FAILURE IS A CHOICE
Text: Matthew 25:14 - 30
Matthew 25: 14 -30 14 “For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; 15 to one he gave five talents,[a] to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. 17 In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. 18 But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20 Then the one who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me five talents; see, I have made five more talents.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And the one with the two talents also came forward, saying, ‘Master, you handed over to me two talents; see, I have made two more talents.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 Then the one who had received the one talent also came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy slave! You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. 29 For to all those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 30 As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
“Anyone can count the seeds in an apple, but only God can count the apples in a seed. All he needs is a seed yielded to him”. (Michael P. Green ed. Illustrations For Preaching. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1989. p. 269). If you were to gather am opinion poll from various people who neglected to invest the talent that God gave them, then what do you think you would find? God gave us our talents, but we have to follow through in developing the potential of those talents.
A teacher would say, a student failed because they did not invest time to study.
A coach might say, a player failed not because he wasn’t a good player, but because he did not invest in teamwork.
A boss might say an employee never advanced, because he did not invest in giving his best.
A counselor would say a client had talent potential that remained undeveloped because she never invested effort in exploring a God-given gifts. The one common thread that runs through all of those scenarios is undeveloped potential because of fear that Jesus refers to as laziness.
This parable tells us that God wants to bless us, bless others and to be fruitful.
BLESSING US
Do you see how God has equipped you with your talent(s)? There are five main things that we can gather form this parable. 1) Kingdom of Heaven: The kingdom of heaven in the here and now and it will also be in the hereafter.
2) Parable: Jesus is telling a parable which we often think of as an earthly story with a heavenly point.
3) Stewardship: Jesus is telling us that we have been blessed and entrusted with responsibilities in God’s kingdom here on earth.
4) Equipped: Ephesians 4:7 says But unto each one of us was the grace given according to the measure of the gift of Christ. 5) Responsibility: Luke 12:48 reminds us that to whom much is given, much will be required.
Do we ever operate from a selective obedience principle? 1) Providence: God provides us with all that we need if we will simply yield to Him. The Garden of Eden is an example of this.
2) Stewardship: Providence and stewardship are connected. God provided Adam and Eve all that they would ever need in the Garden of Eden and they rebelled. How well has rebellion worked out for us when we have rebelled against His love? Not only did God provide us with what we needed but He also made us stewards over His creation (Genesis 1:28) . God also entrusted with His Gospel to share with others because is not willing that any should perish (I Peter 3:9).
3) Obedience: Our obedience is important from two angles which are stewardship and evangelism.
“During a freshman orientation the college dean presented the rules to the new students.
“The male dormitory is off limits to the female students and the female dormitory is off-limits to the male students. Anyone caught breaking this rule will be fined $20.00 the first time.” He continued, “Anyone caught breaking this rule the second time, will be fined $60.00. Being caught a third time is a fine of $180.00. Any questions?”
At this point a male student in the crowd inquired, “How much is it for a season pass?” (Michael Hodgin. !002 Humorous Illustrations. Grand Rapids, Zondervan, p. 305). We see the humor in that while we also see the aspect of rebellion.
4) Selective obedience: How often do we operate out of selective obedience? What happens if we choose to be selective in obeying a stop sign?
BLESSING OTHERS
Was Jesus hinting at both the love and God and the love of neighbor in this parable? The love of God and the love of neighbor are connected. God’s love is both unconditional and sacrificial. 1) Unconditional love takes risks: This is the kind of love that reaches out to friends, enemies and even strangers and takes a chance and puts forth a risk that may or may not be rejected. That is the way that Christ’s love is for us and also the way our love should be for others. Sometimes if not oftentimes love like that takes a huge risk.
