Storytime With Jesus: The Talents

Finding a Job That Fits

When you were a kid, were you ever told you could be anything you wanted to be – even the President of the United States if that’s what you wanted?

I have news for you. That’s bunk!

When my son was in seventh grade he told me he hated it when teachers told him he could be anything he wanted, because he knew he didn’t have the aptitude to ever remember so much at once. He understood that being President requires a special set of skills and gifts that fit that type of job. Some people may have those skills, but others know they don’t.

It’s that way with any job. When I was in high school, I realized I should be an engineer because my brain just understands math and complex problems. As much as I might have wanted to be Justin Timberlake, I didn’t have the voice or the dance moves. I DID have the skills to be an engineer; so that’s what I did.

And then, years later, God used my analytical brain and my gift of gab and called me in a new direction – to be a pastor. I love being a pastor because it fits with the gifts and skills God has given me. When God switched gears on me and called me into ministry, I could have ignored it. I could have hidden from the call and kept doing what I was doing and making what I was making. God, however, had given me talents and opportunities to do something different – something He had planned for me.

What about you? Do you feel like you have lived your life in a job or jobs that fit the skills you have? Do you feel like you have used the gifts and abilities God gave you in either your job or your hobbies or your church family? I feel sure that those of you who are happiest with your lives enjoy what you created BECAUSE what you do fits who you are.

God didn’t make you so you could try to climb to the most important position you could ever attain in life. Nope. God made you to be WHO you were made to be. Some of you were made to farm, and when you farm, you love it despite the hard manual labor. Some of you love to teach. Some of you love to take care of your kids and all the neighborhood kids who always landed at your house. I recently heard a definition of “glory” that said we most glorify God when we do what He made us to do – when we use the gifts He gave us to use.

This connection between our skills and ability and the work of our hands produces something for God’s glory. This is the center of our “Story Time with Jesus” today as we look at the Parable of the Talents, found in Matthew 25.

The Parable

Today’s parable is found in the midst of a series of Jesus’s parables that all shed a different light on what the Kingdom of God will be like.

The Setup

Matthew 25:14-15 –¹⁴Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. ¹⁵To 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.

Understanding the term “bags of gold” is important to our understanding of this story. That’s how the NIV translated this portion. The King James Version uses the literal Greek word “talent.” Today, however, nobody knows how much a talent was worth in Jesus’s time, which is why the NIV says “bags of gold.” A talent was worth roughly 20 years of wages for a regular laborer.

Even more critical is understanding that how we define the word “talent” in the English language today is actually derived from this very story in the Bible. Almost since Jesus taught this story 2000 years ago, Christians have understood that Jesus was teaching about skills and abilities – “talents” – rather than financial stewardship. This is why, as we read and try to understand this story, it is better to read it through the lens of “talents” rather than “sums of money.”

Another key point to the opening of this parable is that different numbers of talents, gifts, and opportunities are given to the three servants. They don’t all get the same talents to be responsible for. This shows us something we likely already know: Life isn’t equal! The master gives what he deems the right amount each servant should be responsible for. It just is. None of the servants complains.

The difference in the number of talents the servants receive correlates with what the Apostle Paul teaches us about the church in 1 Corinthians 23. The church is a body with various – different – parts that provide different functions. Some seem more important or more “out front,” but they are all important. They all offer value to the church.

Even though God may not give in equal measure, that doesn’t mean He isn’t fair! Romans 2:11 tells us that “God does not show favoritism.” While God does not give equally, He still is fair.

There’s a big difference between equal and fair. I’ve worked hard to instill that in my boys. Often when they complained because one child received something another did not, they said we weren’t being fair. How many of you parents have heard that?

But when you remind a child of something you gave to them or did for them that you didn’t do for the other, they begin to see that each of them is unique. They receive different gifts – different ways we show our love and support. Our actions may not have been equal or totally the same from child to child, but we tried hard, within their differences, to be fair.

That’s a bit of what we see in this parable. One servant has earned the right to receive more to manage. Another servant has been an underperformer, and the fair thing to do is not burden him with too much responsibility.

After dispersing his money for the servants to be responsible for, the master leaves for his journey.

