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Most of you are familiar with my book series, The Called. The premise of each of the books is that each person was an “ordinary” person who God used in an extraordinary way. God only works in extraordinary ways! And we are all very ordinary before Him. But by His grace, and in His sovereignty, God has chosen to work through each of us. As the apostle Paul reminds us, God has created each of us uniquely and given us different gifts.(1) But the extraordinary work He intends to accomplish through each of us is not dependent upon which gifts or talents He has given us, it is dependent upon our faithfulness to use whatever He has given us, and our availability to be guided by His Holy Spirit.
Jesus often used parables in His teaching. Perhaps one of the best remembered of those parables is the “Parable of the Talents,”(2) in which He teaches that very point. In the parable, the master did not apportion his talents equally to his servants. He gave more to some and less to others. But he entrusted them all. He was the determiner of what and how much would be given to each. He was a wise master. He knew their abilities. In many ways, he knew them better than they knew themselves. He knew that too much could overwhelm, and too little would undertax their ability. Thus, he entrusted each proportionate with their ability. And then he left – for a long time.
There were several risks that the master took in what he did. First, he entrusted others with a portion of his wealth. Jesus did not say whether it was all of his wealth or only a portion, but regardless, the master was putting at least a portion of his kingdom “at risk” by investing in his servants. He determined that his work and his kingdom would be best furthered through his servants. He didn’t have to make that choice. He could have grown his kingdom in any way he chose – and as a successful master, he probably could have done so in an even more effective way. But he chose to grow his kingdom through his servants.
Second, since he entrusted each servant with differing amounts, he risked creating jealousy and/or pride among the servants, Those who received more could become prideful over the ones who received less, and those who received less could become envious of those who received more. The servants would not have fully comprehended the master’s thinking or his plan as he divided the talents in the way that he did. Thus, his allocation could have created enmity among the servants, and the kingdom work could be hampered by any strife that ensued.
Third, the master was gone a long time. Without his physical presence, the servants were free to make their own choices. Would they be diligent today in the task the master had given them, or would they find more pleasurable or satisfying ways to expend their time? The servants knew there would be a reckoning, but as time passed, the temptation would become greater to focus on the pleasures of today and allow tomorrow to take care of itself. Perhaps doubt could even begin to creep in that the master wasn’t really coming back at all.
Fourth, for one of the servants, fear of the master created a paralysis that led to faithlessness. This servant “bought the lie” that said, “what difference can my meager talent make?” He convinced himself that the other servants could do so much better and so much more, so he followed his fear and his faithless “self-talk” and buried his talent. [Please forgive a quick side road: This kind of fear and self-talk is prevalent in Kingdom work today. You’ve heard the adage that 20% of the people do 80% of the work. Though this principle may not be the sole factor, it is definitely a contributing factor. God’s people have belittled the talent with which the Master has entrusted them, and have buried it, and are not using it for the Kingdom. Thus, the work and mission of the Kingdom goes under-manned and under-funded in the midst of the plentiful resources the Master has provided.]
One day, probably when they least expected it, the master returned, and the day of accountability had arrived.
The faithful servants honored their master and wanted to please him by wisely investing the talents with which he had entrusted them. Though each returned a different amount, they were rewarded equally. It is a reminder that God is a rewarder of faithfulness. His reward is not proportionate to the quantity of our talents, it is proportionate to the faithfulness of our use of the talents. They began as servants, and they were promoted to rulers. They were faithful in the few, and the master entrusted them with much more, increasing their capacity for greater service and responsibility. They had labored and toiled, and now they entered into their reward.
The unfaithful servant disobeyed and dishonored his master by doing nothing. He robbed his master of that which was due him. His one talent could have brought an increase of another talent, bringing honor to his Master. But instead, he allowed his fear of failing to keep him from trying to succeed. His fear paralyzed him from acting, and he buried his talent. As a result, even that which he had was lost. He lost his opportunity to serve – not for trying and failing, but for failing to try. He gained no praise or reward from his master. He experienced a loss of intimacy with the one who had entrusted him. That truly is outer darkness! It could be that he looked at his talent as too meager to be of any use, as compared to the amounts received by the other two. It is a reminder to us to never disparage what the Master has given us. We have been appointed as a steward of the Master, and He will take whatever He has entrusted us with and multiply it for His glory, if we will be faithful stewards.
What will the Master say to us upon His return? Will we have labored faithfully and stewarded wisely? Paul wrote, “…it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.”(3) The measure of our faithfulness will not be in the eyes of men, but rather, in the eyes of our Master. He knows what He has entrusted to us. He knows what constitutes the cross He has called us to carry. May He find us faithful with what He has entrusted us – faithful to the end. And on that day, may we hear Him say, “Well done My good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Master!”
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You can read the parable of the talents in the Gospel According to Matthew, chapter 25, verses 14 through 30.
Also, i have excerpted portions of this post from chapter 23 of my book, Taking Up The Cross. For more information about the book, click here.
(2) Matthew 25:14-30
(3) 1 Corinthians 4:2 (ESV)
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