I’m grateful for each opportunity I have to be in the presence of Professor Smith. Sunday’s discussion delivered, once again. As we dove into the parable of the giving of talents, we started off with the impact that acquiring knowledge has on our wisdom. Jesus spoke to us in parables, an analogy in a story, as a way for God’s truth to be revealed to those who are ready to receive it. Analogical use of language is one of the four principals that are essential for knowledge. Because we are made in God’s image (Gen. 1:26) we are able to understand and receive the knowledge that He chooses to reveal, even though He is fully beyond us. As a basis of the Christian faith, we believe and accept that the bible is the written Word of God. By extension, this means that the bible itself is knowledge. Much in the way we can gain mathematical knowledge from a textbook in school, the bible is our starting point for understanding what our heavenly Father has bestowed upon us. Your math textbook will teach you that 4+4=8, but when you take that a step further, we can deduce that 8 is equal to, not only 4+4, but also 6+2, 9-1, 16/2… the way that we apply our knowledge in practical situations is wisdom.
Jesus wanted to impart wisdom to His believers, and therefor chose to tall parables, these stories that easily related to what they could understand, so they could use the lessons learned as applied knowledge and live it out in their everyday lives. The story of the giving of talents goes as follows. A wealthy man is going to leave for a time. He called in three of is servants and distributed talents (to put this in perspective, one talent was the equivalent of 20 years’ wages) according to the servant’s abilities. One received five talents, another received two and the final servant received one.
Can you imagine receiving 20 years wages all at once? Wow, that is a pretty remarkable about. Do you think the third servant was still impressed when he heard of the first servant that received five times that? It’s easy to imagine the temptation to compare. I wonder how often we get trapped into the lies of comparison among our spiritual giftings and the giftings of others. What the master gave each of the three servants was not a laughable amount. It was a significant investment on three different levels that each of them were trusted to guard and invest properly during the masters absence. God has entrusted you with “wages” of your own. This can be viewed in the form of your finances, time availability and talents. The question is not what do others have? but what am I doing with what I’ve been given?
Just as Jesus will one day return to us here on earth, the master in the parable eventually returns to his servants to settle accounts. He takes this time to make a judgement on how they handled themselves and the wealth that he left to them. Our assessment day is coming, too. The servant who was given five talents doubled it, awesome. The servant who was given two talents did the same, amazing. The master is pleased with his good and faithful servants, they are invited to share in their master’s happiness. But then comes in the third servant. Acting out of fear, he took no action with his one talent. The master is displeased and gives the wasted investment instead to his servant that as earned the most. With great disappointment and frustration the master casts out the third servant – outside his presence, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. The message is clear: we are accountable. God honors obedience and effort, not comparison or outcome.
Tell me you see the simile here. When Jesus returns to reconcile His children, there will be a day of assessment, we will answer for the way we’ve chosen to live our lives and use what God has gifted us. When that day comes, will you proudly step forward with the results of your active stewardship, or will it be a day of distress when you are called to answer for your passivity? God will honor the fruits of the effort that come from honoring a purpose above ourselves in the same way that He will handle consequences for inaction, as the fair and just Judge that He is. While your giftings will likely be different of the giftings you see in other believers, you are still personally responsible for the maximizing the potential of what YOU have. Divine gifts only have the opportunity to grow when you are serving others. So the question becomes, how are you serving others?
A practical place to start is with stewardship of finances. A helpful guideline is the 80-10-10 principle: give 10% back to God, save 10% for the future, and live on the remaining 80%. It’s a tangible way to practice faithful management of what you’ve been given.
I pray that as we each move throughout our week, the severity of responsibility, and the privilege, sits heavily with us all. It’s not about comparison, it isn’t about the end total, it’s about responding to the Holy Spirit and living in a way that honors our Heavenly Father with everything we’ve been entrusted with.