Matthew 25:16-18 –¹⁶The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put the money to work and gained five bags more. ¹⁷So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. ¹⁸But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

The first two servants get to work right away, and both double their money. They make a return on investment equivalent to the talents the master gave them. Perhaps this shows why the master trusted them and gave them more to be responsible for. If a talent was worth 20 years of wages, the man who was given five talents (five “bags of gold”) received 100 years of wages! That’s a lot of money to be putting to work. He needed to get at it right away!

The third servant makes a different choice and decides to avoid all risk. He also does ZERO work other than digging a small hole.

Matthew 25:19-23 – ¹⁹After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. ²⁰The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. “Master,’ he said, “you have entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.”

²¹His 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.”

²²The 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.”

²³His 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!”

Clearly, the first two servants understood the master’s expectation that they would produce with what they received, and they were excited to show what they produced.

The master gives them each the same commendation even though they have different returns. They both used what they were given, whether bigger or smaller, and both yielded returns.

Stepping back into today, isn’t this the goal of each of us? You shouldn’t be comfortable just slipping into Heaven. You should be seeking to hear affirming words: “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Imagine how it will be to hear those words spoken over you one day! Allow the anticipation of that glory to motivate you in serving Jesus.

Matthew 25:24-28 – ²⁴Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. “Master,” he said, “I knew that you were a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. ²⁵So I went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.”

²⁶His 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? ²⁷Well 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. ²⁸So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags.”

The first word – “Then” – signifies that this is going to be different.

The third servant understands that the master maximizes his business opportunities, and so he claims to be afraid. He didn’t want to fail, and that is why he hid the talent. This was a common way people protected their money back then. It was a safe and relatively risk-free way NOT TO LOSE what he was given.

The master, however, sees through the excuse and calls the servant wicked and lazy. By hiding the talent for the entire time the master was away, the servant did NOTHING and yet earned his wages.

Imagine going to Edward Jones on the town square. When you get there, Adam Bahr, the investment banker, is out to lunch, but they have a new guy in a cubicle at the back. The receptionist sends you back to him. You talk, give him the money you want to invest, and you watch him put the cash into an envelope, write your name on the envelope and put it in a safe under his desk. You ask, “What are you doing?”

The man responds, “I can tell you would get really mad if I lost any of your money, so I’m not going to risk that.”

You know what you would do! You would want your money back right then and there. Why waste it with this guy? You would wait for Adam to come back from lunch and you would give it to him (rather than to the lazy loser) to invest for you.

Back to Jesus’s parable. At first, many might think it seems unfair to take the little bit the servant with one talent has and give it to the guy who now has 10 talents. (Remember, we like everything to be fair and equal.) When you think of this parable in terms of the situation I just described, though, it sure makes a lot of sense. Of course the master would take away the talent that was not used. Why leave it with this unsuccessful servant? You give it to the person who is most fruitful with it. That’s how you maximize your investment. That’s how you make the biggest difference. That’s how God’s kingdom grows the most.

The Meaning

Matthew 25:29-30 – ²⁹For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken away from them. ³⁰And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Here’s where Jesus lays out the meaning of this parable. In His Kingdom, those who prove they can be trusted with gifts and opportunities will be given more. They will gain influence, and God will open up even bigger opportunities. Those who squander what they do have will lose that little bit God tried trusting them with.

All this reminds me of people I have met who feel like God has called them to be pastors or elders, but they never serve in the church. They don’t teach Sunday school or volunteer to help at movie night, so why on earth would I believe God wants them to have BIG roles in the church when they aren’t faithful even with smaller ones.

The final word of this story is rather unexpected. The servant who squandered what the master gave him is thrown outside into the darkness with weeping and gnashing of teeth. This is a common phrase Jesus used to describe final judgment and, specifically, being sent to Hell. Jesus is saying that not only is this guy lazy, but he is not part of God’s Kingdom. He may know the master, but his actions prove he doesn’t belong.

While this may not be the primary thrust of this passage, we can’t ignore this ending. What does it mean for people in the church today? Might there be people who go to church, who think they are servants of God, but who are being wicked and lazy and aren’t doing anything with that the master has entrusted to them? And if they aren’t doing anything with those skills, abilities and opportunities, what does that demonstrate about their care for God?

