Lovers of God

The parable of the talents

Picture this scene…It is 115oF in the desert in Arizona. There is a small child lying among the cactus, crying – and dying of thirst. Beside this child stands a man, with a bottle full of clean, cool water in his hand. But instead of giving the life-giving water to the child he just pours it on the ground and walks away.

What would you think of such a man?

Wouldn’t you be horrified if that man were you?

Well, now let’s look at another scene…there are people around you living in darkness, held captive by the devil, waiting for the life-giving gospel, and there are people in your church waiting to receive a spiritual blessing from you, and here you are, a professing Christian sitting around doing nothing! You have not bothered to find out what spiritual and natural gifts God has given you. Or worse, even if the evidence of those gifts is obvious to you, you are too lazy or shy to develop them and use them for the glory of God. Christ wasn’t afraid to die for you, but here you are, not willing to inconvenience yourself or suffer a little exposure to what people might think of you if you stand up and serve your Savior.

Do you want to know what God has to say to you? Well, here it is, in Mt 25:14-30, and Lk 19:12-27.

Mt 25:14-30 14 "For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. 15 "To one he gave five talents, to another , two, and to another , one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey. 16 "Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. 17 "In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. 18 "But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 "Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 20 "The one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ 21 "His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 "Also the one who had received the two talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ 23 "His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 "And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. 25 ‘And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’ 26 "But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. 27 ‘Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. 28 ‘Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’ 29 "For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. 30 "Throw out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Lk 19:11-27 11 While they were listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell a parable, because He was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately. 12 So He said, "A nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then return. 13 "And he called ten of his slaves, and gave them ten minas and said to them, ‘Do business with this until I come back.’ 14 "But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ 15 "When he returned, after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these slaves, to whom he had given the money, be called to him so that he might know what business they had done. 16 "The first appeared, saying, ‘Master, your mina has made ten minas more.’ 17 "And he said to him, ‘Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, you are to be in authority over ten cities.’ 18 "The second came, saying, ‘Your mina, master, has made five minas.’ 19 "And he said to him also, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ 20 "Another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I kept put away in a handkerchief; 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are an exacting man; you take up what you did not lay down and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 "He said to him, ‘By your own words I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am an exacting man, taking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow? 23 ‘Then why did you not put my money in the bank, and having come, I would have collected it with interest?’ 24 "Then he said to the bystanders, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ 25 "And they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas already.’ 26 "I tell you that to everyone who has, more shall be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. 27 "But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence."

If we don’t want to be called ‘wicked’ and ‘worthless’ by Jesus in the Day of Judgment then let us redeem the time and use the spiritual gifts that God has given us to build the kingdom of God.

God has given us spiritual gifts, to be used to build the kingdom of God. Some of us have many gifts, and some of us have few gifts, but everyone in the kingdom of God can have some gift.

Some have even been given the ability of staying unmarried so that they might better serve the kingdom of heaven.

Mt 19:12 "For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it."

The key point of the above two parables is that we will have to give an account for how we used our gifts to build the kingdom of God. It is better that we hear the harsh rebuke now and repent and do something useful for the kingdom of God now while we are still alive and healthy than to hear it on the Day of Judgment when we can do nothing about it expect weep and gnash our teeth.

If what I’ve said above stirs your heart, not to take a stick and smack me on the head for reminding you of the truth, but to begin finding and using your spiritual and natural gifts for the kingdom of God, then good for you. First, clear your conscience by telling God that you are sorry for all the time you’ve wasted. Then find an opportunity to begin exercising your gift, and keep yourself teachable in the presence of the Holy Spirit. Learn as you go. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes – God will make even your mistakes work for the good of those who love God. If you are faithful in whatever little you have, God will expand your boundaries and give you more.

It is your responsibility to find out what talents God has given you, and then to develop them and hone them and use them to the extent and in the location God has planned. If you don’t even know what your talent is then you are worse than that wicked, lazy slave who didn’t use his talent. At least he knew what he was given.

You have to get your direction from God. Don’t allow another man to tell you what your spiritual gifts are. Imagine if Jesus asked the Pharisees for guidance on what His ministry was! Imagine if Paul asked Gamaliel or Peter for direction on what God wanted him to do!

When God wanted Peter to give the gospel to Cornelius He gave Peter a vision, not James (Ac 10:9-16). Similarly, it wasn’t flesh and blood that indicated to Peter the true identity of Jesus (Mt 16:17).

Paul also received revelation from God on what God wanted him to teach (Eph 3:3) and he didn’t confer with man about it (Gal 1:11-17).

And here’s another really important thing – don’t feel that you cannot ask God for more than you seem to have been given. The people whose faith Jesus commended were all people who asked for more than what they were normally expected to get (Mt 8:10; Mt 15:28; Lk 7:9). Never forget Jabez (1 Cor 4:9-10) who asked God to enlarge his border, and God granted his request. That is the kind of God we have. Let it never be written of you that you don’t have because you didn’t ask (Jas 4:2). God is more than willing to give you His Holy Spirit if you ask Him (Lk 11:13).

Consider what Paul told Timothy in 2 Tm 1:6-7 about using his spiritual gifts.

2 Tm 1:6-7 6 For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.

Timothy had a valuable spiritual gift, which he received when he was baptized in the Holy Spirit, which happened when Paul prayed for Timothy. But Timothy was somewhat timid and didn’t develop his gift as strongly as he should have. If you are like Timothy, neglecting your gift, then what the Holy Spirit says to Timothy here is also what the Holy Spirit says to you – don’t neglect the valuable gift you have, but start using it. Remember that, on judgment day, God will ask you what you did with that gift, and you don’t want to be like the guy who buried the one talent that he was given.

There are three things to remember when developing your spiritual gift. One, it is a source of power – i.e. it can accomplish stuff, and so you have to use it; don’t waste its power. Two, the motive behind using it must be love – it is for the benefit of others, and not to exalt you. Three, you must use it with discipline – when and how God wants you to use it, and not otherwise.

What can stop you? Your timidity! If you worry about what others will think and say, you will hesitate to use it. If you are too embarrassed to make mistakes while using it, you will hesitate to use it. Don’t let these things stop you. If you make a mistake, learn from your mistake, and repent, and bounce back. The apostles made a few mistakes too; so did many men of God; but that didn’t stop them from exercising their gift, and neither did the thought of making a mistake.

Don’t be afraid to fail. God will not reprimand you for trying and failing if your motive is genuine and you really want to do your best for God. God called the third slave – the one with one talent – wicked because he didn’t even try!

Don’t be afraid of what other people might say or think. Their opinion doesn’t really matter. Only God’s opinion matters.

To summarize: the way you prepare for the Second Coming of Jesus is by ensuring that you stay saved, become more and more like Jesus, and by ensuring that you are making proper use of the spiritual gifts that God has given you.