Faithfulness
Brad ClarkCarbondale, Kansas
Matthew 25:14–30 takes us to the Parable of the Talents where we see the difference between those that possess Jesus as their Savior verses those that just profess to be Christian. As we study this parable, we see that the man traveling, which gave the talents, is representative of Christ himself and that the long time he is gone is the church age. He gives one of His servants 5 talents another 2 talents and another 1 talent. The last part of verse 15 though is very important to consider. Each was given according to their several abilities.
Now, what they were given were opportunities tol do something that would further the kingdom of their lord. It is the exact same for us today! We also are given opportunities (talents) according to our abilities. The lord entrusted them with these opportunities to gain or benefit him and his kingdom. It’s no different for us that work a job today. We are given opportunities according to our own abilities. Some are janitors, some are in parts, some sales, some fix things, some make things, some design things, some manage the budget, some manage people, some manage work load or flow, some the entire direction of a business or company but regardless of what ability each has, there is an opportunity to do the best they can with the ability they’ve been given to further the advancement of the company. Well, it’s no different in our spiritual lives today. The opportunities (talents) we are given are according to the abilities that we possess, and our Lord does know what to entrust to each one of us.
Immediately, we see the results in verse 16 because the one that received 5 talents doubled his allotment, verse 17 shows the one that had 2 talents also doubled his, but the one that received 1 did nothing. Now the part we’ve all been waiting for, the reward! Verse 20-21 says “And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more. His lord said unto him, well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” Great, he had 5 and got 5 more but what about the guy that ‘just’ had 2 and only got 2, what does the Lord say to him? Verse 22-23 “He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them. His lord said unto him, well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”
Note that the reward for each of these 2 individuals was THE EXACT SAME! WHAT, CAN’T BE???? YEP! THE EXACT SAME! Well, back to our earthly job example above, our thoughts are there’s no way this can be right, this isn’t fair, I do way more work than Bob and I should get more reward than he does and………hold on. What are we doing here? We are applying earthly wisdom to spiritual situations, and we must not do so. We must understand some very key principles. They were given opportunities according to their ability. Our earthly thinking is since I can do more, I SHOULD get more but with God’s kingdom, what was rewarded, the amount? NOPE! The FAITHFULNESS to what was given! They were BOTH faithful to what they were given so they both get the same reward. It is the faithfulness that is rewarded.
It is also important to note we don’t see how hard the tasks were, what they had to endure, how much they suffered, or struggled and why is that? Because it is irrelevant, that’s right, it just doesn’t matter. What’s important is the faithfulness. What does God want? He wants a faithful servant that is willing to be responsible with what HE wants us to do with the ability that’s been given. Take our abilities and be responsible with the opportunities we’ve been given.
Back to our parable as we have 1 more to account for. It’s the one that did nothing but hid his opportunity. He thought he knew about God, he told everyone he was a Christian but we see here he didn’t know the first thing about his lord. How do we know that? Well, he said himself that he was afraid. How could he have known the Lord (or his lord) and been afraid since There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.” 1 John 4:18. There was no appreciation of what was given to him which led to outright rejection of God’s wonderful grace. Verse 26 shows us that very thing because those that are saved aren’t wicked.
So, the opportunity that was given to this one was taken and given to the one that had 10. The lord knew who to give that opportunity to so there would be return on his investment. If he would’ve taken that 1 and turned it into another 1 there would have been more to come. If he had taken it and done something to capture a bit of interest it would’ve been something but instead, we see complete rejection of all things.
For us today, salvation is the first step, but we must not stop there. Too many folks accept that gift then use it to live the earthly life they want to live. There is so much more to be had. We must NOT judge or compare our abilities with one another, as each ability has a purpose in the body of Christ. Again, what was rewarded, the amount? No, the eternal reward was the same for the two that were faithful with their earthly talents. Those abilities are what provide opportunities to further God’s agenda in this world. Not as great crusaders but as lights, as testimonies, as witnesses that we should show for the praises of Him! Be encouraged and press towards the prize.
