Jump Start # 2826

Matthew 25:15 “And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey.”

The other day was really tough on me. No, there wasn’t another death. No one hollered at me. The checks didn’t bounce. I wasn’t worn out from doing things. My self-esteem took a hit. It was tough on the insides for me. And, all of this was to my doings. A new friend invited me over. He showed me his house and how he had taken down walls, moved windows and redid the whole place. It was beautiful. He took me to his garage where a shell of a car sat. It was down to bare sheet metal. No hood. No engine. No tires. He was going to rebuild the car from the bare bones up. I went home thinking, I don’t know how to do any of those things. I don’t know construction. I couldn’t begin to tell you about the mechanics of a car. I sat in the basement, with these thoughts rolling through my mind, wondering what I was good at and what I have accomplished in my life. As I was sinking deeper into the blues, my wife was upstairs playing her grand piano. She’s good. She’s really good. Had she stuck with it in college and with a few breaks, she may have made a professional orchestra. I like listening to her play. But on this night, it was just another log in the fire of my pity party. I can’t play. I don’t understand music. We will hear someone on TV sing, and my wife will say, “Do you hear that? She’s not on pitch.” It sounded fine to me.

Can’t remodel a house. Can’t rebuild a car. Can’t play music. Boy, that “Can’t” song can really get a person down. It makes one feel worthless and useless. And, that takes us to our verse today, the parable of the talents. A talent was a type of currency, not ability. But, we use this passage to talk about our abilities. Each person in this parable was given a certain amount based upon his ability. So, the five talent man had the most ability. The two talent man, next. The one talent man had the least ability. He’s like the last guy chosen in a game of pick up basketball. “You can have him,” which really means, “he’s not very good.”

One has to wonder if the one talent man felt jealous of the five talent man. Did the one talent man feel low because he wasn’t trusted with more? Was he thinking, “the master doesn’t think much of me,” or, “I can’t do anything.” There are some lessons to be learned here:

First, no comparison were made. The master never rebuked the two talent man for not doing as much as the five talent man did. You and I love to compare. We do that all the time. We compare how we look to the way others look. We compare lifestyles. “Look,” we say, “at the size of house that family lives in.” Comparisons usually do not turn out well. Either, we look at someone who can’t do what we do and that elevates our ego, or, we look at what we can’t do and that makes us feel worthless. Comparing doesn’t turn out well.

Second, the one talent man was blessed and used by the master. I don’t see what the master was doing as a pity or a charity case. I don’t think he felt obligated to have to give the one talent man something. He expected him to do what the others were doing, put the talent in the bank and have a positive return. And, what happens in life is that we see how blessed others are and we fail to see our own blessings. We take inventory of what we cannot do, but we fail to see what we can do. The Lord invites us into his kingdom and allows us to engage in the great work of saving souls. Teaching, encouraging, supporting are all things that we can do. Each person in that parable received talent, as each of us have. We are all blessed by the Lord.

Third, there is good that we all can do. The Lord uses the same words of honor for both the five talent man and the two talent man. This wasn’t like the Olympics in which one received a gold medal, then silver and then bronze. We look at it that way, but that’s not the way it is supposed to be. The five and two talent men were equal in the blessings of their master. The Lord’s parable of the laborers in the vineyard shows that the man who worked at the eleventh hour received the same as the one who worked all day. The Lord is generous. The Lord makes us equal with the apostles even though we will never do what they did. But in this passage about the talents, the one talent man was rebuked because he did nothing. There is something we all can do. The Lord expects that. Even in the parable of the laborers in the vineyard, the eleventh hour man worked one hour. He did not get paid for standing idle. He went to the fields and he worked. You might not be able to preach. Maybe teaching isn’t your thing. You can cook, make food for someone. You can pull weeds, get down to the church building and make it look nice. You can drive, so offer to pick someone up and take them to services. There is something that you can do.

Now, back to my story. Emails started coming in. One from a preacher in another state who said that he loved a recent Jump Start that I wrote and shared it with the entire church. It was helpful he said. Then one came in from yet another state, asking if I would be willing to talk on their podcast. Then came one from a newspaper editor, wanting permission to use my Jump Starts in the local paper.

No, I can’t play the piano. And, I can’t rebuild a car. And, I can’t remodel a house. But, I can write and I can preach. And, maybe you can’t write and you can’t preach, but there is something that you can do. Words on a page do not seem like much to rebuilding a car, but those words on a page may lift a weary soul, give someone hope and help someone find the Lord.

There is something that we all can do. Find what you are good at. Develop that. Learn more about that. Talk to others who do the same thing. Grow that talent and then use it.

And, what we can do is enjoy the way others use their talents. I can’t play the piano, but I can sure enjoy having a home concert any time. I can praise the ability of others, enjoy the great work they are doing and be the best cheerleader in their corner. One can be jealous and envious, or one can enjoy the good work of others.

Every person in the Lord’s parable was given a talent. And, you too, were given a talent. Find it. Use it. Lift your eyes heavenward. God has chosen you, blessed you and gifted you just the way you are. The master is away. But, he’s coming back. What are you doing with what He gave you?

Roger

Jump Start # 2585

Matthew 25:15 “And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey.”

