Matthew 25:14-30
“Being All That God Meant Us To Be”
By: Reverend Kenneth Sauer, Pastor of Parkview United Methodist Church, Newport News, VA
I’m sure many of us have heard people excuse themselves from upholding the church by their prayers, their presence, their gifts and their service by appealing to what they do not have…
… “I’m too old.”…
… “I’m too young.”…
… “I’m not educated.”…
… “I’m too busy.” …
… “I’m not good enough.”…
… “I could never do that.”
When God asked Moses to tell Pharaoh to let the children of Israel go, Moses used a number of phrases to complain about what he did not have:
“Who am I that I should go…?…
… “Suppose they do not believe me….”
… “I have never been eloquent…”
After listening to Moses’ complaints, God said to him:
“What is that in your hand?”
In essence, God was saying: “Moses, I am not interested in what you do not have; I am only interested in what you do have….reach out your hand…and certainly I will be with you.”
For years an army recruitment advertisement has been challenging young men and women to “Be all that you can be.”
As a Christian the challenge is : “Be all that God meant you to be!”
The parable of the talents tells us that God creates and that God calls us to be co-workers for the unfolding of history.
To help that become a reality, God invests in us and expects a return on that investment.
In the parable of the talents, a man set out on a journey, entrusting his property to his servants.
It is important that we recognize from the outset that this man represents God.
It is God who owns the world.
We are His servants.
The word “talent” has come into our language from this parable.
Rather than money, however, it has come to mean abilities and special gifts.
Now, we must be careful not to interpret the parable of the talents simply on the meaning of the word “talent” that has evolved over the years.
Rather, the question that each of us must ask is: “What did Jesus mean by the talent?”
I would submit that everything we have and everything we are comprise the talents entrusted to us by God.
This includes our abilities…
…each precious moment of every day, every week, every month, and every year given to us…
…our material and financial resources…
…our relationships with loved ones and friends…
….the gift of God’s salvation and redemption in Jesus Christ…
…in short—our very lives!!!
All of this is entrusted to us by God, and we are called to be God’s stewards!
Now, the work of the Kingdom is so great that many people may wonder why God left it to us….
…but He has…and we must keep that in mind….because people’s souls are at stake!
But just think of how exciting this makes the Christian life!!!
Yet how often are we like the one-talent man?
Our faith, instead of being an adventure, becomes a heavy chain of obligations.
We cling to the status quo…hoping we can get by without too many crises or challenges.
We are content with the usual routine.
The one-talent Christian fails to see how much he or she is needed….and the result is deadly.
In actuality, no Christian is one-talented. We are all many-talented!
We can pray…
… we can be present at church and invite others to come with us…
….we can share our faith…
….we can share our gifts…
….and we can serve.
God calls all of us to realize the potential of our lives…
…to maximize the years of our lives!
And this is exciting!!!
There is an urgent purpose that God has given to each of one of us, and this purpose demands the very best that we can believe and give.
In our gospel lesson, one servant gets five talents…
…one servant gets two talents…
…and the other receives just one talent.
When the time came for an accounting, they were not judged on an absolute scale…
…they were judged in accordance to what they had been allotted.
So, the important factor is not what we have or what we have gained….
…What is important is what we have done in relation to what we have been given.
God wants His stewards to be action oriented.
The servant who received the five talents went “at once” and put his talents to work…and so did the servant who received two talents.
Now the first two servants had a completly different view of the master than the one-talent servant.
They saw him as a person who would appreciate bold and daring action.
He liked to give a great deal of freedom to his servants and he expected them to be self-starters—to take initiative.
If they give it their best shot and fail…he would be fair and understanding….
…for even some of his own ventures garnered no profit either.
The one-talented fellow viewed the master as hard and calloused.
Should he lose the talent, the master would be unmerciful, because he is a stingy and exacting man.
What image do we have of God that guides our behavior?
Sometimes our perceptions are distorted…
…and this leads to self-defeating behavior!
The master in this parable is Christ and we are those to whom He has entrusted His substance.
Everyone who has been born again has been fashioned by God into a new creation…in order to accomplish God’s works.
Therefore, we are richly endowed with that which is His!
What a chance He is taking!
Quite a gamble!
But that seems to be Christ’s way.
During His earthly journey
Jesus invested His love in those whose lives were out of control…such as prostitutes and tax collectors.
He scattered the Seed of the gospel wildly, letting it fall where it may take root-- where it was able.
And the cross…the cross was the biggest gamble of all!!!….
….as the devil whispered in His ear: “They aren’t worth it!”
Some of those wagers paid off and others did not….
But to those who have caught the gambling fever and know the excitement and joy of wagering their lives for the redemption of the world….
….Well, God will say to 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!”
This parable makes it very clear that, as stewards, we are accountable to God…
…And with accountability comes consequences.
Jesus’ point is that talents are entrusted to us to be used!
If an opportunity is not taken, it is lost.
An arm not used will atrophy….
….the Christian steward is called to live in courageous faith!
The front page of a Texas newspaper a few years ago carried the picture of a young and beautiful African American mother born without arms and legs!
The State Department of Public Welfare had charged in court that she was incapable of taking care of her five-month-old daughter.
During the court hearing the mother surprised everyone by proving she was competent to take care of her baby.
There…before their eyes…she undressed and then dressed the baby again by using only her lips and tongue.
The judge was so impressed that he not only awarded custody of the baby to her, but said, “I have to commend you very much for your courage, spirit, and ingenuity….You have proven that physical endowments are only a part of the spectrum of resources that human beings possess.”
The young mother was a good steward of her wounds.
She did not dwell on what she did not have.
Rather, she chose to use to the utmost what God had given to her.
Talents are like muscles.
If we don’t use them, we lose them.
The servants given five and two talents, respectfully, used their talents and received again as much for their efforts.
The one-talent servant refused to use his and lost not only his talent but his life!
Now it should be noted that throughout the entire 25th chapter of Matthew Jesus is talking about what will happen at the end of the age—when Christ comes again to judge both the living and the dead.
And through the blazing and uncomfortable light of this parable, we see the truth about the standard by which we will be judged.
It will not be so much a question of what we’ve gained or lost but what we’ve ventured for the sake of the Master.
The truth is that the person who ventures with God’s talents will always reap a return!
So, the challenge for us is:
How can we use our resources of time and talent for God?
At the very least… we should put our talents on deposit with the bankers, so that when Christ returns He will receive it back with interest!…
At the very least we must keep our promise to God upon joining His church to be loyal to it, and uphold it by our prayers, our presence, our gifts, and our service!
But we can go even further than this!
What is the special thing you can do that nobody else in the world can do in quite the same way?
Is it a laugh?…
…a smile?…
…Is it an ability to encourage and enthuse?…
…is it an ability to earnestly pray?…
….is it a loving tone people hear in your voice?…
…is it a skill in music or art or teaching or managing or….or….
…the possibilities are almost limitless!
What are those things that the Owner of all things has entrusted to you?
How have you responded to that trust?
How are you doing as a steward of Jesus Christ?
Let us pray: Lord Christ, You have shown us that the road to stewardship is never easy or safe. Your commitment to the Father led to a cross. Give us the boldness to fully invest ourselves and our abilities in the cause of Your kingdom, for the sake of Jesus. Amen.