2) Unconditional love taking sacrificial risks: On January 23, 1968 North Korea captured one of our ships. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/uss-pueblo-captured
“After the U.S.S. Pueblo was captured by the North Koreans, the eighty-two surviving crew members were thrown into a brutal captivity. In one particular instance thirteen of the men were required to sit in a rigid manner around a table for hours. After several hours the door was violently flung open and a North Korean guard brutally beat the man in the first chair with the butt of his rifle. The next day, as each man sat at his assigned place, again the door was thrown open and the man in the first chair was brutally beaten. On the third day it happened again to the same man. Knowing the man could not survive, another young sailor took his place. When the door was flung open the guard immediately beat the new victim senseless. For weeks each day, a new man stepped forward to sit in that horrible chair, knowing full well what would happen. At last the guards gave up in exasperation. They were unable to beat that kind of sacrificial love.” (Michael P. Green ed. Illustrations For Preaching. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1989. p.. 226). This story illustrates how true unconditional and sacrificial love goes the distance and makes a difference.
Does time matter in this blessing? Yes time matters because it is of the essence. 1) Time matters: Time matters because we do not know how much of it we will have. Nor, do we know how much of it those around us will have.
2) Time is a talent: How often do we speak about the talent of time as something to be wasted? Do we ever say that we will make time for something later when it should be a priority right now?
3) Next time?: How often do we make light of how we often say “Next time?” Time is not something to be wasted when we have no guarantee of how much time we have or how much time our neighbor to whom we are called to witness has!
John Wayne once said, “Tomorrow is the most important thing we have in life. It comes to us every midnight very clean. It’s perfect when it arrives and puts itself in our hands. It hopes we’ve learned something from yesterday.” (Michael Hodgin. !002 Humorous Illstrations. Grand Rapids, Zondervan, p. 365). Psalm 90:12 says “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” (ESV). We need to make the best use of our time while it is day while we have the light of Christ because Jesus said that Night is coming when no one will be able to work (John 9:4)!
FAITHFULNESS
Who does not want to hear God judge our work based on the talents He gave us say “Well done”?
1) Footnote: There is a Bible footnote in the NRSV that a talent was the equivalent fifteen years wagers of labor (Matthew 25:15). That would mean that the five talent man had the equivalent of 75 years of labor. The two talent man had the equivalent of 30 years of labor. The one talent man was given the amount of 15 years of labor.
2) Return on the investment: As we mentioned earlier, Luke 12:48 reminds us that to whom much is given, much will be required. When we consider Jeremiah 29:11 we are reminded that God has plans for us with a future and a hope. A big part of those plans has to do with what we give in return to the investment ---the talent(s) that God has entrusted to us. God wants us to be faithful so that He can say to us “Well done”.
I recently read about an old man, walking the beach at dawn, who noticed a young man ahead of him picking up starfish and flinging them into the sea. Catching up with the youth, he asked what he was doing. The answer was that the stranded starfish would die if left in the morning sun.
‘But the beach goes on for miles and miles, and there are millions of starfish,’ countered the man. ‘How can your effort make any difference?’
The young man looked at the starfish in his hand and then threw it to safety in the waves. ‘It makes a difference to this one,’ he said.” Hugh Duncan, Leadership Journal: Galaxie Software. (2002). 10,000 Sermon Illustrations. Biblical Studies Press While we were on vacation we tried to save some forty starfish doing the same thing and it reminded me of this story.
Can we be faithful if we do not yield to God and the ways that He has equipped us? 1) Yielding to God: How many times have you heard the that life is God’s gift to you and what you make of that life is your gift back to God? How can we have a future with a hope that God intended for us if we do not yield to God?
2) Fear:: Is fear ever a valid excuse for failure to yield to God? Fear is an enemy to obedience. Fear is an enemy to faithfulness.
3) Failure: The one talent man blamed his failure to yield to God on fear. Fear and idleness are good friends. He risked nothing, and gained nothing. Jesus points out that the fearful one talent man who hid his talent was condemned as wicked and lazy. He was thrown out because he was disobedient.
4) Perfected obedience: Jesus did not hold back in obeying God as He humbled Himself even to the point of death on a cross for our salvation.
5) Judgment: In this parable the one talent man was condemned for being disobedient, wicked and lazy. He chose failure. He chose to fail!
God gives us talents to bless us, to bless others and to be fruitful in growing His kingdom!
In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
