God Given Talents
Mathew 25:14 – 30
We spent several weeks this summer reading through the Gospel of Matthew and learning from the parables that he used to teach the Disciples what the Kingdom of Heaven was like. Jesus loved to use parables because it allowed Him to use everyday objects, every day occurrences and everyday people to provide Eternal lessons for the Disciples and those that were listening.
Today we are back in Matthew and Jesus is sitting and teaching on the Mount of Olives and Jesus is trying to help the Disciples understand what Jesus has said about His Second Coming in Matthew 24:3. Jesus warns them to be on guard so that no one will deceive them about his impending death because He will come again at an hour when He is least expected.
Again, as I always say, scriptural context is vitally important and our lesson for today is no different. In Jesus’ day it was common for wealthy men to take long journeys for business purposes. Before they would leave, they would arrange for the management of their household and they would often delegate the control of their wealth to trustworthy servant.
While they were gone the servants were expected to bring a return on what had been left to them. Given the challenges of travel in those days, the time of return for even a well-planned trip was often open-ended.
So in Jesus’ parable, a wealthy man is going on a long journey. He summoned his slaves and entrusted his considerable money to them for their keeping and profitable use while he was gone. To one slave he gave five talents, to another two, to yet another he gave one, to each according to his capability to handle. Then he went left with full expectation of what was to happen to the treasure left with others.
In Jesus’ day a “talent” was a measure of weight, and in this case the term was used to indicate a bag that full of money weighing a certain about. The weight of the bag was consistent, but its value varied depending on whether it was copper, silver, or gold in the bag.
While scholars differ on the exact amount, most agree that it would take an ordinary laborer almost twenty years to earn just one talent total much less having that much laying around. To put this into today’s dollars, a talent would be the equivalent of about $400,000. Even for the servant that is given just one talent, that would be a huge responsibility that was entrusted to them.
Now as we know from our reading today that one servant was given five talents and he “invested them” and when the master comes back, the servant returns to the master the original five plus five more. The servant that was given two talents also invested it and when they master returns, he gives him the original two plus two more.
But the third servant, afraid of what the master would do to him if he wasted the original talent hid the bag in the ground where it was safe but utterly unproductive. The third servant returns ONLY the original talent and nothing more to the returning master.
The master was furious, at this lazy and wicked servant, not using the talent to do anything of value. So, he took the talent from him and gave it to the servant with the ten talents because he would use the talent to good use. Then this worthless slave, was to be thrown into the outer darkness, where there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Clearly this story does not work out well for the third servant, ostensibly because he didn’t make his master lots of money.
Now I need to confess something here, this parable can be as confusing for pastors as it is for those listening. In the text, preachers are confronted by some serious questions about the meaning and the application. We can all feel a bit disturbed by the harshness of the judgment against the third slave. After all the master got his money back, safe and sound.
In parables the allegorical character of the master is usually God but in this case the master that leaves and comes back at an unknown time is Jesus Christ. In either case is this the type of God that we want to worship. A God who rewards the rich and makes then richer and condemns the poor, only making them poorer?
Should the Gospel Jesus really be about making money, so that he is happy with our efforts. That just seems so undivine, so unholy, so ungodly. Fortunately, I am going to point us in a different direction.
I defined for you what the Hebrew word “talent” meant, a weight that is used to define a bag of money, of unknown value depending on the form of money being weighed. But in any case, a talent would be extremely valuable. But what about our English word “talent”? Well as God would have it our word talent, meaning a valuable God Given Gift, comes directly from the Hebrew word “talent” and directly from this parable.
You see just like in our parable today, God has given every person a wide variety talents, abilities, capabilities and gifts, and he expects us to employ those gifts in His service for all of his people.
It is not acceptable to merely to put those gifts on a closet shelf, or bury them where they will be safe or ignore them. Like the three servants, we do not have same gifts but God expects of us is reasonable “return” on the gifts that we have been given.
The servant who received one talent was not condemned for failing to reach the five-talent return; he was condemned because he did nothing with what he was given. The point of the parable is that we are to use whatever we have been given for God’s purposes. There will judgement for the unproductive servant, so we should invest the talent loaned to us and not waste these God Given Talents.
Rick Warren tells us that “this bundle of talents is the thing God has given you that makes you who you are and sets you apart from all other people. Talents are not for you to make a lot of money. God gave you talents to benefit others, not yourself. And God gave other people talents that benefit you”.
As scripture tells us we are all a part of the body of Christ, and each part matters. There are no insignificant people in the family of God. You are shaped to serve God, and he is testing you to see how you are going to use the talents he gave you.
Whether you are a musician or an accountant, a teacher or a cook, God gave you those abilities to serve others. Scripture tells “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms”.
As with the servants you are the manager of the talents that God has given to you. They may be great or small or even unknown to you yet, but they matter to God. When God made you, he made an investment in you, trusted you to become the person he desires you to be, and he anticipated a return on that investment.
Are you using what he’s given you for the benefit of others to make the world a better place? When God gives you a talent, he expects you to use it. Dear ones you have a talent but are you afraid to use it? Please know that if you get lazy and don’t use it to benefit others, you’re going to lose it. Like the parable here in Matthew, if you don’t use what God has given you, he will take it away and give it to someone else who will.
But if you use your talents wisely, God will give you more. If you use your time wisely, God will give you more time. If you use your energy wisely, God will give you more energy. If you use your influence wisely, God will increase your influence. God will bless your level of faithfulness.
Everyone has talents but sometimes what they are is unclear at first. Pastor Brian Bill tells a story about a person who couldn’t find his talent. Because Antonio’s voice was high and squeaky, he did not make the tryouts for the Cremona Boys’ Choir. When he took violin lessons, the neighbors persuaded his parents to make him stop. Yet Antonio still wanted to make music.
His friends gave him a hard time because his only talent was whittling. When Antonio was older he served as an apprentice to a violinmaker. His knack for whittling grew into a skill of carving and his hobby became his craft. He worked patiently and faithfully. By the time he died, Antonio left over 1,500 violins, each one bearing a label that read, “Antonio Stradivarius.” Today they are the most sought-after violins in the world and sell for more than $100,000 each. Antonio couldn’t sing or play or preach or teach but his responsibility was to use his talents, and his violins are still making beautiful music for God’s children.
Hear the Good News my friends……………
Our talents, our potential is God’s gift to us. What we do with them is our gift to Him. Zig Ziglar has said, “You are the only person on earth who can use your ability.” Are you investing what you’ve been given, regardless of how much it is? Or, have you buried your blessing and kept it hidden from others?
Just like with the servants, day of accountability is coming. The Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 14:12: “So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.” Dear ones everyone, even Christians, must give an account for how we’ve used what we’ve been given.
While most of us believe this in our heads, we don’t always live with Eternity in our hearts. If we would think more about His return, we’d be more focused on making an eternal return on his investments in us.
Friends, the long journey, the long wait will end and Jesus will come again! Let’s be faithful in doing whatever He gives us to do. He’s invested something valuable in you, and one day he will be pleased with what you have done and you will hear him say “Well done, good and trustworthy servant” you have made the most of your God Given Talents! Amen.