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‘For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.The one who had received the five talents went off at once and traded with them, and made five more talents. In the same way, the one who had the two talents made two more talents. But the one who had received the one talent went off and dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. After a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them. 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.” 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.” 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.” 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.” 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; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.” 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? 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. So take the talent from him, and give it to the one with the ten talents. 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. As for this worthless slave, throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 25:14-30)
The young pastor was asked by a group from the choir to please meet with one particular member because in their opinion, his singing ability was nonexistent. This troubled the young pastor pastor much, and after much prayer and reflection, took the man to coffee. "Bill, there's no easy way to say this, but there's a group in the choir that says you can't sing." The man sipped his coffee and smiled, and then replied, ""Don't worry about it preacher, that's probably the same group that says you can't preach!"
God has given to all of us talents and abilities of many kinds. The question in God's mind is are you using the talents to grow the kingdom? The story as told by Jesus, concerns a man, wealthy obviously, who, as he prepares to journey, calls his slaves together and hands to each of them different sums of money (or talents). To one he gives five talents, to another two, and to the last, one. Notice that Jesus say these were given based on their ability. The man goes on his journey, and the servants go and do their thing with what was given to them. The one with five had the ability to make more and so ends up with five additional talents. The one with two, made two more. But the fellow with one goes and digs a hole in the ground and hides his master's money. After a long while, the master returns and settles accounts with them. The one with five comes and reports he has doubled his money and now has five talents. The master is proud and easy, "All 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. The same is repeated with the second slave, for he has doubled his money and again he hears, "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. Then the time comes for the one with one to come forward and says that he has not done a thing to earn more, rather out of fear for the master, hid the money. He hears these words, "You wicked and lazy slave! You know, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter?" The least you could have done was to have invested with bankers and that way I would have what I left with you along with some interest. So, the master orders, take this talent from him, and give it to the one who has ten talents. "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." And he orders the slave thrown into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
What Jesus is trying to teach us is that whatever God has given us that we count as an ability should be used to reach others. It will involve risk and sacrifice, but it will be worth it as we see God's kingdom grow. God has given us all that we need, including the life of His only Son, Jesus, as an investment in our wellbeing both now and in the future; what have we done in return? At the very least our gratitude towards God should have motivated us to do something for God's kingdom. And as the saying goes, a talent is a worthless thing if not used. Whatever God has invested in us should use it to glorify God and to grow the kingdom. It may be making a joyful noise, or teaching a noisy class of junior high kids; it may be the discovery later in life that God wants you to preach; whatever it is, trust the Lord and hone your talent and help bring people to Jesus.
PRAYER: Loving God, thank You for the investment You've made in my life. Help me to discover, develop and deploy my talents to glorify You. Let me be a blessing to You is my prayer, and I lift it up in Christ Jesus' strong name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Make a joyful noise!
Eradio Valverde
