Matthew 25:14-30
Use It or Lose It
Today’s parable is a story about investments. Sometimes we think it’s about using our natural abilities to serve God. Why do we think that? Because the story uses the word “talent” throughout. Our English word “talent” actually comes from that interpretation of this parable. As people first translated the parable into English, they began describing natural abilities with the word “talent.” But in Jesus’ time, a talent was a measurement of gold or silver. The NIV translation calls it a bag of gold. It equaled 6,000 denarii, or about what a common laborer would make over the course of twenty years. We’re talking a lot of money here!
So Jesus’ story is a parable about investing. Usually a parable has one central meaning. In my opinion, here is the meaning of today’s parable: take what you have and invest it in God’s kingdom, trusting God to bring the return. You either “use it or lose it.”
So how do we get there? How do we invest all that we have and all that we are for God’s purposes? Here are three ideas from the story. First,
1. Don’t compare.
The first thing I noticed in the parable is that each servant got a different amount. One got five talents, one got two, one got one. Verse 15 tells us the master assigned the amounts, “each according to his ability.” If I was the two-talent guy, I could easily get jealous of the five-talent guy. Or if I was the one-talent guy, I would be royally ticked off that the other two servants got more than me.
The truth is, some people get more than others. Some have nicer cars, or bigger homes, or better clothes, or straighter teeth, or more hair, or flatter tummies, or curvier bodies, or more gifted singing voices, or funnier jokes, or more eloquent diction, or brighter minds, or quicker retorts, or more beautiful wives, or more handsome husbands. You get the idea. It’s easy to compare. And when we do, we open ourselves up to the green-eyed monster of jealousy.
The problem with comparing is it either boosts our ego as we look down at others, or it makes us feel worse as we look up at others. No matter how good you are, you’ll always find somebody better. No matter how bad you are, you can always swell in pride as you discover someone worse off.
But God gives to each according to his or her ability. God doesn’t care about the size of the gift; he cares about the faithfulness of the servant.
A young lad named Antonio sought to sing in his village’s boys’ choir, but his voice was too high and squeaky, so he didn’t make the tryouts. When he took violin lessons, the neighbors begged 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 he got older, Antonio became 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, he left over 1,500 violins, each one bearing a label that read, “Antonio Stradivarius.” They are the most sought-after violins in the world and sell for more than $100,000 a piece. Antonio couldn’t sing or play or preach or teach but he used what he had to honor God, and his violins are still making beautiful music today. [Borrowed from Brian Bill, "Using What God Has Given," March 26, 2003, https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/using-what-god-has-given-brian-bill-sermon-on-gifts-general-56510?ref=SermonSerps]
Will you take whatever God has given you and use it for God’s glory? It may be your winsome personality, or your extra possessions you no longer need, or some of your hard-earned money.
Notice in the parable where the money came from: it all belonged to the master! When you realize that everything you have and everything you are is a gift from heaven above, you lose some of that anxiety about what you do or don’t have.
Don’t compare. And #2,
2. Faithfully invest what you have.
The first two servants—while they received different amounts—took similar actions and got similar results. When their master left, they both jumped into investing and they both realized a 100% return. Not too shabby! Regardless of the different sizes of their investments and returns, notice how the master says exactly the same thing to both of them: “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!”
Because they were faithful, they will now receive more. This is a theme repeated in Matthew 13:12, Luke 8:18, and Luke 19:26.
When it comes to spiritual gifts, Peter urges us, in 1 Peter 4:10-11, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.”
Folks, it doesn’t matter how much or how little you have. Invest it in God’s purposes and see it grow. Remember Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000? One boy had five loaves and two fishes. The disciple Andrew asked the obvious question: “How far will they go among so many?” (John 6:9) But the boy took what he had and gave it to Jesus, who catered for everyone with 12 baskets left over! The point? Take whatever you have and put it in the Master’s hand, and watch him bring his kingdom growth. Faithfully invest what you have.
Today’s parable reminds me of Eric Liddell, a Scottish Christian runner in the 1924 Olympics, featured in the movie, “Chariots of Fire.” As his deeply religious family cautioned him about all the time he was spending running, he replied, “God made me to be fast, and when I run, I feel His pleasure!”
The truth is, each of us makes investments every day! We invest in people by building them up, encouraging them, helping them. We invest in institutions, with our time, our talents, our treasure. We invest in our children and grandchildren, wanting them to succeed. We invest every minute of every hour of every day in some kind of activity, whether it’s playing bridge or taking a walk or going on a field trip or taking a nap. Time is our most precious commodity. You can always make more money. But you can never make more time. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.
Since you’re going to invest, invest in things that count, things that will last, things that will make God smile. Invest in people, invest in the spread of God’s love, invest where God can bring a return. And then lastly,
3. Know your master’s heart.
You see, that’s the problem with the third servant, the one who only got one talent. He just didn’t know his master. And when you don’t know someone, it’s easy to allow fear to creep into the relationship. This servant buried his talent. He put it in a hole in the ground, so that it did absolutely no good to anybody! One study Bible called it the “tragedy of wasted opportunity” (MacArthur Bible Commentary, page 1175). When the servant had to give an account, he blamed his master! He said, in verse 24, “I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.” In other words, the guy said, “It’s not my fault! It’s your fault!” And he gave in to his fear.
Fear restricts us. Fear immobilizes us. We can’t move. We’re afraid to do something. We just want to get the talent out of our hands before something goes wrong. It’s too risky to get to know our neighbor, to love our wayward grandchild, to tithe to the church, to give to a charity, to make peace with that person, to volunteer for an event. It’s easier just to hide from it all.
In the story, the master told the one-talent guy, “At least you could have invested the money with bankers and made a little interest!” (Apparently, this was back when savings accounts actually made interest!) Then the master had that “wicked and lazy servant” thrown out where there was “weeping and gnashing of teeth.” The gospel of Matthew uses this expression to describe hell. Not a pretty sight.
Fear immobilizes us, and then it leads to destruction. And all because we didn’t get to know the Master. We’re afraid to take a risk because of some fear of punishment. Yet, the Master can’t wait to reward our little baby steps of faith, as we seek to use whatever he has given us to grow his kingdom.
Let us pray: Heavenly Father, you give us so many blessings and ask that we develop these gifts and use them to help others. In times of great crisis, we come through, we step up to the plate. But at other times, we hold back. We develop a "let someone else do it" attitude. We often think we have nothing to offer, nothing to make a difference. How blind we are, Lord! You have gifted each one of us you in ways to help others and to spread your love. Help us to use all that we have, all that we are, to make wise kingdom investments every day, as we long to hear those words, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant!” We ask this in Jesus’ name, amen.
