Matthew 25:14-18
"Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money."
There are several points Jesus makes just in this opening paragraph.
First, God is the giver of all gifts and abilities. Nothing that we have is from ourselves. We cannot make ourselves. At best, we are only capable of developing the gifts He has given us. Therefore, no accomplishment or success is our own, it is part of His gift to us.
Second, God does not distribute gifts and talents equally. He disperses them as He sees fit. Is that unfair? That questions reeks of idolatry; as if any of us is in a position to tell God how He ought to do things. It is the Lord God Almighty who knows the plans that He has for each one of us. Only He knows the plans that He has for our world, and any given moment in our world. If you want to speak of fairness, God is the only one who is. He gives everyone exactly what they need, when they need it. As verse 15 says, "each according to his ability." If you look at the two faithful servants from this parable, they each did the best they could with what they were given.
Finally, faith and gratitude are active. The two faithful servants immediately put their gifts to work. There was no complaining that one received more. There was no whining and complaining that either one wanted more, or thought that he deserved more.
What can we say about the third servant? Was he lazy? Ungrateful? Incapable of doing something with his talent?
Was he lazy? Possibly.
Was he ungrateful? It sure seems that way.
Was he incapable of doing something with his talent? Absolutely not! Jesus makes it very clear that the master gave to each "according to his ability". So all three servants had some ability, including the one who chose to hide his talent in the ground.
Do you know people like this third servant? They excuse away everybody else's success and accomplishments in life. You will often hear them say things like, "They just got lucky"; "I'm just not that talented"; "I could do that if I really wanted to". These people spend their whole lives making excuses and justifying their failures in life; playing the victim as if the Master hasn't given them any talents to work with. They don't want you to look in their backyard and see all the holes they've dug throughout their life. These people spend their whole life digging hole after hole, burying every talent God has given them; and then blaming God for not giving them everything they ask for. The saddest thing about these unfaithful servants is that if they would work as hard at developing the talents they've been given as they do burying them; they would have everything in life they could ever want, and more. If they would take the time to develop just 1% of the talents they have been given they would be among the elite achievers in society. Unfortunately, their ungratefulness has doomed them to being among the most pathetic and disappointing in society, and more importantly- in God's kingdom.
Matthew 25:19-23
"After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.'
"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!"
"The man with the two talents also came. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.'
"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'
God loves us! He wants us to be happy and to enjoy the best of what life has to offer, but He is not some "genie in the bottle". God does not exist to cater to our sinful selfish wants and desires. He knows how to bless us. This rarely means just giving us what we ask for. Most often it means giving us the lessons and opportunities to prove faithful with what He has already given us.
For example, when I ask God to improve and strengthen my marriage, I don't wake up in the morning with my marriage magically strengthened and improved. What happens is that a challenge or problem that I have been avoiding all of sudden becomes unavoidable. I am forced to develop the courage to confront it. I have to communicate with my wife about what I'm feeling and what is going on. In short, I have to use all of the talents I have been given to confront this challenge, with my wife, in love to grow through it. It is by working together and overcoming this challenge or problem that my marriage is strengthened and improved.
This process usually is not easy, but it is always worth it. God knows how to answer prayers, He's been doing it successfully for a long time. Look at the text above and see how joyful God is when we use the talents He has given us to glorify Him. He is so happy and pleased with the two faithful servants that He can't help but to bless them even more! God loves us beyond what we can even comprehend!
Matthew 25:24-30
"Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'
"His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
" 'Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth..' "
The master is not just displeased with this servant. He is angry! He generously gave this servant one talent to look after, and what did he do with it? Nothing. He buried it in the ground. If he would have at least put it on deposit with the bankers it would have earned a little interest; but he was so irresponsible that he didn't even do that little bit. How much effort would that have taken?
As I mentioned before, the unfaithful servant always has a justification for his laziness and wickedness. Look at what he does in the parable: He makes a slanderous accusation against his master, as if it's the master's fault that he wasted his talent and this opportunity.
God entrusts us with all of the blessings that we enjoy. We have a duty, a stewardship, to use all of those blessings to glorify Him and grow His kingdom hear on earth. The purpose of all our blessings is to win souls for Jesus. Our blessings aren't simply for our own pleasure and enjoyment, they are to be reinvested into those people God has placed in our lives. One of the ways that God blesses others, is by blessing us and trusting us to be "good and faithful servants".
Jesus makes it clear in this parable that it is God who gives us the blessings, but it is up to us what we do with what He's given us. The wicked servant chose to do nothing with what he was given, so it was taken away from him. Then the master had him thrown out into the darkness.
This is what happens to all who waste God's blessings and especially reject His greatest gift: Jesus Christ. All who foolishly do this will be cast out of God's presence for all eternity. They will be thrown into the eternal darkness of hell, tortured for all eternity knowing that God no longer loves them. There will be no second chances.
The faithful servants put their talents to work and enjoyed a significant return on their efforts. The reward for their faithful stewardship was even greater blessings, "You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things."
The greatest reward God gives His faithful servants is eternal life in heaven. The faithful servants don't earn salvation by their faithful stewardship. Only Jesus was able to do what was necessary to win forgiveness of sins and salvation. Like all of God's other blessings, salvation is a gift freely given; not because we have earned it, or deserve it, but because God loves us that much. He loves us so much that He sent His one and only Son to be tortured and killed in our place so that all of our sins would be forgiven. Jesus paid the price for them all. Through His perfect life, His death, and resurrection Jesus won the forgiveness of sins and eternal life for us. These are two things we can never achieve on our own.
Psalm 51:1-2
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion blot out my transgression.
Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
May the Lord bless you and keep you this Lent season.
Jason Fredrick
No comments:
Post a Comment