What God Really Wants from You (Part 2)

In the previous post, we introduced the story of The Talents (Matthew 25:14-30). To summarize, a wealthy man is leaving on a journey, and he calls in three of his servants and gives them varying amounts of money to put to work while he’s away. Knowing they each have different abilities, he gives one servant five talents, another servant two talents, and to the third he gives one talent.

When the master returns, he calls the servants in to give an account of what they’ve done with what they were given. The first two servants doubled their money, returning to the master ten talents and four talents. To each of these men, the master says, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master” (verses 21, 23).

The third servant, though, doesn’t do anything with his one talent. He buries it and offers it to the master, saying basically, “You’re a hard man, so I was afraid of losing this talent. I didn’t gain anything, but I didn’t lose it either, so here it is.”

The master’s reaction is harsh. He calls him a “wicked and slothful servant,” saying he should at least have put the money in the bank so it would draw interest. He takes the one talent from him and gives it to the guy who now has ten talents, and orders that the “worthless servant” be cast “into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (verse 30).

To understand what Jesus was teaching here, we must know the context.

As Jesus and the disciples were climbing the Mount of Olives, they looked down at Jerusalem and were amazed at the city and the temple. Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down” (Matthew 24:2). The disciples, shaken by these words, said, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3). The rest of chapters 24 and 25 are Jesus’ answer to these questions.

One theme that runs through his answer is that of “being ready” for the end of the age and Jesus’ return to earth.  With the idea of “being ready” in mind, he tells the Parable of the Talents.

In this story, Jesus tells his disciples, and us, how we’re to behave in the time between his first and second comings. Since that’s the time in which we live, this is what we should be doing as we wait for this Return.

“Being ready” doesn’t mean that we should be sitting around, passively waiting for Jesus to come back to us. It means we should be using what God has given us to build his kingdom. The period between his leaving and returning isn’t just empty time, an unintended delay. It’s an opportunity for his followers to use the gifts and abilities he’s given us.

Let’s look at some of the truths we can glean from the story of the talents:

1. Everything we have comes from God and belongs to him. We don’t own anything; like the servants in the story, we’re only stewards of what the master gives us. God entrusts us with these gifts.
2. The Lord gives us opportunities to serve him that are equal to the gifts he’s given us. He expects us to work.
3. We’re not all created equal with the same abilities and level of ability. But we’re all expected to do our best with the abilities we have.
4. We will all stand before God one day, and we’ll be rewarded based on what we’ve done with what we have. The issue is not how much we have, but what we do with what we have.
5. For believers, our rewards (or lack thereof) won’t be based only on the bad things we did, but also on the good things God called us to do that we failed to do.
6. For believers, regardless of the amount of our reward and how well we did with our gifts, we’ll be greeted one day with the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.” Salvation means entering into his joy forever.
7. For unbelievers, there will be eternal separation from God. The one-talent servant was not condemned for his lack of work so much as for his lack of faith. He represents those who reject Christ, and by doing so, reject the one way God provided for our salvation. We know this because no believer can ever be cast “into the outer darkness.”

That isn’t an exhaustive list, but it’s a start. I encourage you to get your eyes in your Bible and meditate on this story.

In the previous post, we mentioned the danger of comparing ourselves to others. This is another lesson we can draw from this passage. Check the first sentence in number 3 above: we’re not all created equal with the same abilities and level of ability. Because of that, sometimes we’re tempted to look at others and see that they’ve either been given more or less than we have.

The comparison game, though, can only lead to trouble. There are only two outcomes: we’ll either feel superior to others, thinking we’re better than them, or we’ll feel inferior to others, which can lead to jealousy and excuse-making: “Well, if I had what they had, I could do great things too.” Comparison is a no-win game.

It’s normal at various times in our lives to examine ourselves to see how we’re doing in our walk with God and in life. That’s a good thing. It turns into a bad thing when we examine ourselves by looking at what others are doing. It doesn’t matter what others are doing.

What matters is what you’re doing with what you have. What you have is not nearly as important as what you do with what you have. Stop comparing yourself to others and look closely at what God has entrusted to you.

And ask yourself this question:  Starting today, what are you going to do with what God has given you? With whatever amount of time or money or skill or intelligence, you name it, with whatever God has given you…

How are you going to use it to enlarge or strengthen God’s kingdom?