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PRAYER FOR THE WEEK
Jesus, help me remember that, when there's no reason I can't do something helpful, I should go ahead and do it! Amen.

"Heaven," Jesus said, "is like a man who gave his servants money. One servant got two coins and used them to earn four; another used five coins to earn 10. A third got one coin, but just buried it to keep it safe. The first two servants told the master, 'I earned twice what you gave me.' They were rewarded. But the third servant said, 'I buried your money so I wouldn't lose it.' The master said, 'Lazy! You didn't earn any extra.' He took the coin away and gave it to the servant with 10 coins." Jesus finished, "Those who use what they have will get more, but those who don't will lose it."

"There's no reason you can't." Kids get that advice when feeling nervous about volunteering at a soup kitchen or becoming an usher or altar server at church. You could do it -- there's nothing stopping you from being able to -- but getting yourself to take that leap can be hard!

People often make things you struggle with sound like they should be easy. This week's Gospel (Matthew 25:14-30) talks about those times.

In Jesus' story, three servants are trusted with money. They're supposed to invest it so the savings grow. Two of them do that: They put the money in a bank or help a business get bigger. As the master hoped, they come back with more than they were given.

The third servant is like you when you're faced with something that makes you nervous. He just buries the money so at least he can give it back. You may get so scared of trying and failing, you don't try. The adults say, "There's no reason you can't do this," but in your head, there are reasons!

Jesus said to trust that, if there's no reason you can't do something, it means you can do it. If you can help at school, church or a soup kitchen, you should help.

Jesus' story ends with, "Use it or lose it." That is very true of trying things that make you nervous: Use your abilities. God expects you to![[In-content Ad]]

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