‘Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To 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. The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. ‘After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 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 25:14-30 NIVUK
It never surprises me how, no matter how rich or how poor a nation is, there are always people looking to make a fast buck out of others.
Everywhere you look, there are pyramid selling schemes that promise riches, but deliver nothing for the vast majority of their participants.
Or there are boiler-room share scams, where cold callers pester people to invest their money in worthless shares.
Or there are Ponzi schemes, where companies promise brilliant returns on investments, but don’t actually produce anything – they only pay out to investors by bringing more investors on board.
Or there is crypto. Which is just a massive, unstable scam for those who dream.
So many ‘get rich quick’ schemes, scamming the gullible and the unaware. The golden rule applies to all of these: if it seems to good ro be true, that’s because it is.
However, the Bible is clear: God has made an investment. That investment is in us. And as this parable states, He has every right to expect a return.
The problem is: will He get it from us?
This parable has three phases. Let’s look at them in turn.
The first of these is the trusting master.
The master here is going on a journey. He could easily leave his wealth at home, doing nothing, or in a bank for safekeeping.
Instead, he gives it to his servants to see what they will do with his wealth.
Now, the first thing we need to understand is that this was not an inconsequential sum of money. Quite the opposite. A talent of gold (referred to in some translations as a bag) weighed 91kg. It would take a day rate labourer around twenty years to earn that amount of money. The Bible tells us that a priest would serve God from the age of twenty-five years of age until they were fifty (Numbers 8:23-26), although David later reduced the starting age to twenty for Levites (1 Chronicles 23:27).
So what we’re saying is that this is the money a day rate labourer would earn in four-fifths of his working life – an enormous sum of money.
But this master has sixteen such bags to entrust: the amount of money that a day rate labourer would take three hundred and twenty years to earn.
It’s pretty clear, then, that the master is very rich.
It’s also pretty clear that he is not giving these servants a gift, but is giving these staggering amounts of money to his servants with the expectation that the money will come back to him with a profit. The money is given to them, but it is not theirs. They are expected to take care of it and then return it.
It’s also pretty clear that these men were given this responsibility according to their ability to handle it – ‘each according to their ability’.
But why would any master do a thing like that?
Apart from simply making money while he is gone, the servants will prove their worthiness to take on even greater tasks by the way they handle this money.
From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.
Luke 12:48 NIVUK
But what does this mean for us?
If you're expecting to wake up one day and find that God has given you a bag with twenty years worth of salary to take care of, I’m afraid you will be sorely disappointed.
Instead, He gives us something far more valuable.
You see, Paul teaches us in Ephesians that the gifts, abilities and talents Jesus gives us come at a very high price. They come because Jesus was crucified, because He rose from the dead and because He ascended to Heaven (Ephesians 4:7-10). And the sole purpose of these gifts is to benefit the church (Ephesians 4:11-16; c.f. 1 Corinthians 12, 14:12), and in doing so extend the Kingdom of God.
So the gifts, abilities, talents – and I would even say our character, who we are, and what we have in terms of our resources – have a been given to us to use for God.
It is these resources that I believe God has invested in us, and from which He expects a return, just like was expected from these three servants.
That investment is also not small. We should never, ever devalue the work of God in our lives and what He can do through us.
But it is also not ours. We do not have the right to use it for our own gratification. It belongs to God. It should always be used for His glory, not ours.
Following from the trusting master, we also see the working servants, in verses 16 to 18.
Now, this is very impressive.
The servant who has been entrusted with two hundred years’ salary invests the money and makes two hundred more.
The servant who has a hundred years’ salary makes a hundred more.
I know what you’re thinking. You want the name of their stockbroker, don’t you? I mean, they have already been given a huge sum of money. To double it, even over a long period of time, is quite something. Two hundred percent is a highly impressive Return On Investment.
But the third servant? Well, he plays it safe. He doesn’t want to play around with that amount of money. So he digs a hole in the ground and buries it. That way he risks nothing and he knows he will return to his master with the same amount of money he was given.
Digging a hole in the ground and burying such a large amount of cash was the ancient equivalent of hiding it in your pillowcase or under the mattress in your bed. It would not provide any form of a return, but it was safe.
