The Parable of the Talents has always meant so much to me. My goal in life is to hear the words “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Often, however, I focus on the giving of the talents: Has God given me 5 talents or 2? Am I using what God has given me effectively? Am I increasing the kingdom? Recently, however, I have been drawn to the servant with the one talent. He was given these talents from God but out of fear, he buries his talent. Now, I find myself asking myself am I burying the talents God has given me. Am I afraid to step out of my comfort zone? Am I afraid of God’s expectations so I don’t do anything? Or am I afraid of putting in the work it takes out of the fear of failure?
When I focus on the scripture, I realize the focus of these versus is not so much on what has been given but what has been done. Both the servant given the five talents and the one given the two talents hear the same 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.” Matthew 25:21 ESV All God asks of us is to use what we have. And these gifts don’t come from us but from God. They don’t belong to us; they belong to God. They are for His benefit not our own. The benefit we receive from these gifts are God’s blessings, both in this life and the life to come. We are called to be faithful stewards and our reward is to “enter into the joy of our master”. We’re given the gift of JOY; what more could we possibly want?
Matthew 25:14-27 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘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.’ And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘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.’ He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest.
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