SermonStudio

Every few years, we hear sermons during the stewardship season based on the parable of the talents. We talk about our various talents and abilities and how we should develop them for God. We are warned that if we don't use the talent that God has given us, then it will be taken away. While that's the standard treatment, I was somewhat surprised when I reread this parable. While the application to our personal gifts and abilities is appropriate, let's bear in mind that this is one of a series of parables that have to do with the Second Coming, the Judgment, and what we should be doing until Jesus comes.

"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."
-- Matthew 25:14-15 (NIV; emphasis mine)

The delay in the coming of the kingdom is seen in the master going on a journey. Obviously, the master is Jesus; we are the servants. The master entrusted his property to his servants. He gave them money. This was my surprise: this parable is about money. It is about how we handle our money and what we should be doing with our money. The broadest meaning would apply to property. Jesus has entrusted his property to us. Therefore, our money is not our money; it is Jesus' money. Our house is not our house; it is Jesus' house. Our car is not our car; it is Jesus' car.

• What is your attitude toward "your money"?


Entrusted -- not given to us to keep -- but to have stewardship over. The first lesson of stewardship is to remind ourselves that everything we have belongs to God. God has loaned us the things we have to use for his glory and our living. Entrusted means that we are supposed to take care of all the things that God has given us. We should not break them, destroy them, or use them to cater to our lusts and desires. We should not use them to destroy the planet or environment or to oppress people. Some have more, some have less, but everybody has something that God has entrusted to them. It is God's property. At no time in this parable does the master's money become the property of the servants. It is not my guitar, not my computer, not my condo, not my shore house. It is all God's property, entrusted to us. Now, what should we be doing with this stuff?

• How well have you taken care of all the stuff that God has entrusted to you?


The first two servants follow similar tactics. "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" (Matthew 25:16-17 NIV; emphasis mine).

The first two went and put their money to work. The NRSV says, "He went off and traded with them." If you think about the actions of these two servants, they were men of faith. I say that because they took a risk. There was every potential and possibility that these two servants would lose everything. Now your investment counselor would love for me to tell you that the literal interpretation of this parable is good, and all of you should take whatever extra money you have and invest it, trade it, put it at risk. Sorry, not quite.

There are other ways to make our money work for us and increase our resources. You could spend money on education, in order to get a better job. You could use the money to start a business. You could put the money in a trust fund, so that it earns well into the future. The lesson here is that money is a tool, not a goal. It is a means to an end, not the end. If we make money the goal, then we pervert this parable to say, "Get as much money and material wealth as you can because that is what Jesus is looking for." I don't think so. Money is something to be used by us to acquire what we need to do the will of God in our lives.

• How have you used your resources to increase your ability to serve God?


The first two servants let their money do the work for them. Very wise. Their efforts were rewarded in that their assets doubled. Only as we risk losing everything do we have the potential to gain anything. That applies to a lot of our resources besides money. We have to risk ourselves getting hurt or betrayed in a relationship in order to make friends. We have to risk being rejected in order to witness for Jesus. We have to risk becoming ill to care for the sick. Sometimes you have to go for the "hail Mary" to win the ball game.

• When was the last time you risked something and lost? What happened?


When you think about it, everything we have is always at risk, anyway. Why not take chances? On any given day, we could lose everything. The house can burn down. The economy could collapse. We could lose our jobs. We may as well risk. As the cliché goes, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."

This parable also gives us a picture of the person who does not want to take any risk. "But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money" (Matthew 25:18 NIV; emphasis mine).

He dug a hole in the ground. This is what we call the ostrich approach to financial security. Notice what he hid in the ground? His master's money. I wonder what he did with his own money? Did he use the ostrich approach with his own money? You know, I think this approach was even riskier than the others. What if someone saw him bury it? What if someone found it like the treasure in the field? What if he forgot where he buried it? Not only that, he is not going to get any growth at all with this method. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

• Have you ever taken this approach with something you owned?

"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!' "
-- Matthew 25:19-23 (NIV; emphasis mine)


Jesus' next lesson is that we will give an account to him for our stewardship of the resources he has given us. This really is a sobering thought. If we put ourselves in that spot now, and imagine what Jesus might question us about or be concerned about, we will have a good idea of where to make improvements. Let's ask ourselves: Will Jesus accept our reasoning for why we give what we give to the church? Can we fully justify it? Can we justify what we do with the rest of our money in relation to what we give to the church?

• How do you think your accounting would go if Jesus held it today?


Notice what the servants bring -- everything they earned. Notice the joy of the servants as they give the account of their money handling. The one that was given five talents brings ten; the one with two brings four. They bring everything. What do we bring to Jesus? How much do we hold back? How much is still mine? It was the Master's money to begin with. If it earns more, whose money is it?

These two servants were rewarded. Why? Not because of how much they earned, but because they were faithful. What constituted faithfulness? They put the money to work. They brought everything back. They didn't try to skim some off the top. They didn't charge commission or fees or surcharges or whatever. In bringing everything back, they showed they could be trusted. "You were faithful with a little, you can be trusted with much." Jesus is not looking for profit; he is looking for servants who can be trusted. Those are the servants who will be exalted and have responsibility given to them. These servants were faithful. They could be trusted.

• How much can you be trusted?


We need to focus on that third servant for a minute.

"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.' "
-- Matthew 25:24-27 (NIV; emphasis mine)


If faithfulness was the virtue of the first two servants, fear is the downfall of the third servant. "I was afraid." He was afraid of his master. He was afraid of the money. He was afraid of the responsibility. He was afraid of not measuring up to the other servants. He was afraid he would lose it, and in the end, he did lose it. Fear can paralyze us into inaction which in the end becomes our downfall. We must never be afraid to take a risk for Jesus. The third servant not only loses the money but his life as well.

• What are you afraid of doing in Jesus' name?


So, what should we be doing until Jesus comes back? Risk. We need to be using our Master's resources to increase his kingdom. We are called to be faithful over everything that God has given us. It is his property. We are reminded that we will have to give an account of how we have handled everything entrusted to us. We are reminded that the overall goal is not to increase the money, but to increase our faithfulness so that Jesus will find us trustworthy. In the end we want to hear those words of Jesus. "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!"


WWJD -- Choose an area where you need to improve your faithfulness. Make an action plan to implement that improvement.