Do you remember what your first lunch box was like? Some Boomers will shout out, “We just had brown bags!” I too remember a sandwich wrapped in wax paper in a tan bag. But then the metal boxes came along. And each fall, I got to pick the theme for my new lunch box. Cinderella was my favorite.

This week, let’s all consider our own box and think about what God has given us: our time, our talents and our treasure. The point is to become aware of all the things God has entrusted us with SO WE CAN INVEST THEM IN OTHERS.

The Lord never intended for us to hoard our blessings for personal consumption. He wants us to generously invest them in people and in our service for the Lord (Matthew 6:19-21).

So what is in your lunch box?

Well, we all have TIME. We have 1440 minutes doled out to us every day. The issue is how we spend our time. We should sleep about a third of those minutes and of course, working consumes a huge part of every day, but we still have about 480 discretionary minutes to invest in eating, bathing, recreation and ministry. Hoarding those minutes for ourselves seems a bit selfish.

And then we have some TALENTS. Some are spiritual in nature, some are natural talents bestowed on us a birth, and others are abilities that we have developed over time. But they all came from our loving heavenly Father and He expects them to be used for His glory, not exclusively our own pleasure.

And finally, we have some TREASURE. That is just a fancy Bible word for resources like money. As we all earn a living, we should be aware that every good and perfect gift comes from the Father. Our income is a blessing, a gift, an indicator of God’s love for us. But it isn’t to be stored away for self-amusement. It needs to be invested in others.

Some kids only have a plain sandwich and maybe one piece of fruit in their lunch box. Maybe the kid next to them has some hot soup in a thermos and some cool crackers to go with it. Others might find a wrap of some kind along with some cookies in their box.

It really doesn’t matter what is in our box. What matters is how we use them. Are we investing our time, our talents and our treasure in others? Do we look for ways to serve our colleagues at work? Do we stretch out our resources to help those in our neighborhoods? Are we providing for our extended families?  Are we investing in our church body?

This week, let’s open those old boxes and share with those around us. It is an investment with amazing returns!