Using What You are Given - Matthew 25:14-30

Matthew 25:14-30

©Copyright December 31, 2017 by Rev. Bruce Goettsche

Occasionally, when you hear of a death of a younger person people will say, ‘What a Waste!” We say the same thing when someone is gifted in a certain area but walks away from the use of that gift. Someone might be a gifted singer but won’t sing; an artist who won’t paint, a person who loves children but is not working with children . . . you get the idea.

What is known as the parable of the Talents in Matthew 25 is a parable that talks about wasted potential and neglected responsibility. It is one of the more familiar parables of Scripture. Matthew puts it into the context of being prepared for the Second Coming of Jesus. In other words, the context is that of making the most of the time while we wait for the Lord to return, it is about being good stewards of all that He has entrusted to us.

On the eve of a new year, this text, the next in our study, seems especially apropos. Let’s review the details of the account.

There was a man who was going on an extended business trip. He gave large sums of money to three of his servants. The Greek text says the first one received five talents the second 3 talents and the third received one talent. Let’s stop here. That term talent is significant. A talent was a sum of money. It was generally believed to be the equivalent of 75 pounds of silver but could also be paid in gold or bronze with varying amounts of value. Let’s stick with the silver to illustrate. A denarius was the equivalent of a day’s wage for an good job. A talent was equal to 6000 denari! In other words, it the equivalent of roughly 20 years of wages! And that was ONE talent.

So, this man gives a huge part of his fortune to these three men. It was understood that the money was to be used to make more money. Think of it like an owner of a large company having to go away for a couple of years. He gives the company checkbook and the company savings over to his Chief Financial Officer. It is understood that this man is to manage the company and continue to make a profit while the owner is gone.

When the man returned from his trip He called in the three men to whom he entrusted his riches. The first man put that money to work and earned 5 more talents. He doubled what he was given. The second man did likewise. The third man buried the money and simply returned the money unused.

The first two men were commended and rewarded. The third man made excuses. He said he was afraid and didn’t want to risk losing money. He was not commended but condemned.

I hope you see this account is not about money. It is about how we use what God has entrusted to us while we wait for the Lord to return. Let’s look at some truths to take from the text.

We have all been given “treasures”

God gives each of his children gifts which will allow us to serve Him. These gifts are not all the same. We were told the man divided up their gifts according to their abilities. In other words, God entrusts us with gifts that are appropriate for us; for how he made us.

Think about it in sports. Not everyone has the same gift. You don’t expect the kicker on a football team to run well with the ball. You don’t expect your team’s sprinter to be good at the long jump. You don’t expect your point guard to be a great rebounder. What is needed is for each member of a team to do what they are good at.

God gives many gifts,

It may be our finances (the ability to help others and make things happen)

It may be a particular talent such as music, technology, or artistic ability.

It may be insightful ideas (you can lead with great clarity and insight)

It may be an ability to organize (you are a detail person)

It may be a great vision (you see possibilities others never thought of)

It may be a caring heart (you are tuned in to those around you)

It may be the ability to give wise counsel to those who need guidance

It may be the ability to mediate between warring parties

It may be the ability to build or fix things (you can help people in very tangible ways)

It may be an athletic ability (and consequently you are given a platform from which to minister to those around you)

It may be a rapport with children (you may have gifts in youth work)

Paul used the analogy of a human body. Each part of the body has its role. Not every part is an eye, nor is every part and ear. If the Intestines don’t work the rest of the body is at risk. If the pancreas stops working your body is at risk. The list goes on and on. It is not the nature or the amount of the gift! The man who entrusted his servants with huge sums of money did not expect the same return from each person. The Master was looking for A return.

Anytime the subject of gifts or abilities come up there are people who say, “I don’t have any gifts.” I think we make this way too complicated. Paul said God gave each of us a spiritual gift. Over the years people have written book, developed inventories, and distributed check lists, all for the purpose of helping people identify their “gift” from God.