I believe if a person has put their faith in Jesus, loves Jesus, and wants to be obedient to Him, we should see fruit in that person’s life. We should see character change and also activity in joining the work of the Kingdom.

Let’s say you get hired by Hy-Vee and go through the training program. You’re given the shirt, and you are scheduled to work, but you never show up for work. If you do, you just sit in a booth in the food area. Are you really an employee? Have you demonstrated your understanding of what it means to be part of the Hy-Vee team? I would argue “no.”

Unfortunately, some people in our day sit in churches on Sunday mornings thinking they are saved because they show up. However, they have never shown that they understand what it means to be part of the team. They say they know Jesus – but so do the demons. The question is, do they love Jesus and demonstrate it by obeying and serving Him? Last week we focused on obedience, and today Jesus shows us that in His Kingdom we are also to serve.

The Wicked Servant Today

So what keeps people who think they know Jesus from serving Him as the first two servants in the parable did? I offer three hurdles standing in the way of a saving faith.

• Too Busy. You spend your time chasing money rather than investing in ministry opportunities God puts in front of you. Like in the parable of the sower, your life is crowded with weeds, and you fail to make Jesus the center of your life and devotion. You never make time to read the Bible, never pray, never serve. You know that Jesus died on the cross to forgive your sins and that people are saved by grace, but your life is so full of everything else that it appears you have never actually grasped that truth and turned your life into that of a follower of Jesus.
• Too Lazy. Some people are too distracted by television, sports, video games, or other leisure activities to be at work where God wants them to work. Like the lazy servant, they believe they can bury the opportunities God gave to them. Then when they die, they can dust them off and take them back to God, all the while living their lives on their terms without doing any of the Master’s work.
• Just Unaware. Finally, I think some people simply don’t understand that God actually expects our lives to change when we join His Kingdom. When we understand His amazing love and grace, it should transform us. We shouldn’t be able to keep doing what we were doing before with a calendar that looks exactly the same, a checkbook that is unchanged, and no difference in how we live. If you say you put your faith in Jesus but absolutely nothing changes in your life, then you are just paying God lip service. You aren’t ACTUALLY putting a saving faith in Jesus. Your life should look different – like that of a servant actively investing in the Kingdom.

Conclusion

Jesus’s parable of the talents challenges us to consider what we are doing with all God has blessed us with. Some of you have been given much; from you, much is expected. Some of you have been given less (however we want to define that), and yet God expects you to put what He has given you to work for His Kingdom.

The Kingdom of God does not have any spectators. Nobody can come and sit on the sideline and claim to be a servant, but not SERVE in any way. That doesn’t make you a member of Team Jesus; that simply makes you a fan, on the outside looking in.

I’m not trying to judge your salvation or that of your family members, coworkers, or friends, but if anything in these three points describes you or someone you love, you should ask God what He thinks of the situation. This parable has a joyous ending for two of the servants (“Well done!”) but a very unhappy ending for the third. Jesus doesn’t want that unhappy ending for you. That’s why He shared this parable.

The big question we all should be asking ourselves is: How am I putting my talent to work for God’s Kingdom? Are you working as a servant who loves and respects the Master, or are you simply watching from the sideline, burying the opportunity God has opened up for you?

Maybe as you hear this message you will realize it’s time to get off the sideline, but you don’t know how to do that. Here are some ideas:

• Begin a greater focus on praying for those around you, for our church, for our missionaries, and for whatever else God brings to your mind.
• Seek ways to serve people you know who have needs. When you hear someone speak about a challenge in their life, decide how you might bless them – maybe by taking them a meal or offering to babysit.
• Send cards and notes; make phone calls; visit shut-ins. Find various ways to be an encourager to people you associate with.
• Find a way to serve in the church. It could be driving the van, working with kids, helping in the kitchen, teaching, singing, helping around the building – or something else. Many jobs around our church need your involvement.
• Give generously to ministries around you that are doing God-honoring work – sharing Jesus and ministering to “the least of these.” Invest your finances even though you may not have the time or the skill to do the work they’re doing.

This is not an exclusive list, but I hope it gives you some ideas. God’s Kingdom is massive and expanding.God’s Kingdom needs all of us to invest the talents the Master has given us into making a Kingdom return on His investment. At the end of a life spent investing and serving, you, too, will one day hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”