Ever hear a bible story a gazillion times in your life but for some reason this one time stood out like a pimple on your cheek? You couldn't just leave it alone, had to mess with it. This is how I felt when I heard the parable of the Talents found in Matthew 25:14-30.
It's crazy how much this parable chapped me this time, but in the end, I was reminded of something so important that I was so glad I wrestled with it.
I always took this passage to simply mean "be a good steward" and "don't hoard your wealth for yourself" and I could agree with that.
When it was presented to me (in church) the pastor pointed out the the Master didn't give equally to each Servant, he gave different amounts.
14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants[a] and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents,[b] to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.
Which leads me to the first irritating rub. Why wouldn't he have given equal amounts? I relate this to the North American life I live in - there are very poor people and there are very rich people. And I relate this to Christians in the North American way of life compared to many other countries like Haiti, Africa, Bolivia, etc. why don't we all have the same to work with?
"Each according to his ability" We all have different strengths and weaknesses, if we were all the same, it would be quite boring, I guess. (AND You'll find in many cases that the Christians that don't have much of anything are MUCH less distracted and able to focus more on Jesus....who's better off?)
My conclusion had to be "this is just the way it is. We're not all equal. That's life here on earth."
The next part really made me think. The guys with the 5 talents and 2 talents "went at once and put his money to work" and gained double.
My question was....what did they do to "put it to work"? Some versions said they "traded with them." Traded what? I chewed on this part for a while too. I want to "put it to work" but what does that look like?
This is where my pastor reminded me that we tend to focus on the money portion, but this also pertains to every good gift the Master (God) gives. Talents - physical abilites, intellect, spirtitual gifts AND money are to all be used to the best of our abilities.
1 Talent guy burried his. Ah, smart guy! Can't lose the money that way. (so I thought) Nope. He got a major tongue lashing and was cast into the utter darkness. WHAT?! What did I miss?
"Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground."
One of my pastors (after I emailed them both on this for more info) pointed out that the 1 Talent guy was condemned for fearful inactivity. With help from the Intrepreters Bible he said "This guy obviously doesn't know the merciful, gracious, generous heart of the Father or His Son, Jesus...Many religious types today don't either, and will have received their best blessings only here on earth (their talent cautiously buried), while being thrown 'Into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth' awaits their eternal destiny."
We could hammer this part to death, but the gist of what I got out of it was don't keep what God has given you out of fear of losing it, rather use it to it's full potential for God knowing he will bless it.
This is where the light bulb moment was for me. I have a hard time remembering that this passage isn't just about money. So after I chewed on it for a few days God showed me just how wealthy we are by having 4 little talents (our children) to invest into so they will in turn bring forth a harvest for the Master. When I was finally able to see this, I was both elated in how much God has entrusted us with and at the same time am humbled by where we need to pick up the pace of our efforts.
It may look differently for you, but whether you have lots of money to work with, children to invest into or a brian that barely fits your head, we are called to work it to it's fullest potenial for God's purposes, not our selfish gain.
I hope you can look around you today and see how much the Master has entrusted to you today and I encourage you to use it wisely. Every good and perfect gift comes from above. Count your blessings...name them one by one! Your cup will overflow when you do this, I promise.
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