him for giving us the abilities, and then to work hard with them. There is a deadline – the return of Jesus or when He calls us home, whichever is the sooner. By that time He expects that we will have contributed to the building of His kingdom. Our lives are not given for our enjoyment alone but that God should be worshipped and Jesus Christ is seen to be a wonderful Saviour. Faithfulness is important. Although some interpret that as 'trying hard', Jesus equates faithfulness with productivity. Are you being spiritually productive – bearing fruit in your own life and in the lives of others? It is a good question to ask now, because Jesus will expect us to tell Him when we meet Him!