A trite sounding phrase with a meaning that will impact your life in every way …

Several months ago a young, thin, Asian guy began showing up at the gym.

He was enthusiastic and friendly and introduced himself.

For a couple months, he came to workout on a consistent basis.

Then he started becoming less consistent with his workouts.

Then he disappeared for four months.

I saw him again a couple nights ago and he called out, saying hello. He said he was trying to get back to the gym consistently again, but noted that his four-month absence had resulted in his now being able to “bench” only half the weight he had worked up to. I talked to him about when it comes to fitness, consistency is vital, explaining anyone can quickly regress in their level of fitness if they aren’t consistent with their exercise and nutrition.

I really didn’t need to explain that last part because it was something he was now discovering the hard way.

When it comes to physical fitness, it’s a “use it or lose” reality. Nearly everyone can improve their physical fitness with the right plan, proper execution of that plan, and consistency. But without consistency, you’ll quickly regress.

That “use it or lose it” reality is true in most aspects of life:

The most common reason for the failure of relationships is a failure to nurture them — a relational version of “use it or lose.”

Our brain health and cognitive ability can slip if we don’t consistently exercise and care for our brain in healthy ways.

Certainly our physical health (not just fitness) can slide quickly if we don’t consistently care for it properly.

Even our skills and talents can atrophy without consistent use. Whether it’s playing a musical instrument or creating art, consistent practice is necessary to maintain and improve skills.

Our professional vitality can fade if we don’t consistently use and build on those skills. In a rapidly changing work environment, not staying updated with new technologies and skills might lead to obsolescence.

And even our spiritual lives can erode if we don’t put to use what God has given us.

Jesus gave us a spiritual version of “use it or lose it” in the parable of the three servants recorded in Matthew. The story begins like this:

“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last — dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip. The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money,” Matthew 25:14-18.

Two of the servants used their gifts and gained from doing so (Mt. 25:19-23). But the third servant failed to put to use what his master had given him and would lose it all:

“Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’ But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’ Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth,'” Matthew 25:24-30.

The first two servants were rewarded because they had been faithful to take and do something with what their master had given them — they put to use what they had been entrusted with by their master for their master, and because of that, they were rewarded. But the servant who failed to put to use what he had been entrusted with wound up losing it all.

What are you doing with what God has entrusted to you — the health, the body, the mind, the relationships, the church, the appointment to be ambassadors for His kingdom? Are you using what’s been entrusted to you by God for God? Or are their aspects of your life slipping into decay and atrophy because of improper use or neglect?

Scotty