As a result, we have tried to stuff our unique personalities and talents into some category that makes us feel uncomfortable and out of place. This is why so many people feel they don’t have a spiritual gift or are hesitant to do anything.

I don’t think Paul’s comments on spiritual gifts were meant to make us introspective, looking and wondering how our lives fit into a list of categories. In fact, the whole point of what Paul was trying to say was: God makes us different to meet different needs in the church! It seems like what we have done is exactly what Paul was trying to prevent! He was not trying to give us a grid on which we could plot our spiritual gift . . . He was trying to show us that God has given us the unique skills, personalities and interests we have so we can use them for His glory and for the building up of the church.

Instead of looking for a “label you can live with” Paul was advising us to use what you have been given to serve the Lord.

You may say, “But what I can do is no big deal.” It’s not a big deal to you because it is your gift! You may say, it is no big deal to help someone drywall their room. It would be a big ugly deal to me! You may say “drawing is something anyone can do” . . . not true! I can’t draw anything recognizable. You may be quick to respond when someone is in distress and say, “It is what anyone would do!” But it is not, because the time of crisis paralyzes some people and others have no idea what to do. The point is this: the gifts God gives you are often things you take for granted.

We Will Be Judged On How We Use Our Treasures

We are told that God is going to judge us on the basis of how we use what He has given us. The genuineness and depth of our faith will be revealed by the way we have used or not used the gifts God has given to us. It is safe to say that in one sense, we will be judged by our works.

Now hear what I am about to say very carefully: we are not saying that you can earn your way to Heaven! We can be made right with God ONLY through the work of Christ. It is ONLY through the blood of Jesus that we can be saved. Paul says this over and over. In Ephesians 2:8-10 he says,

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

We are saved by God grace, His gift, which was Christ dying for us. No one can EARN salvation! But don’t miss what Paul says next: He has created us anew in Christ . . . so we can (or are able) to do the good things He planned for us. A person who is truly saved; someone who has genuine faith in Christ will begin to live differently. It doesn’t happen all at once, of course, it is gradual. But there is a change. We start to look for ways to glorify God in our lives. What we do is the proof that faith was genuine.

This is really what James meant when he said,

17So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

18Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.”

19You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. 20How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless? (JAMES 2:17-20)

James Montgomery Boice wrote,

We must avoid a “do nothing” Christianity, of course. One commentator wrote, “To have done no harm is praise for a stone, not for a man.” But the situation here is worse than that. To have done nothing is proof that we do not love Jesus Christ, do not belong to him, and have no share in his kingdom. It is to perish forever. (Boice, MATTHEW commentary)

The Lord rejects “Spectator Christianity” where certain people are called to Christian ministry and the other people support and encourage them as best they can. He was trying to avoid the idea that we serve Christ by the things we do only in the church! In other words, He was trying to avoid what we have too often become!

The point of the parable is that are to use whatever we have been given to bring a dividend to God’s Kingdom. We are to do whatever we can do (great or small, public or private, common or unique) to encourage the growth of our fellow believers, to care for the broken and hurting, and to point other people to Jesus as often as we can do so.

We are Not Judged by How our Works Compare to Others

In the parable of the Talents the owner commends both the one who doubled 5 talents and the one who doubled 2. They both were faithful with what they had. And THAT is the measurement God will use.

The Lord is not going to say, “you taught 5 children and this person taught 50 . . . therefore they were more faithful than you were.” He is going to reward us for being faithful in teaching those He brought to us!

In fact, He is not even going to measure us on whether or not we taught people at all! He is not going to measure your life against mine or mine against yours! He will look to see if you did what He gave you the resources to do.

Sadly, this is not the way the world functions. We know that bigger is deemed better. More people, bigger markets, more admirers translates into more significant service . . . but NOT TO THE LORD! All He asks you to do is to be faithful where He places you. If He brings you to bigger opportunities, serve Him well. If he takes you to smaller responsibilities, serve Him well. This is what He cares about.