Many people take this approach with their gifts, abilities and resources. They hide then away. They deny they exist. They downplay them. They have a light, but they want to conceal it (Matthew 5:16).
And that is a terrible loss.
Not just for the individual, but also for the church.
You see, the church is the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13, 18-20, 27). You are a part of that body. You have a role to play in that body. When you refuse to play your part in it, the whole body feels your absence.
You might ‘hide your light’ for many reasons. You might not be confident in yourself. You might be ashamed. You might think others could do the job better. You might be afraid of making mistakes.
But what we have to remember here is that, just as the master made a seriously large investment in all of his servants, so God has made a sizeable investment in you. And, just like the master, it is perfectly right for Him to expect a return on that investment.
Hiding your light will not give Him that return.
After the trusting master and the working servants, we see the reckoning master.
Now, this is the part where our culture starts to feel a little queasy. You see, ours is a culture that panders excessively to people’s feelings. Of course we should be compassionate and kind and gentle. That is in the Bible.
However, our culture has swung like a pendulum way too far in the opposite direction. Our culture holds sports races that do not have a winner, allows children under rather age of eighteen to identify themselves as whatever they want (even animals!) and cannot contemplate the idea of anyone telling anyone else that they are wrong.
That is how our culture has landed in the mess it is in now.
So what happens next in this parable is tough for them to take.
The servants are accountable to the master. Of course they are. He is their boss.
The first servant comes in with two hundred years salary of gold, and then produces a further two hundred years salary.
He is commended for it, naturally.
The second servant comes in with a hundred years salary of gold, and then produces a further hundred years salary of gold.
He is commended for it, of course.
So far, so good.
The third servant comes in with twenty years salary of gold, and gives his master not a penny more. He has lost nothing, but neither has he gained anything.
Just look at his reasoning for doing so:
‘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.”
Matthew 25:24-25 NIVUK
What is He saying?
He is saying that his master is a hard man who profits from other people’s work.
Now, let’s get this straight: the context of this parable is that the master is doing exactly that - he is profiting from their skills at investing and obtaining a return.
However, there are two important points here that we should bear in mind.
Firstly, that’s what any boss or leader or manager does. They gain rewards because of the efforts of their team. And that is thoroughly just. They motivate their team. They deploy their team. They manage their team. Why shouldn’t they gain rewards from their team’s efforts?
Secondly, this servant clearly does not trust his master to reward him for a job well done.
That is his excuse for playing it safe.
And it is clearly wrong.
He shows no trust in his master, only an unhealthy fear that leads him to risk nothing for him.
But in reality, he is lazy and has proved himself to be thoroughly inadequate to the task: he is unproductive and worthless for his master.
That is why his master effectively sacks him and gives his twenty years worth of gold to the servant who has two hundred.
So what can we learn from this?
God knows.
He knows every excuse we have for being inactive and uninvolved for Him. He knows that all are rooted in a false opinion of Him. And He will see through them all. If we want to be rewarded in Heaven, if we want the best evidence that we are saved, then we will use the resources, gifts, talents, abilities and opportunities He gives us for the extension of His Kingdom.
This parable is a parable about investment, and a substantial investment at that. It tells us that God has invested a huge amount in us – more than we could ever know.
I once heard a missionary say this, ‘God has provided all the resources we need for our work. We just need to move them from other people’s pockets into ours.’
I believe firmly that God has provided every church and every Christian with the resources they need to meet their present challenges. The problem is not if they are there; the problem is whether or not the members will release them.
Don’t be someone who stands in God’s way by refusing to invest who you are and what you have in other people.
Because that’s how the Kingdom grows.
Prayer
Lord, save me from being unproductive and worthless for You. Show me what my talents, gifts, abilities, resources and opportunities are and help me to make the most of them to extend Your Kingdom. Amen
Questions
1. What did the productive servants do that was so right?
2. What did the unproductive servant do that was so wrong?
3. What can we learn from this? What are your gifts, abilities, resources and opportunities? How can you make the most of them to extend the Kingdom of God?
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