A Jump Start reader called the other day with a question. It was a great question and a personal question. The caller asked, “How do I know if I’m the one talent man?” Here in this parable of talents, the one talent man doesn’t end up well. He is called wicked, lazy and worthless by the master. What he had was taken away from him and he was cast into the outer darkness with weeping and gnashing of teeth. A terrible end for anyone. No one would want this to be their future. So, to the caller’s question, “How do I know if I’m the one talent man?”

The account of the talents is a parable that Jesus taught about accountability and His coming return. It fits in with the parable of the wise and foolish virgins and the coming king. There is a common thread in these three parables. Jesus is going away and Jesus is coming back. When He comes back those who are ready, those who did what He said, will have a celebration. Those who aren’t ready and those who haven’t done what He expected, will be punished. Jesus is coming and there will be a judgment. That’s the theme of this chapter. So, it does matter what I do. It does matter how I treat others.

Now, in the parable of the talents, a talent was a weight that became associated with a type of money. We look at this parable and see the word talent and think of ability. That’s a great principle for us. But originally, the talent was money. The master gave his money to his servants. He divided it up. It remained the master’s money. While he was gone he expected them to use it wisely. Two of them did and one simply buried the money in the ground. Upon his return, the master was pleased to see that two of the servants had doubled what was given to them. But the unfortunate one talent man simply returned what was given to him. He had done nothing. He buried it in the ground and there it remained.

How do I know if I am the one talent man?

First, the differing amounts of talents was determined by the master. He passed the talents out based upon ability. Throughout this parable no comparisons are made. The two talent man is not scolded for not returning as much as the five talent man. Each person was responsible to do what they could with what they had.

There is no shame in having one talent. The one talent man is not in trouble because he had one talent. His troubles came about because of his failure to do anything. Now, the question is often asked, “How many talents does a person have?” Do you have one? Do you have two? Do you have five? I’m not sure if we know. The point is not to take inventory but to be useful to the Lord. If a person has but one talent, use it for the Lord. Two, then use them for the Lord. Five, use them all for the Lord. This is not a place for jealousy, envy or feeling bad. Often it is easier to see gifts in others than we can see in ourselves.

Second, the focus on this parable is not upon how much they were given, but what did they do with what they had. There are two thoughts here. First, the return that they made was for the master. The master is the Lord. We are not talking about using our abilities to further our careers. Many are busy in community activities, organizing fund raisers, helping out with 5K runs, volunteering at the local library or school, all great and useful things, but none of those help the master. The return was for the master. We are talking about kingdom work. We are talking about spiritual work. We are talking about encouraging, inviting, teaching, strengthening, supporting the work of God. There are many, many gifted people in the world. Far too many are using their talents to bankroll a rich lifestyle, build a political career, help the community but nothing for the master. Great song writers—but do they use that talent for the master? Great artists—but do they use that talent for the master? Great writers, great thinkers, great inventors, great leaders—but is any of this being used to help the master?

The second thought in this parable is that the master had given each of these servants plenty of time. The text even says, “Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them.” How long? Long enough for the five and two talent men to double what they had. The law of 72 is a financial rule about doubling money. Take an interest rate and divide that into 72 and that’s how many years it will take to double your money. For instance, at 10% interest, your money would double in 7.2 years (10 divided into 72). At 5% interest your money would double in 14.4 years (5 divided into 72). The master told the one talent man, “you ought to have put my money in the bank and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest.” The master was gone long enough for the money to double. We are talking about years. The one talent man had time.

Third, the answer to our initial question, “Am I a one talent person,” comes down to what am I doing for the Lord? The one talent man in the Lord’s parable did nothing. This is why he was called lazy. He was also called wicked. Most today would say, “He’s not a bad person, he just didn’t do what the others did.” The Lord didn’t think that way. The Lord called him wicked. He did not have the master’s interest in his mind. What was he doing all this time?

So, we must ask ourselves, what am I doing for the kingdom? What am I doing for the Lord? Other than worshipping on Sunday, am I about the Father’s business? And, this is where our different talents and abilities begin to shine. Some are great at encouraging. They know just what to say and how to say it well. A call, a card, a text from these folks lifts a weary heart and helps the discouraged. That is the work of the kingdom. Others are great at inviting friends to services. People see their light and they are interested and curious. These folks are busy inviting people to come to worship. Others have a more visible role, especially when it comes to conducting our services. They are leading, teaching, and preaching. Some are behind the scenes making sure that everything works when we worship. In this period of social separation, there have been a lot of podcasts and videos being sent out. It takes know how to and equipment to do that.

So, am I the one talent man? That’s best answered by asking, what are you doing for the Lord? And, if you can’t answer that, maybe you are! God has gifted each of us in special ways. You’ll notice each of the servants were given at least one talent. None of them were empty handed. Likewise, all of us have talents, gifts and abilities. Vision, leadership skills, ability to teach, hearts that care, problem solvers, helpers—we all have a talent. None of us are on the sidelines with nothing to do. Find ways to use your talents for the Lord. Don’t waste them on yourself, but do good for the kingdom.

Lazy, wicked and worthless—that’s how the master saw the one talent man. He did nothing for the master. How about you? What are you doing? Maybe it’s time to step things up and turn your attention to the kingdom.

Roger