This sounds unfair… but it’s not.
Jesus said something that, if you read it quickly, can be confusing:
“Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”
(Matthew 13:12)
At first glance, it sounds harsh… almost like God favors some people and leaves others behind. But when you read the context before and after, everything changes.
At that moment, Jesus was teaching the parable of the sower. He talked about seeds falling on different types of soil: some grow, some wither, others get choked. Then He explains why He speaks in parables.
Not everyone listens the same way.
Some hear… but don’t really want to understand.
Others hear… and their hearts are open.
That’s why Jesus says this phrase.
“The one who has” is not the one who has money.
It’s the one who has an open heart, a hunger for God, a willingness to learn.
That person receives more. More clarity, more understanding, more closeness to God.
But “the one who does not have” is the one who listens without interest, who hears but doesn’t want to change, who hardens their heart.
And that person… even what little they understood begins to fade.
Not because God is unfair… but because their own heart is closed.
Now, this becomes even clearer when Jesus repeats the same idea in another moment, but with a different example.
In the parable of the talents (Matthew 25), a master gives responsibilities to his servants. Two of them work and multiply what they received… but one is afraid and buries what was given to him.
And what happens?
In the end, the one who did nothing… loses even what he had.
And Jesus says again:
“Whoever has will be given more… and whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”
(Matthew 25:29)
Here it becomes very clear:
God is not talking about favoritism.
He is talking about response.
If you receive something from God—a word, an opportunity, a calling—and you value it, care for it, use it… it grows.
But if you ignore it, neglect it, or bury it out of fear or indifference… little by little it fades away.
It’s not punishment… it’s consequence.
It’s like faith.
If you feed it, it grows.
If you ignore it, it fades.
Jesus is teaching a deep but simple principle:
What you do with what God gives you… determines what comes next in your life.
And this is where it stops being theory… and becomes personal.
Because it doesn’t matter if today you feel like you have a lot or very little.
What matters is this:
What are you doing with what God has already placed in your hands?
There are people waiting for “more” from God…
but they haven’t done anything with what they already received.
And there are others who started with little…
but because they were faithful, today they live in spiritual abundance.
Take a moment to reflect on this:
Am I using what God has already shown me… or am I letting it pass me by?
And if you feel like you’ve stopped, like you’ve buried what God gave you… you can still start again.
Let me invite you to pray with me:
Lord, open my heart.
I don’t want to just hear… I want to truly understand.
Teach me to value what You have already given me,
to be faithful in the small things,
and not to bury what You placed in my hands.
Grow in me what today seems small.
In Jesus’ name, amen.
Somos Cristianos, connecting hearts with Christ.
