Working Hard or Hardly Working

Readings for November 19, 2017

Proverbs 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31; Psalm 128:1-2, 3, 4-5; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6; Matthew 25:14-30

Suggested Reflection Questions:

  • In the psalm, we hear what the life of someone who believes in God looks like. “You shall eat the fruit of your handiwork.” If you really reap what you sow, what are you sowing now? What are your goals for the next week? The next month? The next year? Reflect on your life goals: Will they satisfy?
  • The first reading from Proverbs also paints a picture of what someone who stands in awe of God looks like. “Let her works praise her.” What do your works say about you? A quote attributed to St. Augustine reads: “Pray as though everything depended upon God. Work as though everything depended upon you.” How could you implement that idea into the way you work through your everyday life?
  • Jesus tells the parable of the servants, each given talents by their master; some work to increase them, while one does nothing. What does this mean for you and the gifts and talents God has given you? Do you work to use your gifts or squander them? Do you cultivate your natural aptitudes or deny them? A popular saying goes: “Humility does not consist in thinking less of yourself, but in thinking of yourself less.” How would your life look if you looked humbly and honestly at yourself: acknowledging your talents and gifts along with your faults and failings? How can you use and cultivate your good qualities to give glory to the one who created you with them?