Matthew 25:14-30
14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’
21 “His master replied, ‘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!’
22 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’
23 “His master replied, ‘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!’
24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’
26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
“Afraid To Risk”
What we do not use we waste. Money is no good unless it is used. God’s gifts of
grace, love, forgiveness are of little good if they are only kept to ourselves. In fact, they create self-righteousness in us which leads to no good.
“In this one sense, we human beings are akin to the battery in a flashlight; unused, it corrodes. What we do not use is wasted; what we do not share we cannot keep.”
Earl A. Loomis, “The Self In Pilgrimage” p. 7
What we fear to risk we loose.
“A child who fears he won’t be liked never finds out how likable he could be. A young girl who believes she’s so unattractive she’ll never have a date actually contributes, by worry , to the poor appearance that fulfills her fears.” Dr. Loomis p. 6
When we are so afraid of making a mistake that we do nothing, we loose more than if we risked, and made a mistake. God has a cure for mistakes. It’s called forgiveness.
Dare to risk making a mistake and discover what God can do with what little you might have to make a big difference in someone's life, a difference which makes a big difference to God!
Therein lies the abundant life Jesus promised.
“Doing Something With Our Talents”
The emphasis of this parable is on the servant who did nothing - who was afraid to fail so didn’t try.
The parable warns us against doing nothing with the Gospel...our talents...our uniqueness...our creativity...our ideas and skills...our unique self.
When we don’t use it we lose it!
It is okay to fail; make a mistake, have a flop.
It is not okay to do nothing.
What ever God has created in us, that is our talents.
What ever we do with it, that is the measure of success in life.
As Paul Simpson Duke suggests:
“Jesus’ point seems to be that the worst we can do is nothing.”
“The parable proclaims joyous freedom under great grace.”
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