Faithful Through and Through
Jesus tells this story in Matthew 25 that is absolutely riveting. He starts by setting the scene…
There’s a rich man who has tons of money and possessions--he’s the Elon Musk of the Bible, okay? And this rich man decides to go away on a journey--doesn’t need to work, wants to go travel—all is good.
But, when he leaves, he decides to entrust some of his possessions and wealth to his workers. So, to one worker, he gives 5 bags of gold (or “talents” as the Bible calls them), to another he gives 2, and another he gives 1.
Pause.
How much we talking here? I mean...bags of gold…
Are we talking like, ziploc sandwich bags or hefty trash bags?
How about 20 -years’-worth-of-work bags.
Think about this--in Biblical times, historians believe it would take the average man 20 years to earn one bag of gold. So, this isn’t chump change. He’s entrusting full on retirement accounts to these servants.
The rich man departs and says, “I’m entrusting this money to you. Do with it as you wish.”
So, the servants get to work.
The first servant says, “you gotta spend money to make money” (I’m paraphrasing) and he turns 5 bags of gold into 10. The servant who was given 2 bags says, “I’m bout to make some money moves” (again, paraphrasing) and turns 2 bags of gold into 4.
But the last servant who’s given one bag of gold freezes. He freaks out. He has no idea what to do. He’s never had this much money before and in fear, he buries his bag in the ground to ensure that it’s safe and secure upon his masters return.
Eventually, the rich man comes back from his journey, and this is where it gets spicy. Matthew 25, beginning in verse 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.’ “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!’
“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.’ “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!’
“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. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’
“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? 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. “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 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. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth’ (Matthew 25:20-30, NIV).
Woah… talk about a brutal reaction! I mean, it’s not like the guy wasted all of his money. Why’s the master so...mad? So hurt? So disappointed?
In case you haven’t picked up on it yet, each of these characters represent someone. The rich man represents Jesus and the men he entrusts the money to represent you, me, and every other person.
Therefore, we have to insert ourselves into the story and ask questions. Questions that help us understand where we fit into a story like this. Questions like, “what has God entrusted you with?”
Just like the men in the story, Jesus has entrusted all of us with something (probably a few things!). Maybe you’re really athletic or work comes easy to you; maybe you’re an artist or you’re really good with stocks. Maybe you have a specific talent that not many other people have or a passion that not everyone is passionate about.
My friends, God gives us these gifts, these talents, and these passions for a reason.
It’s our job to steward those gifts well.
Maybe at this point, the story is jusssst starting to sink in and you’re realizing something. Something is off about this story. It’s hitting you…”why did each servant get a different amount of money?”
This is Jesus’ way of explaining that every person is unique and that God entrusts every person with something different than anyone else. Understand, this is inherently a good thing, but unfortunately, our culture has twisted this and funneled it into a lens called comparison.
“What do I have or not have compared to what he or she has or doesn’t have?”
But if you read the end of the parable, it becomes so clear that it’s not about what you have, but about what you do with what you have!
One man only earned 2 bags of gold for the rich man, while the other man earned 5, but—look at this—the rich man’s response is exactly the same “Well done my good and faithful servant!”
Why?
Because both men were faithful with what they were given!
So, my friend, no matter if you feel like you’ve been given 1, 2, or 5 bags of talent, be faithful through and through to the calling that God has placed on your life. The returns you will see will be beyond anything you could ever comprehend.
I know it!
Be encouraged.