We are always trying to rank each other! God doesn’t want us to do that! He doesn’t want us to compete with each other (which also causes us to diminish one another so we will look good by comparison), He wants us to encourage each other to serve the Lord in whatever He gives us to do.

There is something wonderfully liberating about this. There is no reason for you to feel inadequate because you can’t do what someone else does! He wants you to use your unique circumstance and abilities to honor Him and point others to Him.

Think this through with me . . .

When Paul tell us to “desire the greater gifts.” Is he really ranking gifts or is it possible that he is encouraging us to look for ways to serve God more fully and significantly. In other words, don’t become complacent. Keep growing and serving. Keep looking for new ways to serve and honor the Lord

The stay at home mom should not feel guilty! Her ministry at present is to raise her children to be God’s honoring adults

The Lord would rather have us spend a night with a neighbor who doesn’t know Christ or is going through a hard time than have us run off to an organizational meeting.

The Lord would rather have us develop sincere friendships with people in the community than have us run off to another conference on spiritual growth.

There is no need to feel worthless as we age because we can’t do what we once did. As our abilities change God changes what He wants us to do. I think God is pleased with those who “can only make phone calls” when they make the phone calls.

People can serve the Lord at every age. God is not asking everyone to get on the platform and preach . . . He is asking us to be faithful in what we are able to do (likely, better than anyone else).

There is an old and wise saying, “You will never see what you can do until you risk failure.” Here’s something else to think about: what the world calls failure is often what God calls faith.

Conclusions

I have been suggesting today that the parable of the Talents serves as a corrective to the way we often think about Christian service. Too often, people like me tell people like you that the best way to serve Christ is to be a little more like me! I think Jesus was telling us to stop trying to be like me and work hard to be you, to His glory and honor

But how do we do this? What needs to happen to use what we have been given?

First, Learn to Think Differently. Instead of waiting around looking for some great opportunity, serve God with the opportunities before you. Stop looking for that big grand thing and start doing the little things, the daily things, the common things for His glory. The place where God wants you to serve is in something you likely already enjoy. Stop making it so difficult!

Second, think creatively about ministry. Ask this simple question: how can I serve and honor the Lord by what I am already doing? Whether it is in medicine, education, athletics, sales, or anything else, look for ways to honor Him.

Suppose you have a gift for cooking. You’re a good cook. You know it and so do others. How do you use that gift for God’s glory? How can you use this gift of yours to invest and multiply until the Master returns? Here are some ideas,

Inviteyour non-Christian friends over for dinner and conversation. Build a relationship and in the context of that relationship tell them about Jesus.

Bringmeals to those who have just returned from the hospital, are grieving, orare just going through a rough time.

Makesomething as a gift to share with people who visit our church (as a way ofsaying “thanks for visiting with us”). Don’t wait for someone to start the ministry . . . take the initiative.

Sharea favorite dish with a neighbor for no reason, just as a way of demonstrating love.

Helpwith church meals.

Make adessert for someone who works faithfully in the shadows to let them knowtheir efforts are appreciated.

You can do this with any ability you possess. You may be a person who can make things possible with your money. You might use your love of travel to do short term missions. You might take your love of the Internet and start a blog on living the Christian life, or use it to encourage others in some way. You may be a person who loves to play with audio files and you could edit radio broadcasts for us. Maybe you are the one who bring comfort and encouragement to the shut ins of our church or the lonely in our community. Let God lead you to what you can do for Him where you are.

Third, Take Action. If you love someone you go out of your way to find a way to demonstrate that love. You might even go to extravagant extremes on occasion . . . why? Because you want the other person to know how much you love them. Now take that and use it in this new year. Make it a daily challenge to look for simple or extravagant things that can demonstrate love to the Lord.

Can you think of anything better than standing before the Lord on the Day of Judgment and see Him smile as He says, “Well Done! My Good and Faithful Servant! Enter into my Joy.” Use this picture as your motivation.